45 incidents & 0 updates (2/14/13)

2013 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

MINE FATALITY Worker killed in southern Illinois coal mine (a worker, 28, died in a mine – he was using a remote control to operate a toothy machine that carves coal out of the seam – he became pinned between that equipment and the coal rib)

Industrial accident injures worker (a maintenance worker was reported to be working on a machine when something flew off it – he was transported to a Hospital with head injuries – extent of the injuries are not known at this time)

FORKLIFT Worker taken to hospital after fork lift accident at March company (a worker has been taken to hospital following a forklift accident – a fork lift ran over his foot – the injured man suffered an open fracture to one of the tibia or fibula)

RUN OVER FATALITY Worker dies in accident with truck at OKC business (a worker is dead after an accident at a paving company – he was run over by a truck at about 8:30 a.m. – an employee was backing up a truck when the incident occurred)

MINE FATALITY Worker crushed to death at southern W.Va. mine (a miner, 43, died of injuries from an accident – the miner was pushing a scoop bucket insert full of trash onto a hoist when the hoist moved unexpectedly – the preliminary investigation suggests the hoist picked up the scoop and trapped the victim underneath)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – FATAL FALL from SCAFFOLDING Worker who died at ADM plant identified (a contractor, 31, was killed at the corn sweetener plant – he died as a result of “blunt traumatic injuries and compressional asphyxia of the chest” – he was pronounced dead at 5:18 p.m. at the facility after he “toppled from a height from a reportedly collapsing scaffold” and his chest landed upon a metal beam – he was in the process of cleaning the interior of a tank at the time the incident occurred at approximately 2:30 p.m.)

BURNS Worker burned at Minn. Crystal Sugar factory (a worker came into contact with hot liquid and was burned at the sugar beet processor – the man is a replacement worker working under contract during the plants lockout of union members)

MINE FATALITY W.Va. Miner Killed in Accident Is Identified (a miner, 34, was killed in an accident at the plant after a hydraulic jack exploded on a belt press – another worker was injured – the facility prepares coal for transportation down the river – witnesses say the miner was killed when a hydraulic jack exploded on a belt press)

LOTO FATALITY Worker Killed in Industrial Accident Identified (a worker, 41, was attempting to troubleshoot a problem with a garbage truck when his partner activated the truck’s compressor, killing the victim – it appears the partner was not aware that someone was inside the truck at the time)

GUARDING Worker hurt at Parwan mushroom site (a woman, 25, has been rushed to hospital after suffering injuries in an accident at a mushroom factory –  she is understood to have become caught in machinery – she suffered “multiple trauma with significant lacerations to her head and chest” – it is believed the woman may have caught her head in a machine when she was performing her duties)

CRANE FATALITY Worker killed in western Pa. industrial accident (a worker, 60, was killed in an industrial accident at a manufacturing plant – the worker was using a 15-ton overhead crane to move a large steel coil – as the 10,000-pound coil was raised, a 5,000-pound coil shifted out of position and struck the worker, pinning him against other stacks of coils shortly before 9:30 a.m. – he was pronounced dead of chest injuries at the scene at about 10:45 a.m.)

ACID BURNS Worker burned in acid spill (a worker is in the hospital after suffering burns in an acid spill at 2.20pm – five to six litres of sulphuric acid being spilt)

Southern Ill. Worker Suffers Burns In CAT Facility Explosion (an explosion at one of the company’s sites where mining equipment is repaired left one worker hospitalized and heavily damaged a building – it’s unclear what caused the blast and fire yesterday morning in an unattached paint building – that building was heavily damaged – an unidentified employee sustained burns and was taken to an area hospital)

STRUCK BY VEHICLE FATALITY Port worker crushed by trailer (a worker, 34, was crushed by a truck at the terminal at about 8:45 am – he carried out janitorial services at the port – he was hit by a six-wheeler truck as he reached down to pick up a piece of waste paper – the vehicle then crushed his head and upper body)

FATAL EXPLOSION Plant explosion kills one, injures another (officials confirmed that the employee believed to be missing after an early morning explosion and fire at the facility was killed at approximately 7:38 a.m. – 13 employees had been working at the facility site at the time of the explosion – another worker had been taken to a hospital to be treated for severe burns and remains in serious but stable condition – a temporary shelter-in-place was issued  – the plant is a mixing facility where industrial chemicals are processed – the cause of the fire remains under investigation)

EXPLOSION Warehouse explosion injures worker in Saguenay (a worker was seriously injured in an explosion at an industrial park at about 7 a.m. at a warehouse specializing in welding – initial reports suggest an accumulation of gas from work being done inside the warehouse led to the explosion – a man, in his 40s, was hit by a metal plate thrown by the blast – he had serious injuries to his legs, but his life is not in danger)

HYDROGEN TANK EXPLOSION Tank explosion kills 2 (a hydrogen tank exploded in paper mill leaving two workers dead and another injured – the tank exploded at around 11:30 a.m. in the chemical section – worker, 55, died on the spot while another worker, 35, died after he was taken to a Hospital – the victims were all temporary workers)

CHEMICAL Workers evacuated from Easley plant after inhaling fumes (four or five workers were evacuated from the plant after they inhaled fumes from a substance that was being used to finish concrete – four or five workers were evacuated – the chemical that was bothering the workers was not one used in the plant’s processes -the company was doing some remodeling and expansion work, and the chemical was used during those jobs)

Worker hurt at Butler County drilling site (medics transported an injured worker from a gas drilling site – officials had few details about the case or the extent of the worker’s injuries – a worker was trapped between water tanks at about 9:40 a.m.)

OIL RIG HAND INJURY Worker hurt when hand gets caught in controls of rig (a worker at an oil well site was injured when his hand became caught in the main controls for the rig at 11:22 a.m. – the man’s hand was crushed and a piece of metal impaled his hand – the injuries were not life-threatening and the man was transported by ambulance to a hospital)

HOTWORK Cutting torches spark small fire at Zion nuke plant (cutting torches caused a small fire inside the nuclear power plant – officials said there was no radiation involved and no injuries – plant personnel from the company dismantling the facility reported at 11:21 a.m. that there was smoke on several floors inside the plant – while the initial fire companies went to look for the source, the alarm was upgraded to bring in more personnel from surrounding departments – firefighters discovered that torch work ignited residual oil in the vicinity of the work and the fire had been mostly extinguished by plant personnel with fire extinguishers kept on site)

HOTWORK Cutting Torch Sparked UP Fire (a contractor using a cutting torch is to blame for a fire – the fire burned about one- third of the 75 foot long pile of railway ties – the fire was contained to just those railway ties)

REFINERY FIRE Regina Co-op Refinery fire is third in 16 months (a fire at a refinery was contained and extinguished by refinery fire crews – the fire, described as an asphalt fire, began around 12:20 a.m. – there were no injuries and all evacuations of personnel went smoothly – the cause of the fire is still unknown and pending an investigation – it is possible there was an explosion and that there was evidence of fire scoring on a structure that is approximately 80 ft. off the ground – this is the third fire at the refinery within 16 months, a stark contrast to the facility’s previously sterling fire safety record – the facility’s first fire in 20 years occurred in October of 2011 and injured several people; the second was in May of this year, there were no injuries)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak at Ga. plant prompts evacuation (employees at a beef processing plant were evacuated from the building and sent home after an ammonia leak – plant is being aired out following an ammonia leak from a refrigeration system – some employees were taken to a nearby hospital for evaluations – the plant employs about 500 people and it was unclear how many employees were being evaluated – no injuries were reported)

AMMONIA FATALITY One killed, 2 serious after ammonia gas leak at fish factory in Mangalore (one person, 20, was killed and two others were reported to be in a serious condition after the victims inhaled ammonia gas at a fish meal factory – the injured, who have been hospitalized are both around 20 years of age – the victims had inhaled leaked ammonia gas at the fish meal factory – the incident happened at around 9 pm)

AMMONIA Ammonia Leak At Sara Lee Plant Forces Evacuation in San Lorenzo (no injuries were reported – authorities evacuated businesses nearby as a precaution – all the employees at the facility were evacuated – a hazardous materials team entered the facility and secured the leak about three hours later – the cause of the leak is under investigation by plant personnel)

AMMONIA Clayton Elementary evacuated due to ammonia leak (more than 500 students and staff evacuated an Elementary School because of an ammonia leak at the nearby foods plant – ammonia was released when an old pipe was being replaced on the plant roof — oil contaminated with ammonia had sprayed onto the roof – ammonia evaporated and winds carried the fumes to the school, about 1000 feet away – school officials quickly shut off the air vents and went into lockdown, keeping the students in their classrooms – about 520 students and 50 staff members evacuated to a Middle School, less than two miles away)

CHLORINE HAZMAT Crews Fix Chlorine Leak At Midland Water Treatment Plant (a chlorine cylinder at the water treatment facility sprung a leak around 9:30 AM – the leak was reportedly caused by a manufacture defect on the cylinder – HAZMAT crews were able to seal the leak by 11:45 AM – the leak caused no threat to public health)

CONSTRUCTION

CRUSHED by TRUCK Employee of Stoughton company seriously hurt in accident on the job (a truck weighing almost 140,000 pounds, slid or rolled backwards and crushed the legs of a worker beneath its rear tires at a commuter rail work site – the man, believed to be in his mid-40s, was trying to attach a heavy equipment trailer to the truck at around 11:38 a.m. – firefighters arrived to find that the man was pinned beneath and between two of the rear tires on the left side of the tractor-trailer unit – the man suffered severe crushing injury to his lower extremities)

BUILDING COLLAPSE FATALITY Worker killed in Pampa building collapse (a worker died and another was injured after a building collapse about 2:40 p.m. – a portion of a building had collapsed and two workers who were dismantling the building and its components fell about 40 feet – one worker involved with the accident was transported to a Medical Center and the other was trapped in debris from the collapse)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITIES 5 Workers Killed, 2 Injured, in South Jakarta Construction Accident (five construction workers died and two are in critical condition after they were trapped for more than an hour in the septic tank of an under-construction office tower – the incident occurred at around 10 a.m. at the building site – the accident began when a worker, cleaning up in the basement of the building, stepped on a plywood sheet placed over a hole and fell through to the septic tank about six meters below – two of his colleagues climbed down the hole to find him, but failed to emerge after several minutes – four other workers followed suit and were also not heard from – a rescue team later arrived and sent in one of its men wearing an SCBA – the rescue worker managed to bring one of the workers, who had fainted, back out – however, when he went back into the tank to find the others, his SCBA mask slipped off and he passed out – more rescuers were sent in to find the first rescuer and the six missing workers – when all the men were finally brought to the surface, five of the workers were found to be dead, while the sixth worker and the rescuer were unconscious – the rescuer who passed out has also been hospitalized but is not in critical condition – the workers were believed to have died from inhaling noxious gases over an extended period while trapped in the septic tank, but added that an autopsy would be needed to confirm this)

SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE Gusts take out scaffolding: Workers safe after Pensacola Beach accident (a 40-foot-tall construction scaffolding around a water tower collapsed about 9 a.m., crushing the cars of two workers and blocking one lane of traffic – no injuries were reported – at roughly 9:00 a.m. the winds were measured in excess of 60 miles an hour – the crew was erecting the 40-foot structure in preparation for building a 3 million-gallon water tank)

CRANE FATALITY Three Killed in Accident at Mumbai Construction Site (three workers were killed and six others injured when a concrete block of an under-construction cantilever bridge collapsed – two of the people wounded had minor injuries and were discharged after first-aid – police have filed a case against a crane operator, the construction site’s supervisor and a foreman for causing death due to negligence – the accident is the second such incident in the past six months)

WORKZONE Road worker critically injured (a road worker, 67, was critically injured when he was hit – he had been holding a traffic control sign and was thrown about 15m by the impact of the accident, which happened about 1.20pm – he was taken by ambulance to a Hospital with critical head and internal injuries)

ELECTRICAL Worker hits live wire, sustains burns (a construction worker, 32, was found burning after he came in contact with a high voltage electricity supply line – he suffered over 60 percent burn injury – he was perched on a scaffold when he is believed to have come in contact with a high tension line – eyewitnesses said such was the outcome of the contact that his clothes caught fire – preliminary investigation says the worker was unaware of the 11 kv line which was passing by the building and came in contact while working)

FALL Worker suffers head injury after falling 20 feet at Orangeburg warehouse (a worker, 31, fell about 20 feet onto a concrete floor and suffered a head injury at 9:26 a.m. while working among the racks at the warehouse – it appears the worker left the safety of the forklift and climbed onto a rack and was maneuvering between the storage racks when he lost his footing – the man hit his head on the concrete floor after he fell)

CRANE Construction worker hurt at Norfolk Naval Shipyard (a construction worker was flown to a hospital after being injured – a concrete bucket hit the man about 5:30 p.m. – he was conscious and alert when taken to a Hospital – the man was to spend the night at the hospital as well, though he is showing no signs of significant injuries – a preliminary investigation suggests a crane failure led to the incident – the bucket dropped when the crane failed, hitting the man, who is a superintendent on the project)

CRANE OSHA investigating Saratoga Springs crane collapse; company says crane malfunctioned (authorities are investigating the collapse of a crane at the site of a hotel construction project – there were no injuries as a result of the accident – the more than 100-foot crane boom bent over the top of a crane and came to rest on the ground – company said was a “slow motion” malfunction)

MISCELLANEOUS

TREE CUTTING FATALITY Worker dies in tree-cutting accident in Jacksonville’s Ortega Forest (a worker, 41, on a tree-cutting crew was killed when a limb cut from a tree fell and struck him in the head – three men were in the back yard of a home when one of them cut the average-size limb while working above the victim – rescue workers tried to revive the man but he died at the scene)

CRANE ACCIDENT Tree Trimmer Breaks Leg In Freak Crane Accident (a tree trimmer broke his leg in a crane accident at about 11 a.m. – a large crane was parked out front of the home and a cherry-picking truck was parked next to the home – both trucks were there to trim down a tree that was too close to the home and was leaning towards a neighbor’s home – at some point, the truck that had the large crane attached to it tipped over towards the house and ended up on its end, resting on the tires on the left side of the truck – the crane came down and a worker in the cherry-picking truck spotted the crane and jump out of the work bucket and landed on the home’s roof – the worker was taken to an area hospital with a broken leg)

Burnt KFC worker in serious condition (a worker, 21, who suffered burns to 15 per cent of his body after an oil vat accident remains in a serious condition – he was burnt by hot oil – he was conscious when emergency services arrived at the scene, but was in a lot of pain – he was in a serious but stable condition in the intensive care unit)

HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker killed in explosion in Elizabeth (two workers were working on the refrigeration system when some sort of explosion happened – one worker was killed and the other critically hurt – the workers were using an acetylene torch)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak closes Norwich ice rink (an ammonia leak prompted evacuation and overnight monitoring by firefighters and state emergency environmental response crews – firefighters responded at 8:30 p.m. to an alarm at the rink – no injuries were reported – the leak was related mechanical problems will force the rink to close for an estimated 10 to 14 days – salt water has contaminated the cooling system and must be flushed out – the rink also might need a new compressor)

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