47 Incidents & 0 Updates (5/28/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

MINE FATALITY Collahuasi copper mine resumes after worker death (the world’s No 3 copper mine is gradually resuming mining operations following the accidental death of a worker – the worker, 37, was killed at the mine while working with drilling equipment – he is the third worker to die in an accident at the mine this year)

GUARDING/LOTO Dixie Worker Hurt in Industrial Accident (a worker, 25, suffered an injury when his hand got stuck in a machine at about 8:50 p.m. – initial emergency reports indicated a man got caught in a machine, and just nine minutes later, a second alert stated the man was free from the machine with a hand injury – no one else was hurt – co-workers freed him before paramedics arrived – ambulance took him to the hospital with a bleeding hand that was not life-threatening)

GUARDING FATALITY Worker dies in accident at NJ industrial firm (a worker was killed when a piece of aluminum shot out of a machine and struck him – he had been operating a fabricating machine there when it made an unusual sound – when he turned the machine off, the aluminum shot out and struck him in the neck and head – he died a short time later at a hospital)

PAPER MILL PAPER ROLL FATALITY Va worker killed at paper mill (a worker at a paper mill has died after being crushed by a roll of paper – he was crushed by a large, heavy roll of paper in the company’s warehouse – he had worked at the plant for about 30 years)

Manitoba metal worker crushed (a 22-year-old man has died on the job – he was working in a metal fabrication shop when the material he was working on collapsed – he was pronounced dead on the scene)

GUARDING/LOTO FATALITY Worker killed after being trapped in machine parts (worker, 43, has died after being trapped between machine parts at a factory – he became trapped in a lifting crane between two pieces of machinery about 5:15 a.m. – his colleagues pulled him out and tried to resuscitate him until paramedics arrived – paramedics took over but he was declared dead)

FATAL EXPLOSION Worker who died in Arlington Heights blast identified (a worker, 55, was killed in a factory blast – he died when an explosion ripped through a parts testing area where he worked, sending chemical fumes into the air – ten other people were injured – the force of the explosion caused part of the roof to buckle at the factory, which makes electronic controls for commercial and hybrid vehicles – the force of the blast also propelled rocks from the roof into a parking lot, damaging 20 cars – worker was apparently operating machinery that tests parts by exposing them to high and low temperatures – he was found about 10 feet from the machine – other workers were farther away, and a metal cage around the testing area helped contain the metal shards and other debris – the others who were injured — seven employees and three police officers – were treated at area hospitals and released – injuries included concussions from the explosion, smoke inhalation, chest pains and hearing loss)

MINE AMPUTATION Miner’s leg amputated after accident (a mine worker’s leg was amputated after he was pinned underground – he became pinned underground between a coal hauler and a large piece of equipment that continuously drills coal – his left leg was amputated above the knee and he is in critical condition – it’s the second accident at the mine this spring – in a March accident, two miners were injured)

FATAL EXPLOSION Man killed at Pascagoula plant (a worker, 39, died after sustaining a head injury – he was pronounced dead around 1:30 p.m. – it appeared that a piece of equipment exploded and killed the worker – company officials said the accident occurred during a maintenance procedure in a portion of the plant that was not operational at the time)

FATAL FALL from MANLIFT Asian Worker Falls off 17th Floor and Dies on the Spot (a worker fell off the 17th floor of one of the buildings in the Diplomatic Area while he was cleaning glass on an electronic crane – preliminary investigations revealed that one of the wires connected to the crane was cut, which made the deceased, who was not wearing the necessary safety belt, lose his balance and fall down)

FATAL FALL from CHERRY PICKER Worker dies in Newcastle wharf tragedy (a maintenance worker, 50, died from “severe head injuries” while working on a vessel – he slipped and fell about 15 metres to the bottom of the ship’s empty hold while attempting to move from a cherry picker to a ladder)

EXPLOSION Melting worker hurt in explosion at Latrobe plant (a worker was injured in a explosion when molten metal came into contact with water at the plant – worker suffered some burns from the incident at 8 p.m. and was taken from the scene by ambulance – he was not treated at a hospital – the accident did not cause a fire at the plant, but it created a sound similar to a sonic boom)

FATAL FALL @ STEEL PLANT Contract worker falls to death in steel plant (a contract worker, 22, at a Steel Plant died following a fall from a height while on duty – he was attending to his duty as usual at an elevated place when he fell to the ground and died)

HOTWORK ON TANK EXPLOSION St. Paul: Welder burned in “flash of fire” ( a flash fire burned a man, 47, who was welding – he was taken to a hospital with non-life threatening injuries – he suffered burns to his face and possible fractures – the victim had been welding atop a tank of roofing tar when the welding ignited flammable tar vapors – the “flash” knocked the man to the ground, approximately 10 feet – there was no fire to extinguish)

HOTWORK Small fire breaks out on roof (a small fire that broke out on the roof was caused by nearby construction efforts – fire crews arrived to find a small area of the roof to be smoldering – a construction contractor had extinguished most of the flames with a portable fire extinguisher by the time fire crews arrived – fire personnel determined the fire was started by sparks thrown from cutting and welding operations taking place in the east part of the structure – the fire caused no loss, as the area that burned was being demolished)

HOTWORK Welding near huge vat ignites fat (an empty vat intended to hold thousands of gallons of kitchen and restaurant waste oil and grease for recycling caught on fire at 3:56 p.m. – no workers or firefighters were injured – the plant sustained no significant damage – a contract welder had been doing some welding below and around or at the bottom of the large vat, and apparently the temperature of the grease reached ignition point – there must have been residual oil and grease in the vat which caused the fire – firefighters arrived to find about 2 feet of flame – the vat itself was terribly damaged, and neither nearby equipment nor the structure was damaged)

Fire Department Investigates Smoke Plume At Suncor Refinery (County Fire is investigating the cause of a plume of yellowish-brown smoke at the Refinery – at one point, the smoke plume was very thick, coming from a tower at the refinery – firefighters went to the refinery after they said they weren’t able to get information on the emissions over the telephone – EPA was notified by the fire department – a road block was set up going into the plant but at 2:35 p.m., that roadblock was removed)

HF ACID RELEASE @ REFINERY Petrobras Pasadena refinery alky unit malfunctions (an alkylation unit malfunctioned releasing hydrofluoric acid at a 100,000 barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery, according to a notice filed with Texas pollution regulators – firefighting equipment was used to suppress the hydrofluoric acid vapors, according to the notice filed with the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality – the unit was depressured through the refinery’s flare system)

NAPTHA FIRE @ REFINERY No liquids released in refinery blaze (flames burn naphtha in a stack after a leak at a refinery – there were no reports of injuries and the refinery Fire Brigade had the fire under control in 20 minutes – orange flames could be seen leaping into the air as much as 50 feet above the top of the smokestack – the fire was caused by a small leak inside a heater firebox – there are no injuries and no liquids were released)

EXPLOSION @ PAPER MILL Explosion, fire reported at Sartell paper mill (eight fire departments are on the scene of an explosion and major fire at a paper mill – neighbors reported hearing a loud booming noise just before  11:45 a.m., heavy black smoke was seen pouring out of the center part of the mill and flames were visible leaping on the roof – there was a full shift working when an air compressor exploded – there have been some injuries but officials did not have the severity or number of injuries – one firefighter was treated for a heat-related condition – as of 1:30 p.m. fire officials considered the blaze 50 percent contained; smoldering paper bales are the source of much of the black smoke that fills the air – residents are being asked to stay inside with their windows shut so they don’t inhale the smoke – two patients have been taken to a Hospital and they are being treated in the emergency room)

AMMONIA Five neighbors evacuated after ammonia leak (an ammonia leak took place in a refrigerated food factory – the leak was confined to a chiller and refrigeration unit at the building used as a refrigerant food plant – firefighters and on site Maintenance Engineers wore breathing apparatus and chemical protection suits to isolate the leak – five residents from two neighboring properties have been evacuated – there are no casualties reported)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak in pork plant (an ammonia leak forced a plant evacuation and sent 40 workers to the hospital – the plant was not in full production at the time, however, there were about 150 people present, and most of them were working in on second shift ham boning operation – following the evacuation, 40 workers were taken to local hospitals for evaluation as a precautionary measure and all have been released – maintenance workers repaired the ammonia line involved in the leak)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak at Chobani sends two to hospital; factory evacuated (a major ammonia leak reported shortly after 9 a.m. at a production facility required the evacuation of the yogurt-maker’s entire workforce and sent two employees to the hospital as a precautionary measure – the leak was detected in a chill tunnel at the plant – the facility was immediately evacuated and all onsite employees were relocated to a safe spot)

CHLORINE @ WWTP NY Chlorine Leak Capped; 1 Minor Injury (Hazmat workers have capped a chlorine leak at a water treatment plant – a worker at the plant escaped with minor injuries after the leak – about 10 pounds of gas escaped into the plant and a small amount of gas escaped outside the plant – readings showed there was no public threat and it quickly dissipated – the gas leaked from a cylinder in the plant beginning just before 11:30 a.m. – it was capped by about 1:30 p.m. – cause was under investigation)

CHLORINE Chlorine leak sends four workers to hospital (four contract employees underwent hospital treatment after being exposed to chlorine at a plant – the four were working near a railcar they didn’t know was leaking chlorine around 9 p.m. – the individuals were released from the hospital sometime overnight – the four returned to work the next day – the cause of the leak is under investigation – the leak did not escape the plant’s grounds)

CRANE Crane collision causes injuries at BCT (a marine incident involving a passenger vessel that collided with a crane at a terminal – the ferry vessel  collided with crane number 5, causing the crane’s collapse and resulting in three engineers being injured – two of the engineers have been released from hospital but one is still undergoing treatment after surgery for a spine injury – the incident also damaged an adjacent quay crane, portions of the quay and a number of empty dry container vans)

CONSTRUCTION

FATALITY Falling beam kills worker at Sheyenne Ninth Grade Center construction site (a worker, 30, died in a construction accident after a 28-foot steel beam fell on him at the high school addition – he was pronounced dead at the scene – the beam had been bolted into place but somehow came loose – the worker was wearing a hard hat at the time of the accident – eight to 10 other construction workers were in the area when the beam fell – no other injuries were reported)

ELECTROCUTION Upstate NY worker dies when gear hits power line (a worker, 47, lowering a light tower has been electrocuted after it touched a power line and caught fire at a construction site – Police say he was probably killed instantly by the charge that surged through the light used to illuminate night work – the accident happened just before 9:30 a.m.)

WIND FARM STEAMROLLER Non-life-threatening injuries in steamroller accident (a worker at a wind farm construction site was injured by a steamroller at about 2 p.m. – the accident was not life-threatening)

REBAR IMPALEMENT Construction worker’s hand pierced by steel rod in freak accident (a teenage construction, 17, worker lost his balance and stuck out his right hand to cushion his fall, only to have a steel rod pierce his hand at a work site around 3:30 p.m. – he spotted the arrival of a mobile food vendor and decided to see what was offered for sale and while walking across an uncompleted drain, the boy lost his balance and instinctively stuck his right hand out – it ended up being pierced just below the wrist by a protruding steel rod, leaving him impaled and crying out in pain for help from his co-workers – the teen was sent to the hospital for follow-up treatment and is reportedly in stable condition)

CONCRETE POUR COLLAPSE FATALITY Worker killed, 2 hurt in construction site collapse (a building under construction collapsed killing one worker and injuring two others around 2:00 pm – the workers were pouring concrete – rescue workers determined that one worker was still missing and they brought in dogs from the Fire Department to try to locate the trapped worker – after three hours of digging through recently poured concrete they found the worker, who was trapped in the stairwell when the building collapsed – he was pronounced dead at the scene)

ELECTROCUTION Worker electrocuted at Pittsburgh renovation site (a construction worker, 26, was electrocuted at a building under renovation – he was working in the basement of the building when he came into contact with a transformer about 7 p.m. – workers could not touch or help him until the building’s power was shut off, and paramedics arrived to find the man in cardiac arrest – he was pronounced dead a short time later at a hospital)

WORKZONE FATALITY Worker Killed In Construction Zone (a DOT sub-contractor, 48, was killed while working on a road project – the worker and three other workers with striping services contractor were standing in the back of a truck at a construction site on I-64 when a car slammed into them – one worker died later at a hospital, two workers remain in critial condition and a third is in serious condition – the driver of the car, whom witnesses say was driving erratically, was also hurt)

RUN OVER BY EXCAVATOR Worker run over at Perth Arena site (a worker at an Arena site has suffered leg injuries after being run over just after 12.30pm – the worker, who was run over by an excavator, was taken by ambulance to a Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries)

FATAL TUNNEL EXPLOSION No gas measurement before tunnel accident (the construction firm in charge of constructing a tunnel where four workers died in an explosion, did not measure the amount of flammable gas in the tunnel when the blast occurred – police are now investigating the firm on suspicion of professional negligence resulting in death, plan to look into whether the company’s measures to prevent gas leaks were sufficient – the company admitted in an interview the workers had entered the tunnel without a gas detector)

FATAL FALL Mason dies in fall (a construction worker, 30, died after falling from an under-construction building – he fell from a makeshift ladder when he was plastering the outer wall of the first floor of the seven-storey building – the worker fell on the road after hitting an electric pole – he was rushed to a Hospital where doctors declared him dead)

ELECTROCUTION on SCAFFOLDING Man electrocuted on work site (a 20-year-old construction worker was electrocuted at a work site around 3.45 pm – he was painting a building when the scaffolding he was standing on came into contact with a high-tension wire – he was taken to a medical facility by co-workers but was pronounced dead on arrival)

TRENCH FATALITY DEL ACCIDENT: 47-year-old man dies in trench collapse (a worker, 47, died when a trench he was working in collapsed – the man was working on a sewer line when the trench collapsed shortly after 10 a.m.)

MISCELLANEOUS

MOWER FATALITY Beech Fork employee found dead (a maintenance worker, 25, mowing grass at a State Park was found dead at about 2 p.m. by another employee – incident report states that the employee was found in the lake under the mower)

HOTWORK Fire reported in potato chips aisle of McAllen supermarket (authorities are investigating a welding accident that created a small fire in the potato chips aisle of a supermarket – a small fire started following a welding accident – no injuries were reported and the store was closed at the time of the incident – some potato chips were reportedly burned but employees were able to put out the fire on their own)