36 Incidents & 0 Updates (10/2/11)

2011 Fatality Tracker 

Industrial

ELECTRICAL Injured electric worker could be out three weeks (incident is first injury in 10 years to cause lost time for Public Services Dept – officials expect that a city electric lineman would spend up to three weeks in the hospital recovering, the first “lost time accident” for the Department of Public Services in 10 years – “We had just, in fact, celebrated 10 years without a loss accident, so it’s an awful thing,” Public Services Director Rhonda Barwick said – a 27-year veteran lineman suffered multiple burns after he was shocked while working on a 7,200-volt underground line to restore power to a handful of homes – he is a “journeyman lineman”, the highest level of electric line worker at the Public Services Department – he suffered second and third-degree burns on hands and leg, and first and second-degree burns on his chest – the exact cause of the accident is currently unknown, but officials are conducting an investigation)

OILFIELD VEHICLE Man Killed After Run Over by Truck in ND Oil Patch (a worker, 40, was run over by a water truckround 10 pm – he was filling up a frac tank with fresh water from his truck – he was surrounded by three other trucks at the time – he was found dead a few minutes later when another truck arrived on scene)

VEHICLE FATALITY Man killed after accident in city storage yard (a worker, 48, is dead after an accident on the job in a city storage yard – he was pinned between the pickup truck he had been driving and a front end loader at about 9:30am – he was rushed to a Hospital, but he later died)

ELECTROCUTION caused by BAD PLUG Worker electrocuted at business (a printing press operator, 58, was electrocuted at a business – he was pronounced dead at a hospital just before noon – the accident happened shortly after a power interruption caused the printing press to stop – he was re-spooling the machine when he was electrocuted – authorities said a bad plug had energized the platform on which he was standing – co-workers discovered him unconscious on the printing press and called paramedics)

ELECTROCUTION Worker electrocuted at SW Louisiana petrochemical plant (a man was electrocuted in an accident at a plant – he was working on a chlor-alkali unit when he came in contact with high-voltage electricity – he was taken to a Hospital where he was pronounced dead)

CRANE Worker hurt in crane accident (an employee was listed in critical condition after a heavy fabricated part fell and pinned him underneath – city fire department first responders were called to the scene at 1:02 a.m. for an industrial accident with entrapment – when they arrived the injured worker had already been extricated by plant personnel – the worker was operating an overhead crane from the floor when the piece being moved fell on him)

ACID LOADING Worker Burned By Acid (employee was loading sulfuric acid into a tanker truck when the accident happened – the acid came in contact with his upper chest area – he was airlifted to a hospital just before 12:30 p.m.)

FALL into GRAIN BIN Worker Rescued After Falling Into Grain Bin (rescue crews were able to pull a worker, 43, safely out of the gain bin where he fell around 9:00 a.m. – he was buried up to his waist in grain – at last report the worker was not seriously injured, and there were no concerns about him suffocating inside the bin)

LOTO/GUARDING AMPUTATION of BOTH LEGS OSHA probes worker’s industrial accident (about 1:30 p.m., a worker, 56, was severely injured when he was trying to clear a blockage in a large compacting and baling machine – both of his legs were lost as a result of the accident – he underwent surgery and remained listed in critical condition – it was not immediately clear whether he lost his legs at the accident site or whether one or both were later amputated – he has worked for the business for about 20 years)

LOTO FATALITY Feed mill accident (a feed mill worker was killed while on the job – he died after his leg was severed while working on machinery at the mill – his leg became caught in a machine while he was performing maintenance work – he died at the plant from apparent blood loss)

MINE FATALITY Miner killed after roof fall at colliery in North Yorkshire (a miner has been killed following an accident at a colliery in what is the second fatal incident to hit the UK’s mining industry in the past fortnight – two men became trapped after a roof fell in – one of the miners was rescued however the other has died)

CAR PLANT FATALITY Worker ‘crushed to death’ at car plant (worker, 49, suffered severe chest and abdomen injuries and died from asphyxiation – he was taken to hospital after the incident but died later that night – a post-mortem examination found the factory worker suffered severe chest and abdomen injuries – no word on cause)

FATALITIES from GAS Four killed at Kuwait’s Al Ahmadi refinery (an accident killed four workers and injured two more at a gas unit – the accident occurred as routine maintenance work was being carried out at a gas unit – the accident was caused by a gas leak at the unit – the two injured employees were treated and released from the hospital and are recovering – three firefighters were injured after inhaling toxic gas at the refinery – the firefighters were injured as they were dealing with the situation)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY Sewer gases blamed in deaths of Maine workers (medical examiner has determined that two men, 58 and 70, whose bodies were pulled from a sewage pump tank died from inhaling sewer gases – they died from “hydrogen sulfide toxicity in a confined space with terminal inhalation of sewage” – the men were working on a submersible pump in the tank – the concrete tank, with its floor 9 feet below the ground, is roughly 4 feet high by 5 feet wide by 6 feet long, accessed by a manhole – the men were experienced workers who had installed and serviced sewer pumps across the state – neither one was wearing breathing apparatus when the bodies were recovered – one of them was wearing a Tyvex suit – officials are awaiting a report from a contractor who was hired to inspect the tank to determine what may have happened – when the bodies were found just after 11 a.m. Tuesday, the 1,000-gallon tank they were in was overflowing, even though it had been pumped out less than an hour earlier – that would suggest that wastewater from the municipal sewer system had flowed back into the private system, which serves the 26-room hotel where the men were working – they knew the dangers of working in enclosed spaces, and with the gases that can accumulate when sewage is present – they were employed by a well-regarded company that services sewage and water pump stations around the state – there were no witnesses to the incident – the men were outside the tank while it was being pumped by another contractor, and were in it when he returned from dumping his load, 30 to 45 minutes later)

FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION One killed, two injured in boiler blast (a worker, 30, died and two others sustained burns when a boiler exploded in the herbal medicine division of a factory – the “poorly maintained” boiler exploded around 9.30 a.m. as “it could not withstand the pressure” – the explosion ripped apart the machinery, hurling metal parts several metres away)

REFINERY FIRE Fire at Pasadena refinery contained (firefighters have contained a blaze at a refinery that sent a plume of black smoke into the sky – the fire began at 1:50 p.m. at the distillation section of the refinery’s crude unit – no one was injured and it has accounted for all employees and safely shut down operations)

CONFINED SPACE – HOW SIMPLE RESCUE GEAR SAVES LIVES! Maintenance worker rescued from manhole (a maintenance worker fought for his life after he became trapped underground – he was working in a manhole when he suddenly became unconscious – he is now in the hospital in critical condition – he was working 12 feet deep in a manhole when according to his boss, something went wrong – he was servicing a septic system at a Shopping Plaza and for some reason he became unconscious – not sure if it was a medical condition, or whether it was caused by fumes – his partner, who is also his brother-in-law, immediately started pulling him up out of the manhole – he was wearing a harness attached to a tri-pod and winch – he got him as far as he could and put the blower on top of him – the police came and the two of them got him out – when he was being transported to the hospital he had a pulse but assisted breathing for the patient)

CHEMICAL One of Three DuPont Workers Still in Hospital from Exposure to Chemical Fumes (one employee remains hospitalized in stable condition, while a contract employee who was hospitalized for observation was released – at this point, the plant believes chemical fumes are to blame for the worker getting sick – two other employees experienced similar symptoms – the workers suffered respiratory problems after doing maintenance work in an area of the plant that’s shut down for scheduled maintenance – all three were working in that same area at the same time)

FUMES Worker dies at dyeing factory, 5 others sick; reason unknown (a factory worker, 22, died and another five fell unconscious after inhaling toxic fumes at a dyeing factory – of those survived, one is taking treatment at a Hospital while the others were released after they regained consciousness)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak forces evacuations at Pepsi plant in Wytheville (around sixty people were on site when an indoor pipe expanded causing ammonia to leak – firefighters and rescue crews did not go in to the bottling plant right away for fear of how much ammonia had leaked into the building – some workers were treated on the scene for minor injuries but that no one was seriously hurt – an investigation into what caused the pipe to expand is underway)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak (an ammonia leak at a plant forced a temporary evacuation of part of the plant, but no injuries were reported – a seal in a valve failed on an ammonia line, causing ammonia to get dumped onto the floor – workers were evacuated – company’s own hazardous material response team responded and were able to isolate the leak and shut it down before fire crews arrived – the processing area of the plant was not affected)

Construction

WORKZONE Construction flagger suffers broken leg after being hit by car (a two-car accident left a construction worker with injuries after she was struck around 1 am – a car attempting to make a left hand turn on a red light collided with another vehicle, causing the car to spin and strike the female construction worker – she suffered a broken leg and concussion and was transported to a local hospital and is expected to make a full recovery – Police say that the intersection is undergoing a reconfiguration during re-pavement and may have caused some confusion)

BACKHOE FATALITY Worker crushed to death in backhoe accident (a man, 46, was crushed to death when he got stuck between a backhoe and the Bobcat it was attached to – he was building a home when the incident happened at a work site of a new home – he was sitting on the backhoe when the machine started to slide into the trench he was working in – he climbed off the back seat and was trying to get back into the cab of the backhoe when, for whatever reason, the pressure and weight of the machine came down and he got pinned between the backhoe and the cab of the Bobcat – he was pronounced deceased at the scene)

FATAL FALL from ROOF Worker Killed in Fall Off Roof of Pa. Firehouse (a fall from the roof of the Volunteer Fire Company killed a person, 53 – the victim was taken from the accident scene to a Hospital, where he died – the victim was an employee of a roofing business)

TUNNEL FATALITY Airport Link workman dies (a worker, 40, who was hit by a falling beam at an airport Link project has died in a hospital – he had been involved in dismantling smoke duct tables in the southbound tunnel – at the time of the incident, he was cutting the structure on the ground when it weakened, causing a beam to fall on him – the accident prompted about 200 workers to stage a protest march over safety concerns on Thursday, and about 500 employees walked off the job on Friday)

WORKZONE FATALITY Road worker killed when truck backs over him (a contract worker, 28, for the Department of Transportation who was standing in a road construction zone after getting out of the piece of heavy equipment he was driving died after a truck also working on the project backed over him – he was declared dead at 10:23 a.m. at a Hospital)

BULLDOZE & DROWNING Man Drowns in Construction Accident at Wastewater Treatment Plant (a man, 75, is dead after a construction accident at aWastewater Treatment Plant – the construction worker went into the lake with a bulldozer – the body was recovered by the Fire Department’s Water Rescue and Recovery Team – investigation into the accident continues)

WORKZONE FATALITY Worker killed by asphalt truck (a road construction worker, 28, was struck and killed on a job site – he was struck by a truck filled with hot asphalt – the truck was backing up to pour asphalt into a hole in the road – the driver was about to hit a sawhorse set out to block traffic and the worker ran out to warn the driver – his foot got stuck under the truck tire and the truck kept rolling, pinning him under the tire – he was pronounced dead a short time later)

FALL through ROOF Worker injured after breaking through roof at West Marine (a man working on the building sustained major trauma when he burst through the roof and fell about 30 feet at about 11:30 a.m. – he had been repairing dry rot on the two-story distribution warehouse with at least two other workers when he broke through the roof and fell – helicopter transported the victim to a hospital, but his status is unclear)

TRENCH FATALITY Worker killed as earth caves in at Sewerage Board site (a labourer, 35, died and another was injured after earth caved in – he was working at the site as a bar bender – the incident took place at 3:05pm when he, along with the injured co-worker, 40, was placing wooden slabs at a trench, dug to lay water pipes – the boards were being placed to lay concrete slabs – earth caved in from one side of the 20-ft deep trench, trapping the workers – the mud was removed by using a bulldozer – one worker was rescued at 3:20pm and was rushed to a Hospital – the other was dead by the time he could be pulled out)

FALL from LADDER Revel worker hospitalized, in critical condition, after falling off ladder (a worker is in in critical condition after falling off a ladder at 1:50 p.m. – he hit his head and was listed in critical condition at a Medical Center – this is the second accident in which a worker badly hurt at the site this month. Two weeks ago, Bryan Bradley, 40, of Linwood, was killed after the cement mixer he was working on was struck by lightning – another worker suffered injuries to his hands in the incident, and has since been released from the hospital)

WORKZONE I-15 worker critical after being hit by dump truck (a construction worker, 31, was in critical condition after being struck by a dump truck on an Interstate 15 on ramp – the accident occurred just before 4 a.m. near to where the on ramp enters I-15 – construction crews were in the process of removing orange traffic caution barrels at the time – the overpass had been reopened prematurely and the dump truck driver, thinking it was all right to proceed, drove onto the on ramp just as the construction worker darted in front of him)

CRANE FATALITY – ground collapse under OUTRIGGER Man killed in freak accident (worker, 41, was crushed between the wall of a house and the crane platform he was working from some 12 metres off the ground – he became pinned inside the platform cab when the truck on which it was anchored, listed on its left side when one of the supports under the back wheel collapsed into a loosely covered manhole – the impact propelled him into the wall of the building – he was killed instantly by the force of the impact but it took two hours to free his body from between the cab and the wall)

ELECTROCUTION Local worker electrocuted (a man, 21, was electrocuted shortly before 9 a.m. – the construction worker was working around electrical wires and for some unknown reason came in contact with an electrical wire that was under current – an alert co-worker saw the victim and knocked the wire away from him – he was rushed to a local hospital where he died from his injury)

MIscellaneouS

STREET CROSSING Sturdy worker struck by car (a Hospital employee was seriously injured when she was struck by a car while crossing a street in front of the hospital – the victim was taken to a Hospital with leg and other injuries which were considered not to be life-threatening – the driver of the car was not injured in the 7 a.m. accident)

CHAINSAW Chainsaw Accident Sends Worker to Hospital (a man suffered a serious arm injury after reportedly being cut by a chainsaw – initial reports suggest the man was in a bucket truck doing tree maintenance at an apartment complex when the chainsaw accidentally cut him in the bicep – a tourniquet was applied and the man was rushed to the hospital)

TIRE EXPLOSION FATALITY Blacksmith killed when tractor tyre he was inflating explodes in his face (a blacksmith, 35, was killed after a tractor tyre he was inflating exploded in his face – he was using a high pressure hose when the tyre suddenly burst – his two nephews heard the explosion and went running where they found him unconscious – he was taken to hospital following the explosion but later died)