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2014 Fatality Tracker
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INDUSTRIAL GUARDING FATALITY Worker killed in Georgia Pacific accident (worker, 41, was killed in an apparent industrial accident at a paper mill – he was operating a paper loading machine and became entangled in the machinery around 4 pm – he died of a fatal head injury) MINE 6 workers suffer burns in East Texas mine accident (six workers at an idle coal mine have suffered burns from falling debris amid preparations to resume operations this fall – five employees were in stable condition – sixth worker injured was treated and released from a hospital – hot ash and burning embers fell on the workers – they were near an out-of-service lignite storage silo where they unexpectedly came in contact with “hot debris” – workers sustained hand and leg burns) FATAL EXPLOSION One Worker Killed, 11 Injured in Pemex Refinery Accident (one worker was killed and 11 others injured by an explosion – the accident occurred at a coker plant that was undergoing maintenance and wasn’t in operation – work was being carried out on an empty petroleum coke tank when a gas given off by coke remnants exploded – exact cause was still being investigated)… Mexico oil refinery fire death toll rises to four CRANE Wind turbine worker airlifted after accident (a wind turbine worker was airlifted to a Clinic after the crane he operated fell over at about 7:15 a.m. – there were few details available about the accident – the worker was driving the crane to repair a wind turbine when the crane fell over – the crane’s cab was crushed during the accident, but the worker was not trapped – it was unclear what injuries the worker sustained or what prompted the accident) FORKLIFT FATALITY Worker crushed, killed by falling forklift near Guelph (worker is dead after a forklift fell off a ramp and crushed him – worker had been loading a scissor lift into a truck with forklift when the forklift fell off the ramp and crushed the worker) DREDGE FATALITY Authorities investigate drowning at Tronox plant (around 6:45 a.m. a contractor, 56, was missing after a boat and a barge capsized at the facility – the body was discovered around 9 a.m. – the deceased was onboard a tethered 18-foot pontoon dredge that is believed to have listed and capsized – he was wearing a floatation vest when the accident occurred – his body was recovered and pronounced dead at the scene by the sheriff’s department at approximately 9:00 a.m.) PIT ACCIDENT Industrial worker in Layton gets ear torn off (a worker, 50, had his ear ripped off in a major industrial accident at a distribution center – he was walking through the work yard when a tractor ran him over – the machine is used to push the semi-trailers up to the loading dock – he had a broken leg, gash on the arm, a head injury, and ear ripped off and he was in stable condition) FORKLIFT Arlington man hospitalized after workplace accident (worker, 19, was hospitalized after an undetermined incident at a manufacturing plant – he was operating a forklift and was found unconscious and barely breathing by his co-workers near a rail dock – co-worker was sent to check on him after he did not respond to radio calls – he was unloading a rail car and was trying to close the door using the forklift with a strap attached to the handle of the door – the strap came loose and the handle snapped back and struck him in the chest) AMPUTATION Worker loses thumb at mill (contractor has reportedly severed a thumb during a workplace accident at a Mill – he was transported to hospital by ambulance staff) PROPANE FLASH FIRE 6 workers hurt in St. Louis propane explosion (a worker at a truck terminal was in critical condition after a propane tank explosion that injured him and five co-workers – workers were using a forklift to try and switch out a propane tank when a leak from the tank ignited, creating a flash explosion – there wasn’t a fire, and the tank itself did not explode, but the flash was enough to injure the six workers – none of the injuries were life-threatening – the critically injured man, who is expected to survive, and three others were hospitalized with burns – all four hospitalized workers are forklift operators) HCL 7 concrete plant workers treated for breathing trouble after chemical accident in Fort Worth (seven workers at a concrete plant have been treated for minor breathing problems after a chemical accident at an adjacent business – officials are investigating what caused the release of fumes related to hydrochloric acid – seven workers were treated after the vapors apparently drifted from the neighboring chemical facility – no chemical company workers were hurt) FATAL FALL into WWTP 2 RMG workers die in workplace accident (two workers died as they fell into Effluent Treatment Plant (ETP) of garment factory) Catawba mill worker burned while inspecting boiler (a worker at a mill was burned while working on a steam boiler about 4:15 p.m. during maintenance on a recovery boiler, which generates steam by burning by-products of the pulping process – recovery boiler had been shut down, and two employees working on the equipment approached an adjacent tank that was being rinsed – one of the employees opened an inspection port on the top of the tank to view the inside – while inspecting the tank, the agitator was turned off, allowing the hot rinse water inside to splash on the employee’s arm, elbow and thumb – employee immediately went to a safety shower to wash off any remaining rinse water from inside the tank – he was then transported to a local hospital – both employees working at the recovery boiler were long-time employees of the mill and worked within the powerhouse area where the recovery boiler is located) FATAL FIREWORKS EXPLOSION 1 worker dies, 1 critically wounded in fireworks explosion (two employees of a fireworks manufacturer were severely burned in an explosion – one worker, 28, later died – the blast occurred at 2:35 p.m. while the employees were moving materials from a shipping container – worker, 42, was critically injured in the blast – both were working in and around the storage unit that housed fireworks when the explosion and fire occurred – both suffered from burns) UPDATE on GUARDING FATALITY Macy’s fined nearly $1 million after decapitation of factory employee (company reached a settlement and also pleaded no contest to a misdemeanor count of corporate criminal liability in the 2009 death – it will pay a $950,000 fine as part of a settlement in an employee’s death – the 65-year-old man was decapitated by machinery at a distribution center – he was operating a cardboard baling and compactor machine when he fell into an unguarded opening of the unit – he was crushed to death and decapitated by the machine’s hydraulic compacting ram – the baler he fell into had been modified to operate without interruption – in addition to paying the fine, company must also conduct an audit of balers and compactors at its California stores and distribution centers, which must be approved by the district attorney’s office) HOTWOR(???) Fire that consumed $30m navy ship could be fault of welding work (a 57-metre navy patrol boat was being refitted by civilian contractors when the blaze erupted deep within the belly of the ship – flames quickly engulfed the vessel, worth about $30 million, sending black smoke spewing from the huge industrial shed – two contractors were overcome with smoke as the fire’s intensity quickly grew – at the time of ignition that shed was filled with service crews, some were deep within the ship conducted welding work – there is speculation that welding work on board the vessel sparked the blaze, but the cause is yet to be established by investigators) HOTWORK Fire damages Rockford galvanizing plant (a commercial fire caused about $250,000 in damages – upon arrival fire crews found heavy fire in the one-story structure and learned some welding had taken place inside the plant when a small fire started – employees tried to extinguish the flames with a fire extinguisher, but could not do so before it spread – there were several chemicals involved such as sulfuric acid, sodium hydroxide and hydraulic fluid) FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION 1 Dead in Fire at Trailer Lot in Paris (one person is dead after flames broke out at a trailer sales lot – a cutting torch is believed to have caused a flash explosion, igniting flames that took area firefighters more than two hours to control – no other injuries were reported at the fire, and the identity of the person killed was being withheld until relatives could be notified) AMMONIA Lion Brewery employee exposed to ammonia (employee at the brewery was exposed to ammonia when a small explosion occurred inside the building – a vessel used to ferment beer exploded, damaging a refrigerant line of ammonia at about 10:30 a.m. – an employee in close proximity to the vessel was exposed to ammonia and debris – another employee was briefly exposed to ammonia when he assisted in helping his colleague – injured employee was treated and released from a Medical Center – the second employee who ran into the room refused treatment) FATAL FALL on board DOCKED SHIP Man dies after fall onto ship deck at ExxonMobil dock (a seafarer, 44, died after an industrial accident at a ship docked at a refinery dock – he was aboard when he was struck by a mooring line that snapped causing him to fall to the deck below at about 1:45 p.m. – victim was treated by the refinery Emergency response team and Beaumont EMS – victim was pronounced deceased and ordered an autopsy) UPDATE Refinery fire in Norco due to pipe malfunction, company reports (a tank exploded and created a fire – the explosion and subsequent fire was due to a pipe malfunction in an overhead vapor line at the Biodiesel plant – cause of that malfunction is still under investigation – no one was injured and the fire was contained onsite – Parish and state officials have said that air monitoring crews on-site during the incident didn’t detect any elevated readings and there was no need for protective action) AMMONIA Ammonia leak at Centennial Ice Arena prompts evacuation (an ice arena was evacuated after an ammonia leak was discovered from a tank holding ammonia – odor from the leak was strong and forced about 50 people, arena employees and people attending a hockey practice, from the building – cause of the leak has not been determined) DUST EXPLOSION Explosion reported at Coshocton Grain Company (a grain facility is expected to be closed several weeks after a grain bin explosion – a structural damage team said a set of three concrete silos need to be demolished – corn from the exploded bins was being loaded into rail cars for transport to get ready for new stock – seven people were in the silos when the blast occurred – five were employees and two were state grain graders – five people were taken to a Hospital for treatment – one individual refused treatment – another person was transported by MedFlight to a University Medical Center for treatment – all had minor injuries – at least one person had minor burns – debris was thrown as far as 300 feet – the roofs and backs of the bins were destroyed – the roof of a dump bin was also blown off and siding was dislodged from a nearby structure) FATAL EXPLOSION North Texas plant explosion kills one (a plant explosion killed one worker and heavily damaged the building around 11:00 am – 238 workers were evacuated from the heavily damaged building, but when they got there they were still looking for one more – they did a preliminary search and then found the man dead – contractors were removing a “paint booth” where the flat-bed trailers are painted, when there was some type of explosion) Transformer explodes at Noranda plant (around 9:15 a.m., there was a loud transformer explosion at the aluminum plant – no injuries were reported – no cause for the explosion yet) HYDROGEN EXPLOSION ZAK sees hydrogen blast at Poland ammonia plant (the situation “is under control” with hydrogen being flared – incident was believed to have been caused by a pipe leakage – the hydrogen explosion led to eight injuries and forced the company’s ammonia unit to shut down – a few employees suffered minor injuries from shattered glass – two received hospital treatment, but no fatalities were reported) AMMONIA Yakima ammonia leak sends two to hospital (the leak released about 100 pounds of liquid ammonia – the leak forced 50 people from a packing house, sent two to the hospital and closed down a half-mile stretch of road – incident began at 2:14 p.m. when ammonia began leaking from refrigeration equipment on the roof – two were taken to a Medical and Cardiac Center after complaining of irritated airways – as a precaution, authorities shut down a roughly half-mile stretch) FORKLIFT 1 injured after forklift tips while unloading merchandise (one man is recovering after a forklift accident around 9:30 a.m. – crews found the forklift had tipped over while trying to transport a heavy merchandise off of a trailer unit – the trailer unit was tipped forward as well when the forklift tipped – fire department’s technical rescue team was called to help stabilize the trailer unit and the forklift, as the operator of the forklift had been thrown off and was injured) FORKLIFT Man struck by forklift (a man, in his thirties, was taken to hospital after he was struck by a forklift just after 7.30 am – paramedics treated him at the scene and he was taken to a Hospital in a stable condition) FORKLIFT Man injured in smelter forklift accident (a visiting truck driver was injured in an accident involving a 16 ton forklift truck – he was taken to a Hospital by ambulance suffering from pelvic injuries following the incident – source said the man had been crushed between the lorry he was driving and the forklift while aluminum ingots were being loaded onto his vehicle) CONSTRUCTION Kansas construction worker dies after accident (a worker, 40, has died after being critically injured in an accident at a construction site – he died Friday at a hospital from injuries he sustained in the accident on July 31) BULLDOZER Construction worker in critical condition after bulldozer goes into canal near South Bay (a worker was critically injured when his bulldozer went into a canal at a construction site at 8:23 a.m. – worker was transported to a Medical Center in critical condition) Worker suffers head injuries in Sydney building site accident (worker at a multi-story construction site has suffered head injuries after a workplace accident – he was rescued from the second floor of the building shortly before 2pm – no details) Work site accident leaves man critically injured (a construction worker suffered a traumatic injury when something fell on his chest at a downtown work site – medics responded to the 21st floor of the building about 4:15 p.m. and said a man in his 30s had gone into cardiac arrest – they continued to perform CPR on the man as he was taken to a Medical Center) UPDATE on FATAL TRENCHING Milpitas: Company officials charged with involuntary manslaughter in worker’s cave-in death (construction company, its owner and a project manager were indicted on involuntary manslaughter charges in the cave-in death of a construction worker at a building site in 2012 – worker, 38, was killed on Jan. 28, 2012, after he was buried alive when a 12-foot wall of dirt collapsed on top of him while he was working on a hillside home – three days earlier, a building inspector had issued a “stop work” notice to the project manager at the site when he became concerned that cave-ins, just like the one that killed the worker, could happen after several days of torrential rain; the project had no permit for excavation deeper than 5 feet – still, no one stopped working at the site) TRENCHING Two Workers Trapped in Potomac Trench Rescued (two workers stuck up to their shoulders in wet mud inside a trench were rescued just after 8 p.m. – the accident happened while a crew of four men were working on the foundation of a home – the ground collapsed under their feet, trapping two of them in several feet of wet mud – a third co-worker went to a home next door and asked for help – technical rescue team and an urban search and rescue team worked for about three hours stabilizing the hole and pumping air down to talk to the men) Worker injured in fall at Occidental Chemical building (worker, 32, was taken to a Medical Center after falling seven feet to the ground during an accident at an industrial site around 5:25 p.m. – he was helping construct a prefabricated bridge being assembled – he was atop the bridge when he caught his foot in some steel bars, falling to the ground below – nature of his injuries was not disclosed) ELECTRICAL Man dies after industrial accident in Scarborough (worker, 35, is dead after an industrial accident just after 5 p.m. at a townhome – he was without vital signs when paramedics arrived and attempts to revive him were unsuccessful – Paramedics say the man may have been electrocuted) FALLING DEBRIS 1 injury reported in accident at Ocean Breeze Track construction site (a man suffered a non-critical injury and was transported to a Hospital – victim was conscious and not bleeding when EMS arrived on the scene – radio transmissions indicated that a construction worker was struck in the head by a piece of falling metal at the site – the piece of metal was between one and two feet in length – he was wearing a hard hat at the time) SKID STEER FATALITY Construction worker injured at Bel Aire work site dies (construction worker, 40, was critically injured in an accident at the site of a new apartment complex – he was on the front end hoist of a skid steer loader which was lifting construction materials to the second floor of an apartment complex when the materials dropped to the ground at about 10:30 a.m. – the shift in weight caused the hoist to raise suddenly and the skid steer to roll back, flipping him over the back of the construction equipment – he landed on his head) FALL Worker Injured In Butler Co. Construction Site Fall (worker was injured in a fall at a construction site – accident happened inside a home under construction – the man and his father were finishing drywall when he fell about 20 feet – he was taken away on a stretcher, but was believed to be alert and talking – he may have suffered a leg injury, but there is no word on his condition) SCAFFOLDING Construction Worker Falls Off Scaffolding (a construction worker, 25, fell when some scaffolding collapsed – he was alert and conscious when paramedics got there to take him to the hospital just before 9 a.m. – they were laying some cinder block on a masonry wall, working off the scaffolding about 15 or 20 feet in the air when something caused the scaffolding to fall, and he rode the scaffolding down – firefighters credit the worker’s helmet for protecting him in what could have been a very different outcome) AERIAL LIFT Worker seriously injured after falling from lift (a man fell from a hydraulic lift while painting trim at a High School – he was transported to an area hospital, but was then air lifted to a Medical Center due to the extent of his injuries) HOTWORK on TANK FIRE Worker badly burned at Fox’s Biscuits in Batley after Ossett firm ignores safety risks (a worker, 61, was severely burned in a flashover during hot-cutting work at a biscuit factory – he was one of a team working, which had been hired to remove three disused oil tanks – worker was using an angle grinder to cut a hole in one of the tanks, which had only recently been drained of fuel, when sparks ignited flammable vapors causing flames to erupt – in a panic, the worker inserted a high pressure water lance into a pipe opening to try to put out the fire but instead caused a blow-back of flames to be ejected from the opening, engulfing his lower body in flames) ROOFING EXPLOSION Roofer injured in explosion that levels Des Moines house (a worker, believed to be in his 40s, roofing a house with a blow torch set off an explosion, leveling the structure and leaving him with second- and third-degree burns – incident occurred at about 7 p.m. – it wasn’t immediately clear what was ignited – the blast collapsed the house and knocked him off the roof – he suffered second- and third-degree burns on his torso and was taken to the hospital and was listed in stable condition) UPDATE Welding company faces more lawsuits in fatal Boston fire (welding company owner is facing two more lawsuits over a Boston brownstone fire that killed two firefighters last March – the lawsuits were filed within the past week by owners of an abutting property – a neighboring property owner and insurer seeking more than $4 million and $500,000, respectively, to recover damages from the blaze) MISCELLANEOUS NC Forest Service employee dies in tree accident (Forest Service employee, 31, died when he attempted to use a tractor to push a tree out of a road when the tree snapped and slammed into his chest – he was rushed to the hospital where he died) FATAL FALL from PICK-UP TRUCK Decatur lawn care worker injured in accident (a lawn care worker was flown to the hospital after an accident just after 4 p.m. – the crew was getting ready to leave from the site where they were working – the driver started the truck and began to drive off, thinking all the workers were in the truck – he didn’t realize that one man was still bed of the truck securing tools – that man fell off the truck and was run over by the trailer) FORKLIFT FATALITY Music festival worker killed in fork-lift truck accident (a man, 33, has been killed in an incident involving a fork-lift truck while preparing for a music festival – police spokesman said he did not know whether the man had been driving the fork-lift truck at the time) TRUCK LOADING FATALITY Virginia worker killed in logging truck accident (a logging company worker, 30, died when a tree rolled off a flatbed truck and struck him – he was trying to secure a load of logs on the truck when one of them fell off, striking him in the head – he was pronounced dead at the scene – he had been employed for about five weeks) CRUSHED between BUSES Man killed in apparent Oakland industrial accident ID’d as Fremont resident (a man, 55, was crushed to death between two buses in an apparent industrial accident at a repair yard – he was found by other workers about 12:04 p.m. wedged between two buses – he was pronounced dead a short time later) FATAL FALL Elevator repairman dies in fall in Atlantic City building (worker, 25, fell down the elevator shaft – he was found on the second-floor elevator opening in the shaft, but that it was unclear why he had fallen or from what floor) MOWER and GAS PIPELINE FATALITY Mower Worker Dies in East Texas Gas Line Blast (a member of a mowing crew has died following a natural gas explosion when some brush-clearing equipment ruptured the line – there was no fire during the accident – the man was using a mulcher to clear the pipeline right of way when he hit the line, causing an explosion and gas leak) FARMING FATALITY Teen Drowns in Manure Pit After Freak Accident with Tractor (a 15-year-old lost his life when he was pinned beneath the skid loader he was operating – it isn’t clear how the accident occurred, but the tractor overturned in a sloshy manure pit and the young man was fully submerged in the liquid – it took emergency responders an hour to get the body out from under the tractor – the boy died of asphyxia and not from any injury sustained from the tractor) LIGHTING STRIKE Postal Service Worker Burned During Lighting Strike (postal worker was injured during a nearby lightning strike – lightning struck near a U.S. postal service worker’s truck and sent a charge of electricity through it – worker sustained serious burns and was transported to a hospital – the worker was touching part of the vehicle at the time of the strike) DUMPSTER BIN Man crushed by dumpster downtown (maintenance worker, 51, suffered life-threatening head injuries after being hit by an apartment garbage dumpster – the part-time worker was attempting to manually maneuver the bin backwards down the ramp at a non-profit housing complex – from the appearance of (building surveillance) video the bin appears to have picked up speed and he lost control – he was wearing flip-flops at the time) FORKLIFT Speedway co-owner critical after fall at track (co-owner of a Speedway is in critical, but stable condition after falling 25 feet from a platform – at approximately 1:20 p.m. he was replacing flags above the track when the tractor holding the platform he was standing on lost power and began to roll backward – driver of the tractor was unable to regain control before it flipped over, knocking him out of the safety cage and onto the track surface below – he suffered extensive injuries in the fall) |
What’s New @ SAFTENG.net OSHRC decision on PSM Contractor Training and Work Permits
EPA RMP Citations @ agricultural chemical manufacturing facility (NH3 and aqueous ammonia; $101K)
EPA RMP Citations @ liquefied petroleum gas manufacturing and storage facility (LPG; $74,000)
EPA RMP Citations @ ethanol facility (mixture with a NFPA rating of 4; $31,227 w/ SEP $23,716 )
EPA RMP Citations @ a seafood processing facility (NH3 and CL2; $142,175)
2014 Photo of the Week #33 (Chemical Labeling)
2014 Video of the Week #33 (Dust Explosion Demo by Texas A&M Ag College)
USER ADVISORY NOTICE – 3M™ PELTOR™ “P3E” HELMET EARMUFF ATTACHMENTS
IN-OSHA PSM Citations @ pyridine and picoline facility ($18,000)
Can FF Turn-Out Gear be repaired with “used” materials from other gear (NFPA Interp)
NIOSH launches the NIOSH Center for Direct Reading and Sensor Technologies (NCDRST)
Purposely Setting a Valve Higher than Nameplate Stamping: Acceptable or Not? (NBBI)
08/08/14 UPDATE – Anhydrous Ammonia (NH3) Fatality at a NE Co-Op was an UNLOADING ACCIDENT
CA Ice Rink forced to shutdown by local FD because of failure to comply with CalARP
OSHA PSM citations @ brewery (NH3 Refrigeration & $92,400) OSHA follow-up inspection of oil refinery reveals continuing worker safety violations
OSHA PSM/HAZWOPER citations @ industrial explosives manufacturer (cyclonite and octogen; $178,400)
Crosby Safety Alert (A- 342 Master Links & A-345 Master Link Assemblies)
Oregon OSHA – Proposed Changes to Confined Spaces Standard for General Industry and Construction
Thermal Stress and Chemicals – Knowledge Review and the Highest Risk Occupations
EPA’s Risk Management Program (RMP) Request for Information (RFI) |
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