42 incidents & 2 updates (5/13/15)

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UPDATED the Members Area Photo Library on 4/4/15 with 189 Shocker, Accident, and GRAPHIC Injury photos

2015 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

FATALITY Chrysler worker crushed to death is identified (worker, 53, was killed in an industrial accident – worker was found at about 7:10 a.m. – he was a millwright and wastewater operator at the Assembly Plant – the accident occurred shortly after the morning shift started – he was performing regular preventive maintenance after starting his shift at 5:30 a.m. and was discovered at about 6:30 a.m. – company said the man was working in the plant’s on-site wastewater treatment facility, performing maintenance on a wastewater filter press)

ELECTRICAL Nuclear Weapons Lab Worker Seriously Burned in Accident (worker was in critical condition after being burned in an accident that also sent eight other workers to the hospital – accident happened while the employees were doing preventative maintenance at an electrical substation – not immediately clear what happened – nine workers were sent to a Medical Center and seven were treated and released the same day – one patient was transported to the burn unit at a Hospital and another was admitted to the Medical Center in stable condition)

OIL RIG FATALITIES Mexico’s Pemex Says Two Workers Killed, One Injured in Rig Accident (two oil workers were killed and at least 10 injured when an offshore rig suffered an accident – it evacuated 101 workers from the jack-up rig, which was leaning after suffering an apparent mechanical failure as it was moved into position to carry out well maintenance)

LOTO FATALITY Worker killed in accident at Okolona aluminum plant (employee was killed on the job at 7:41 a.m. – the victim was trying to retrieve equipment from a machine in the painting area of the building when he suffered blunt force trauma to the head – he was pronounced dead at the scene)

STRUCK BY VEHICLE FATALITY Death of worker at Sheboygan company ruled accident (the death last week of a worker, 67, at a Paper Box plant was an accident – he had been working in a narrow walkway near the loading dock when a truck leaving the area struck and killed him)

ELECTROCUTION Contract worker electrocuted at ECI (a field service engineer was electrocuted at a power plant – another worker was hospitalized and was expected to be released – workers were contracted to oversee the energy conversion plant at the prison – workers were contracted to perform an electrical control upgrade at the estimated 3,200-inmate medium-security prison)

FALL Accident injures worker at Port of Houston (worker was hospitalized after falling into a cargo hold of a ship – worker fell about 50 feet shortly before 10 p.m., sustaining multiple injuries – worker was taken by LifeFlight helicopter to a Medical Center)

STEAM Contract Worker Injured In Plant Accident In Gallia County (contract worker was injured following an accident at a plant – a steam leak injured a contract worker at the plant and the worker was air-lifted to a hospital for treatment)

GLASS Worker Injured in Glass Accident at Facility in Ohio (more than 1,000 pounds of glass fell onto a worker at a contract glazing and manufacturing facility – worker was airlifted to a local hospital after being treated at the scene of the incident – he was opening a storage crate which contained very large thick panes of glass and when he opened the crate, the contents fell forward and struck him, knocking him to the ground and landing on top of him)

LOTO Worker gets arm caught in equipment, flown to hospital (worker, 32, was flown to a hospital after getting his arm caught in a piece of equipment – he was doing maintenance on an accumulator machine when his arm got trapped and crushed – his arm was stuck for about 30 minutes – injuries are not considered life-threatening)

FLASH FIRE Local man injured after explosion (worker, 27, along with a co-worker, were injured in an explosion – they were pumping fluid out of containers at the time of the accident – a generator was running at the time of the explosion, but the state fire marshal will have to determine the cause of the fire – both men were transported by ground ambulance to a Hospital with second and third degree burns)

FATAL EXPLOSION Police Suspect Gasoline in Tank Blast That Killed 2 Workers (a fuel tank blew up killing two laborers, 50 and 52 – hazardous materials experts detected what they believed was the odor of gasoline at the scene – the “working theory” is that gasoline vapors in the tank ignited when the workers cut into it with a saw – workers were excavating the tank when the explosion occurred – blast threw one worker 25 feet and the tank itself flew 75 feet – no other injuries)

COMBUSTIBLE DUST EXPLOSION State completes blast investigation at LaCrosse grain elevator (three of the four people injured in a grain elevator blast remained hospitalized – State Fire Marshal’s Office has completed its investigation of the grain elevator explosion that injured four employees – nothing definitive in terms of a cause has been identified – investigation did reveal a series of three different explosions – nothing obvious was found in terms of what triggered the blast)

UPDATE now a FATAL EXPLOSION Worker caught in distillery explosion dies (assistant distiller, 27, who was caught in a massive explosion at a whiskey distillery last month has died – a “massive equipment failure” caused an explosion at the distillery, which subsequently burned to the ground – second distiller and his assistant were both critically injured in the blast, for which an official cause has not yet been announced)

EXPLOSION Worker using welder has fingers blown off in Elmont explosion, authorities say (worker, 61, making repairs with a welder had three fingers blown off in an explosion – worker suffered burns and other injuries on his face, chest and left hand in a blast that occurred 8:35 a.m. – he was trying to repair a backhoe or another piece of heavy equipment, but investigators at the scene were trying to determine what exactly set off the explosion)

FATAL ELECTRICAL EXPLOSION Electrical plant explosion in Thailand kills a female worker, injures over 20 (explosion killed one female worker and injured more than 20, three of them seriously – explosion flattened the rooftop of the factory building to the ground – it was not immediately known the cause of explosion but factory workers said the explosion was sighted at a huge electrical transformer inside the factory – female worker was found under the debris of the collapsed rooftop)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire destroys electric warehouse in Monmouth (fire completely destroyed a three-story storage repair facility and injured an employee -employee was welding from a bucket truck when something from the welding operation ignited the truck’s hydraulic lines – the flames then spread to the building, with the windy conditions feeding the flames)

REFINERY FIRE Explosion averted at Tacoma oil refinery fire (a fire broke out at a refinery and threatened to collapse a stack filled with crude oil – the fire began in the 600-foot-high production stack of a distillation unit – the leaked oil was ignited by the heater’s flame, resulting in the fire that sent black smoke into the air seen by drivers in the area – stack was initially expected to collapse, according to the Fire Department – no injuries or evacuations were reported)

CONFINED SPACE 6 People Heavily Injured During Fire at Aspropyrgos Refineries (six people were seriously injured, while two of them are in critical condition, when a fire broke out at a Petroleum refinery tank – three of the injured suffering from burns – the men were injured when an explosion occurred while maintenance work was underway in the tank)

CONFINED SPACE Employees Burned in Hazlehurst Factory Fire (four employees were injured in a flash fire that occurred around 12:30 p.m. – two of the employees were treated and released from the hospital, the other two are at the burn center – the four employees were inside a metal silo-like container when the fire happened – cause is still under investigation)

COMBUSTIBLE DUST EXPLOSION Explosion in air ducts causes fire at flooring plant in Galax (an explosion in the air-handling system of a flooring plant caused a fire – firefighters found fire and smoke coming from two large silos housing wood dust and chips – fire began as the result of an explosion in the collection and distribution pipes of the air handling systems that move the dust in the wood manufacturing process – a mechanical malfuction appeared to be the cause of sparks that started the fire – workers reported hearing up to three explosions just before the fire, which damaged pipes, systems and two silos)

AMMONIA Businesses Evacuated In Blue Bell Ice Cream Ammonia Leak (Hazardous materials crews responded to an ammonia leak – two other nearby businesses were evacuated during the response – authorities closed Highway 51 for about 30 minutes as crews contained the small leak – they were alerted of the high level of ammonia by an alarm system – no injuries have been reported)

LOTO FATALITY Coroner ID’s Man killed in workplace accident at Cardinal Aluminum (worker, 26, was reaching for a piece of equipment when something went terribly wrong – details of the accident are not being released, but LMPD says the man died on the scene after suffering blunt force trauma – he was working on the paint line when the incident occurred)

CONSTRUCTION

TRENCH FATALITY Construction worker killed in Franklin Township trench collapse (victim was working on the outside of a home when the walls of the 12-foot-deep trench collapsed in on him – he was trapped for more than an hour before firefighters could reach him – he died at the scene)

WORKZONE Turnpike accident kills driver, injures 4 workers (an accident in a construction zone on the Pennsylvania Turnpike resulted in the death of the driver and injury of four workers just before 5:30 a.m. in a construction zone – construction workers were apparently using a vehicle to pick up cones to reopen a closed lane when they were struck by a second vehicle – driver of that vehicle was pronounced dead at the scene – one of the workers was taken to a Hospital – another was flown to a Hospital and underwent surgery – two more workers suffered minor injuries and were taken to a hospital for observation)

FATAL FALL down SHAFT Worker dies after falling 24 stories at Riu Hotel site in Midtown (worker, 25, died after falling 24 stories down an elevator shaft at the site of a new luxury hotel)

FATAL FALL from CRANE Crane operator dies in fall at New Haven highway project (crane operator, 61, died when he fell off a crane about 2 p.m. – he died of head trauma around 7 p.m.)

CRUSHING FATALITY Worker dies in accident at 3rd bridge construction site (electrician died after a construction vehicle at the site of a bridge project fell on top of him – another worker was seriously injured in the accident and had one of his legs severed after being crushed by the vehicle)

Construction Worker Injured while Working at Baylor (a construction worker was injured while working – fire crews lifted the worker out of the building using an aerial platform truck – victim was transported to the hospital with a non-life-threatening knee injury)

FLOOR COLLAPSE FATALITY Worker killed in floor collapse at Ypsilanti building (construction worker was fatally injured when a floor collapsed on him as he worked in the basement of a building under renovation – four men were in the basement clearing space for an excavator when the first floor collapsed – the other three escaped uninjured)

AERIAL LIFT FATALITY Maintenance worker killed in accident at West County Center (maintenance worker, 53, has been killed in an industrial accident – he died while parking a four-wheel hydraulic basket lift at the shopping mall – he somehow became pinned between the rail of the basket, where he was operating the machine, and a low steel girder overhang)

FALL Worker suffers life-threatening injuries in Pickering industrial accident (worker, in his 20s, is being rushed to hospital with life threatening injuries after he fell through a hole in the roof of a building around 11:30 a.m.)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Worker injured while working on I-35 bridge (an employee of a subcontractor preparing a bridge over I-35 set for demolition has been injured after falling from a scaffold about 10:30 a.m. as the man was working on asbestos abatement under the bridge)

BURNS TZB worker burned on job (bridge worker was burned on the job – worker was reportedly fueling a boat when gas vapors caught fire – employee suffered burns to his forearms)

MISCELLANEOUS

AIRPORT TUG FATALITY Midway Luggage Driver Killed in Crash at Airport (worker, 52, was ejected from the vehicle he was driving – he was driving a luggage vehicle at about 11:20 p.m. when it crashed with another vehicle and ejected him from the car – he was taken to a Medical Center where he was pronounced dead at about 1 a.m.)

FATAL FALL @ AIRPORT Man killed in deadly tram accident at OIA identified (worker, 32, fell to his death after being thrown through the front windshield of a tram at an Airport around 5:30 a.m. – four people were on the tram at time of deadly incident, including two maintenance workers and two passengers who were friends with one of the workers – contractor for the automated people mover system was doing normal maintenance on one of the vehicles that entails putting the vehicle into manual mode – the individual has a controller that drives the vehicle, and apparently he invited a couple of friends that had tickets to fly out to join him and let one of the individuals drive it – tram was going approximately five miles per hour at the time of the incident – if you are going that slow and you take your hand off the switch… it stops instantaneously – the breaks deployed when he took his hand off the kill switch – it stopped instantaneously and threw him out of the vehicle – he fell 15 feet onto a grassy area – he was transported to a Hospital where he was pronounced dead)

FATAL FALL from TREE Tree Worker Who Died In Canton Accident Was Manchester Man (tree service worker, 55, died after a fall – he was pronounced dead at the scene after he fell from a tree)

Longtime Central Texas State Park Employee Killed By Falling Tree (longtime employee, 62 of a state park was crushed and killed by a falling tree while clearing brush at about 10:45 a.m.)

ELECTRICAL and AERIAL LIFT Worker burned in electrical accident in SW Philadelphia (worker, 53, was seriously injured after he was burned in an electrical accident shortly before 11 a.m. – he was in a raised bucket fixing a street light – a charged cable sparked, igniting the utility pole and the worker’s clothing – he was able to put the flames out himself while other workers lowered the bucket – he was taken to a Trauma center , but was then transferred to a Burn Unit – there were no other injuries)

FALL Utility worker seriously hurt in fall after pole snaps (utility worker, 42, was seriously injured in a long fall after his ladder gave way when a utility pole snapped below him about 10:50 a.m. – he had been fastened to the utility pole when it snapped at the base and fell an undisclosed distance to the ground and had head and facial injuries)

GOLF COURSE FATALITY South Texas golf course worker ‘crushed’ on the job (according to the medical examiner, the victim, 38, may have been crushed in some sort of an accident – he was a maintenance worker for the course for a little more than 2 years – it was not immediately clear what he was doing that led to his death)

UPDATE Inmate Hurt in Blast at California Sheriff’s Gun Range Dies (jail inmate, 52, who was injured in the gas pipeline explosion at a central California sheriff’s gun range last month has died – he suffered severe injuries in the April 17 blast and died at a hospital on Monday afternoon – the explosion sent 11 people to the hospital, including eight jail inmates who were doing cleanup work at the range and a county employee operating a front-loader – two other inmates and the county worker are still hospitalized)

CHLORINE 55-gallon chlorine spill injures pool worker (worker was burned by chlorine while preparing an apartment complex pool – the man was transported to a hospital burn unit but is in good condition – the man works for a company whose truck carried liquid with a high concentration of chlorine to the apartment complex – workers set up a hose to carry chlorine from the truck to storage tanks, which will then be used to chlorinate the pool through its filtration system – the hose burst, and the worker was hit in the upper body with the liquid chlorine)

Stop by session 721 on

Wednesday 6/10 @ 7:45 a.m.

Process Safety Management

Enforcement Trends and Best Practices

I am also teaching my

1-Day PSM Course

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on Friday 6/12

What’s New @ SAFTENG.net

Another failed “weak roof-to-shell seam” failure and results

LOTO Accident Data from OSHA’s Preamble

On-Duty Firefighter Fatalities Involving Confined Spaces, 2003 – 2012 (NFPA Fire Analysis and Research Division)

2015 Photo of the Week #19 (Trenching)

2015 Video of the Week #19 (Mike Rowe… Safety is 3rd!)

EPA RMP citations @ aerosol and non-aerosol product manufacturing and packaging facility (Flammable & $57,369 w/ $147K SEP)

OSHRC on PSM, Guarding, and HAZCOM from a Refinery NEP

OSHRC on “Universal PPE Hazard Assessments” at distribution centers