43 incidents & 1 update (4/12/15)

2015 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

CN worker dead in accident at Saskatoon rail yard (a conductor is dead after an incident at rail yard – no details)

FLOOR SWEEPER FATALITY Worker killed in Burleson warehouse accident (worker, 66, was killed in a warehouse accident – he died at the scene just before 1:30 p.m. – he was driving a floor sweeper when he ran into a rail and was injured)

EXCAVATOR ACCIDENT Worker injured at waste transfer station in Townsend (worker, 53, was trapped and injured at the transfer station – on arrival, paramedics found the worker complaining of back pain – he was operating an excavator loading trash into tractor trailers, when the excavator overturned – he was extricated by co-workers prior to the arrival of Emergency Medical Services and fire department personnel)

LUMBER MILL FATALITY Man, 22, dies in accident at lumber mill in the Adirondacks (worker, 22, has died in an accident at a lumber mill – he was fatally injured while operating a board edger in the mill when he was struck across his chest with a board that had apparently kicked back – he was taken to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead around 12:15 p.m.)

LOTO FATALITY Worker dragged, killed under truck (worker, 30, was lying beneath a tractor-trailer to repair it when another worker at the same company unwittingly drove the vehicle, dragging the first man to his death – coroner has ruled the death an accident – worker was fixing an airline hose and lying between several wheels near the back of the trailer, apparently out of sight to the other worker who drove about 85 feet)

FATAL FALL in ELEVATOR SHAFT Burns Harbor officials question timing of steel mill death report (an elevator contractor, 53, died about 90 minutes before County Coroner was called to the scene at 9:32 p.m. – he was working inside an elevator and also through a service door that had access to a counter weight – a co-worker discovered him at the bottom of the elevator shaft when he did not respond to his radio – autopsy revealed he died of blunt force trauma to his chest, abdomen and extremities – he fell 10 to 15 feet when he died)

GUARDING AMPUTATION Monster’ machine claims worker’s thumb (worker had his palm ripped out and lost a thumb in a “spindle monster” accident – accident happened on a joinery machine, called a spindle router – the left thumb was not able to be saved – it looked like the whole palm of the hand had been ripped out – tendons and nerves were badly damaged and five nerve grafts were needed as well as tendon repairs in the nine-hour operation – tissue was taken from the man’s thigh to replace the palm)

GUARDING Quarry worker accident investigated (an incident when a worker got his leg jammed in a quarry belt in which the worker was badly injured – he was taken to a with serious injuries)

UPDATE on FATAL COLLAPSE Omaha firm agrees to $75,000 fine in fatal building collapse (a year after the collapse of an animal feed processing plant killed two people and injured nine others the company has agreed to pay $78,000 in OSHA penalties in connection with the Jan. 20, 2014, explosion, fire and collapse of the company’s plant – OSHA had proposed nearly $121,000 in penalties – OSHA said the investigation determined a structural failure of the east side truss after bins it supported were loaded with an excess of limestone – extra weight in the bins caused three floors to collapse into the center of the plant in about 30 seconds – collapse killed workers 47 and 53)

Factory worker crushed dead by 200 tons of chicken feed (a factory worker at a plant died after being buried under 200 metric tons (220 tons) of chicken feed – accident likely occurred after the ceiling in the room he was in collapsed, dumping the feed on him – rescue teams dispatched to the scene searched for the man for several hours before locating his body)

INGOING NIP-POINT AMPUTATION Worker’s arm dragged into conveyor belt (worker suffered serious injuries when his arm was dragged into an unguarded part of a conveyor belt at a chicken hatchery – victim’s left hand was pulled into the ‘running nip’ of the conveyor belt while cleaning the area – he was unable to reach an emergency stop control and a colleague had to stop the conveyor running so he could be released)

FIRE Fire causes major damage in Webster sawmill (damage was estimated at nearly $500,000 after fire tore through a saw mill Monday – crews were sawing lumber when the fire erupted in the lower level around 7:30 p.m. – it got into the hydraulic system and burned the hydraulic lines in two – they had between 300 and 400 gallons of hydraulic oil on fire in the lower level of the mill – fire spread into the second level of the mill and consumed about one-third of the building – one worker suffered a burn to his arm and was treated and released at the hospital)

FLAMMABLE LIQUID FIRE China chemical plant fire roars back to life, fanning environmental fears (firefighters had to be recalled to a chemical plant as blazes at the facility flared up again – it roared back to life several hours after it was reportedly extinguished – fires started after oil leaked at the facility around 6.50pm – six people were sent to hospital for injuries, and another 13 people sustained minor injuries – the fire, which had been put off, resumed at around 7:40 p.m. on April 7)

LOTO FATALITY Assam worker dies in Verna factory (worker, 20, died in a rope-making factory after his head was crushed in a roller machine – he bent forward to clean the machine – his hand hit a button and the machine started operating – his head was crushed – workers rushed him to a hospital, where he was declared ‘brought dead’ by doctors)

Oil worker airlifted to Aberdeen after crushing hand on rig (an offshore worker has been injured after crushing his hand in a door just before 7am – injuries are not believed to be serious)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – TOXIC ATM Sanitary worker dies of suffocation (sanitary worker, 30, suffocated to death and three other fell unconscious due to poisonous gases while cleaning a gutter line – incident occurred when the worker entered into a gutter line along with three other sanitary workers without any safety kit for cleaning the line – due to poisonous gases accumulated inside the line one worker suffocated to death on the spot while three others fell unconscious)

ELECTRICAL – AED and CPR SAVE WORKER!!! Co-workers use CPR to save employee after electric shock at Yaphank business, police say (three people saved a co-worker, 47, after he experienced an electric shock – he was trying to repair a machine when he appeared to have stopped breathing about 9:45 a.m. – he appeared to have been injured by contact with an electrical panel, police said – three coworkers performed CPR and used a defibrillator to revive him – he was in stable condition and taken to a Medical Center)

HOTWORK Russian nuclear sub on fire, state news agency reports (a nuclear submarine being repaired at a Russian shipyard has caught on fire – rubber insulation between the submarine’s light and pressure hull is on fire – insulation caught on fire as welding work was being done on the submarine)

HOTWORK Welding spark ignites shed fire causing evacuation of preschool (spark from a welding project was to blame for the cause of a fire – a wooden shed also caught a neighboring shed on fire, destroying it, before spreading to a Preschool located within feet of the original shed – fire was called in shortly before 11:00 a.m. by the person doing the welding – worker, 19, said he called 911 and then went next door to tell his mother who teaches at the preschool – children from the preschool were immediately evacuated, which quickly spread to it’s rooftop)

HOTWORK Firefighters douse small blaze at Tropicana plant in Bradenton (fire was caused by welding being done inside the building – fire was in between the walls, which is why the fire department had a bit of difficulty with it – they had to take down the inner peel of the walls and it’s made out of different types of aluminum – there’s about 8 inches of void in between there that has insulation, and that’s where the fire was – no injuries – everybody safely evacuated)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION At Least One Dead in Southeast Siberia Oil Refinery Blast (at least one person was killed and four injured in a blast at an oil refinery – according to a local police source, the blast occurred during welding works – four people were hospitalized with light burns – three workers do not need treatment, while one person will undergo out-patient treatment)

ELECTRICAL Explosion at power plant causes widespread power outages in D.C., official says (power outage was caused by a small explosion and fire at a power substation shortly after 12:45 p.m.)

POWER PLANT FIRE Major tragedy averted at Khaparkheda plant (major accident was averted at a power plant when a minor fire developed near the high pressure (HP) turbine of Unit 4 – the turbine is connected to the generator, which uses hydrogen gas for cooling – it was only 15 metres from the fire spot – oil was leaking from the high pressure check valve (HPCV) – a fire developed due to unknown causes)

CHLORINE 12 hospitalized after chlorine leak at Koradi power plant (12 workers at a power plant were hospitalized after a chlorine gas leak – while ten workers did not have any complications, two of them had to be taken to ICU – twelve workers, seven plant employees and five contract labourers, were deployed at the cooling pond of unit 7 – their job was to demineralize the water by using chlorine, which is used in the cooling tower – a one ton cylinder, which was kept about 12 feet from the edge of the cooling pond, started leaking at around 5pm – the workers fled the spot but they had inhaled chlorine to varying degrees and started coughing heavily)

WRONG TANK WRONG CHEMICAL Chemical Leak at South Texas Water Plant Prompts Evacuation (a major chemical spill at a water plant resulted in the evacuation of nearby buildings north and south of the facility – prompted officials to order those 820 feet north and west of the plant to stay indoors – an accidental mix of chemicals created hydrogen chloride – a hose was hooked up to the wrong tank that mixed together the wrong chemicals – no one was injured)

AMMONIA Karelian pie supplies threatened by chemical leak (chemical leak at a bakery has disrupted production – ten workers were sent to hospital with breathing difficulties after the leak – company will be expected to explain how an appliance malfunction allowed ammonia to leak, causing breathing problems for several employees at the factory)

FORKLIFT Forklift hits support post; Tigard building evacuated (a forklift hit a structural support post at a commercial building causing a partial collapse of the 15,000-square-foot building and prompting the evacuation of 120 people – forklift driver suffered minor injuries – fire crews and a city engineer were evaluating the structure and preparing the roof for rain)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Chalmette man fatally crushed by forklift at Elmwood Wal-Mart, JPSO says (worker, 29, died after being crushed by a forklift he was repairing – he was pronounced dead at the scene about 9:25 a.m. – he was employed by a local forklift repair company and was there in a rear parking lot doing some work on the store’s vehicle – it’s not clear what caused the forklift to drop)

CONSTRUCTION

FATALITY Accident kills 2nd worker in past week at Argyle High School construction site (a second construction worker has died in an accident at a construction site at a High School in less than a week – worker was killed when he was hit at about 10:30 a.m. by a large vehicle at the construction site – no other injuries were reported)

DEMO ACCIDENT Construction workers hospitalized in Midtown demolition accident (an accident at a construction site injured at least four people shortly after 10 a.m. – it appeared a wall collapsed at the site – the injured workers were rushed to a hospital with serious but non-life threatening injuries – the workers were hurt during interior demolition – workers were apparently trying to remove a massive chandelier when the incident occurred)

WORKZONE FATALITY Construction worker killed in Washington County (worker, 43, was killed when a construction vehicle struck him – he died at the scene of the crash at 3:40 p.m. – DOT had hired a private contractor to replace guardrails – he suffered injuries to the head, chest and abdomen when he was struck by and trapped under a utility vehicle that was backing up – driver was backing up along the westbound lanes and could not see the worker, who was in a blind spot)

TRENCH FATALITY Worker Killed At Construction Site Dirt Collapse In Meatpacking District (a construction worker, 22, was killed after he was buried by dirt that collapsed at a construction site at 12:13 p.m. – he was taken to a Hospital in critical condition, and was later pronounced dead at the hospital – he was working in a hole at the construction site when the dirt gave way and collapsed in on him – no one else was injured)

FATAL FALL down ELEVATOR SHAFT Worker dead after elevator shaft fall at Burnaby construction site (worker, 29, died after he fell down an elevator shaft – no details)

CRANE FATALITY Crane failure results in worker’s death (contractor, 25, working on the Emergency Room expansion project was injured Thursday morning and later died of his injuries – he was injured when a crane apparently collapsed and hit him at approximately 9:23 a.m. – another contractor was unloading a pallet of cement – they were 42 bags of cement and weigh 80 pounds each – it appears bolts on the crane broke loose causing the crane to collapse, and it hit the worker on the ground)

CRANE FATALITY Crane operator killed as 500kg hook falls onto cabin at Hong Kong-Macau bridge site (a 500kg hook broke free from a crane arm and fell into the driving cabin, killing its operator at a bridge construction site – worker, 62, was operating the crane inside the cabin at the time the incident happened at about 8.15am – he was declared dead at the scene by paramedics)

EXCAVATOR Two lanes of I-285 in Cobb temporarily closed after excavator accident (two lanes were closed after an excavator fell over – worker operating an excavator was taken to a hospital with minor injuries after the excavator fell over – incident happened at about 1:50 p.m. – worker operating the excavator was moving a trench box when it turned over)

FATALITY Construction worker dies while trying to free cement truck (construction worker, 26, died while trying to free a cement truck – he died around 8 a.m. – cement truck got stuck, worker was driving a payloader and attempting to pull the truck out with a chain when the chain snapped and struck the worker who died at the scene)

NATURAL GAS EXPLOSION Explosion at gas leak in N.J. knocks worker unconscious (one worker was rendered unconscious in a gas leak and explosion in a small pit where contractors worked on April 10 to connect a natural gas line with a new townhouse development – about 15 minutes after that there was a much larger explosion and dirt in the pit shot into the air – an employee working in the pit was pulled from it, unconscious)

TRENCHING and HAZ ATMOSPHERE Workers rescued after being trapped in construction trench, overcome by chemical fumes (fire crews pulled two workers out of a trench at a construction site after they became overwhelmed by chemicals and ended up trapped – crews first responded to a call of “workers trapped in a confined space,” and arrived to find two men trapped in a concrete trench – trench is part of a church renovation, and the workers were cleaning concrete walls below ground level – both victims were taken to the hospital with respiratory issues, but are expected to be okay)

MISCELLANEOUS

ELEVATOR Worker In Hurst Seriously Injured In Elevator Accident (an elevator accident has left a worker injured just before 5 p.m. – worker had fallen down an elevator shaft – he was actually in the elevator shaft doing some type of repair when he leaned over and a moving elevator struck him in the head – it isn’t clear if the man fell a great distance down the shaft or if he was on top of the elevator as it was going down – his condition isn’t known)

TRACTOR vs TRAIN FATALITY Wis. worker killed when train strikes lawn tractor (worker, 29, driving a lawn tractor has died after his machine was struck by a train around 7:45 a.m. – the public works employee was operating a lawn tractor with a rotating brush on the front to clear snow from the bike-and-walking path that crossed the tracks – initial investigation suggests the lawn tractor crossed into the path of the oncoming train, which consisted of three engines – he died at the scene)

FLASH FIRE during FUEL TRANSFER One injured in gas station tank fire (gas station worker suffered burns to his body after the main gas tank at a station caught fire as the worker attempted to refill it – worker was taken to the hospital and the Civil Defense was able to extinguish the fire before it spread)

FLASH FIRE ignited by HEAT GUN New Jersey marina explosion injures worker (an explosion and fire that injured a worker, 39, at a marina occurred because of a buildup of gas vapors before he used a heat gun – explosion occurred when the worker went to turn on an electric heat gun – he was working on a boat that was dry-docked in a garage at the marina when the incident occurred – he was using the heat gun to repair a transducer under the deck of the boat toward the rear – just before the explosion, he detected an odor of gasoline as he went to turn on the heat gun)

FLASH FIRE Pizza oven explosion burns 1 (a small oven explosion burned a worker at a pizza restaurant – worker was trying to light a pilot light on the oven when the explosion occurred – a mechanical problem caused gas to build up resulting in the explosion – worker received burns to their face and was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries)

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

as a ASSE POST Conference Seminar

on Friday 6/12

What’s New

@ SAFTENG.net

2015 Video of the Week #15 (Forklift & Racking Collapse)

2015 Photo of the Week #15 (PPE…not!)

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Fire Protection Deficiencies to incorporate into our inspection programs and internal audit programs

OSHA PSM citations @ natural gas processing facility (Flammables & $42K)

Is a bollard just a post?

Excess Flow Valves… Installation, Testing and PM requirements

States and US Territories that have adopted International Codes (IMC, IFC, IBC, etc.)

DIR Releases Status Report on Process Safety Management Regulatory Oversight of California’s Petroleum Refineries