28 Incidents & 5 Updates (4/1/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

FATAL EXPLOSION Explosion At Venezuela’s Petrocedeno Upgrader Kills Worker (an explosion at a heavy oil upgrader killed one worker, 33, and injured three others at the 190,000-barrel-a-day facility – the explosion occurred as workers were installing a water separator – one other worker faced second-degree burns and two others were treated for smoke inhalation)

FATAL EXPLOSION Explosion at Germany’s Marl chemical park kills one worker (one worker was killed and another severely injured in an explosion around 13:40 local time at a plant that produces cyclododecatriene (CDT)

Sanitation worker seriously hurt in Nazareth work accident (a sanitation worker was seriously injured in a work accident while loading a garbage truck – a large trash container fell from the truck’s mechanized loading device, crushing the worker – he was evacuated to a Hospital)

FATAL FALL from Bridge Worker Presumed Dead After Fall From Throgs Neck Bridge (worker, 35, was beneath the roadway of the bridge changing or adjusting a safety harness when he fell 130 feet – it was his second day on the job – accident occurred about 8 a.m. as the worker was on a work platform beneath the roadway adjusting or changing a safety harness)

CARBON DIOXIDE Carbon dioxide leak sickens workers at food plant (one worker was in serious condition while 90 others exposed to a carbon dioxide leak at a food processing plant have recovered – workers began having difficulty breathing and some started vomiting due to what firefighters described as a gas leak in a kitchen fed by an external carbon dioxide tank – the leak was capped but nearly all workers at the plant suffered at least some effects from the gas – firefighters arriving at the scene saw workers outside suffering from more serious symptoms of carbon dioxide exposure, including nausea, respiratory problems, fainting and difficulty seeing)

CONFINED SPACE ENGULFMENT Employee rescued from silo, taken to hospital (an employee, 45, at a Paving Company was in a hospital after a workplace accident – emergency crews worked furiously to free a man who was buried under a pile of rubble inside of a silo – he was inside cleaning when some stuff broke loose from above him and trapped him at the bottom of the silo – the silo the man was cleaning contained a mixture of hardened asphalt and concrete – he was cleaning out a chute when large pieces of the mixture fell on top of him – there was no way to get the man out from the top, so crews had to start working their way in from the bottom and side)

UPDATE Boeing worker details accident that cost him his legs (worker recounted the pain he felt when a 787 rolled over his legs on Feb. 3 – doctors had to amputate his legs below the knees – two of the 787’s tires caught his feet and he was dragged for 12 feet – after getting fitted for prosthetics, doctors say he will be able to walk in about a year)

OVEN FIRE Worker suffers burns in oven accident (a worker has been burned in an accident when a fire broke out in an industrial oven at a single-storey unit just after 2pm – the worker suffered burns to his lower arms and was checked by a paramedic but refused hospital treatment – a pallet in the oven was destroyed and the rest of the building was slightly smoke-damaged)

UPDATE now ELECTROCUTION Worker Dies After Industrial Accident (a worker, 31, died following an electrical incident four days after being shocked – a truck being used to dig holes for hydro posts made “unintentional contact” with overhead electrical equipment on March 22nd – two other workers also received an electric shock in the incident)

GUARDING/LOTO Fire crews rescue trapped worker at industrial accident (it took rescue workers nearly an hour to extricate a woman, in her early 30s, whose hand became stuck in a folding press around 12:30 p.m. – when crews arrived, staff at the factory had already contacted the mechanic for the machine for dismantling advice to free the worker, but the mechanic was in the United States and was giving instructions over the phone – the machine is used to grab large sheets of metal and fold them – it’s a potentially limb-threatening injury)

LINEMAN ELECTROCUTED Worker electrocuted, another injured in Wabbaseka accident (one person, 28, was electrocuted and another one injured while working on a power line – three men and a supervisor were working on the line and were shocked around 10 a.m. – he was believed to have been guiding wires on the ground without gloves on when he was shocked – the second man was laying on his side in a ditch but later was up walking around – he was transported to a Medical Center where he was treated and released – two other men working on the scene, the supervisor and another worker, were not hurt)

LOTO FATALITY Luzerne man identified in fatal P&G industrial accident (the Paper Products plant employee, 36, has died after suffering injuries at the plant – he died of traumatic head injury, which happened while he was working on a paper- making machine – few additional details about the accident have been released as the investigation continues – the accident occurred when production was down during a regularly scheduled maintenance program)

UPDATE now a FATAL EXPLOSION One of two men burned in Struthers explosion has died (one of two men who were severely burned in an explosion at a Wastewater Treatment Plant has died – the assistant maintenance man at the plant has died – he and the plant’s lead maintenance man, suffered second- and third-degree burns over 95 percent of their bodies after methane gas built up and was ignited by a spark as the men were working on wiring in the plant’s gas compressor room March 1)

CARBON DIOXIDE FIRE PROTECTION CYLINDER FAILS 1 killed, five critical in Nashik tank explosion (a labourer died of asphyxiation, when a carbon dioxide tank exploded in a plant – five others are currently critical – the carbon dioxide tank was part of an automatic fire extinguisher apparatus – when the tank exploded, the deceased, 38, took an oxygen cylinder and ran to save the other workers, who were gasping for breath – in the chaos, he slipped and fell down and suffocated – his colleagues, however managed to escape)

CHEMICAL REACTION 55-Gallon Drum Explodes at Oil Refinery (a 55-gallon drum was off-gassing some type of smoke when firefighters arrived at 10:41 p.m. – the oil drum that was gassing posed no danger to the public and no shelter-in-place order was given – seventeen fire personnel arrived at the scene to work with plant staff – based on an initial investigation it seems a chemical reaction caused the lid of the drum to pop and then gas)

AMMONIA Ammonia leak as compressor explodes in Pasig plant (a man, 27, was injured after a compressor exploded at a cold storage facility – he was rushed to a Hospital after one of the compressors he was operating exploded – the explosion also triggered the leakage of what police suspect to be ammonia)

AMMONIA Waseca Plant Evacuated After Ammonia Leak (an ammonia leak at a foods plant caused employees to evacuate – the source of the leak was a gasket on some equipment in the compressor room – evacuation lasted a short time and no one required medical attention)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Man killed in forklift accident in Huntersville (a worker died on the job after he was struck and killed by a forklift)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Investigation Into Death at Port in Savannah (a woman was killed in an apparent accident at the Terminal – she was apparently struck by a forklift near a bulk carrier ship that had just arrived)

CONSTRUCTION

FATAL FALL from SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE Scaffolding collapses in Turin, 1 worker dead, 2 injured (three men working on the construction site of the new incinerator fell from a height of 40 meters following the collapse of scaffolding – one of the three workers, a 40-year-old man, died on impact, while the other two suffering numerous injuries, were transported by the emergerncy helicopter to a Hospital)

FALL from Roof Construction worker falls 25 feet off building (a construction worker, 47, is in serious condition after falling more than 20 feet off a building around 8:30 a.m. – he had worked as a construction worker his whole life, without ever having a serious accodent, but Friday morning the 47-year-old had a terrifying fall from a building – he was welding about 25 feet off the ground when he lost his balance and fell directly onto the concrete – he’s suffering from multiple broken bones, one being a skull fracture – no one saw what happened but just heard him fall to the ground)

FALL from WALL Construction worker injured after falling from building in Golden Gate (a construction worker, 50, was injured this morning after falling from a building under construction at an industrial park at 8:35 a.m – he fell 40 feet from a wall and reportedly had several broken bones and may have head injuries – he was flown by MedFlight to a Hospital’s trauma center)

UPDATE now a MANLIFT FATALITY Body of missing bridge worker pulled from Mississippi River (the body of a carpenter, 35, who vanished while working on a new Mississippi River bridge span was recovered about 5:30 p.m. Thursday – his body was found between barge tie-ups upstream of the bridge construction site – he was found near the submerged wreckage of the industrial lift he was working on at the time of the fall – the lift slipped from a barge with him on it – he was still tethered to the machinery when he was discovered under the water)

Crane installing classroom topples over (a crane toppled over while installing a 9m section of a demountable classroom at a high school – the truck, crane and damaged classroom piece were removed from the site by a much larger crane and a tow truck – the crane was capable of lifting up to 32 tonnes while the section of classroom weighed while only four tonnes – looking at whether the outriggers (which prevent cranes from tipping) were extended)

MISCELLANEOUS

Circus worker ‘critical’ after elephant incident (a circus worker was taken to hospital after one elephant charged another in a holding area – the injured man was moved to intensive care and was in a critical condition)

FORKLIFT Industrial accident leaves man’s head pinned by forklift (a man, 33, working under a pickup truck raised on a forklift received serious head injuries after the truck slipped, pinning the man’s head between a leg of the forklift and the vehicle – a co-worker used another forklift to raise the fallen end of the truck so the man’s head could be released – the victim was alert, conscious, talking and joking with medical personnel as they transported him to a Medical Center)

FATAL TREE TRIMMING Southwick man killed by falling tree (a worker, 28, for a tree cutting company has been killed by a falling tree – he was working in the back yard of a home when he was apparently struck by the upper limbs of a falling tree as he tried to get out of the way – he was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead)

PRESSURE FAILURE OSHA will investigate work accident in Clifton (an explosion at a cabinetry store left a worker seriously injured – the male worker lost part of his leg when an air compressor he was repairing inside the Woodworking shop exploded and metal pieces of the machine struck him – the injured party, who was not an employee of the cabinet business, had to have part of his leg amputated – another worker suffered minor injuries – the blast was strong enough that several windows were blown out and internal beams were damaged following the explosion, a cinderblock wall was destroyed and portions of the roof were damaged)

UPDATE on FORKLIFT FATALITY OSHA investigating death at Menards (emergency responders were called about 2:30 p.m. to the back storage lot after an accident involving a forklift – worker, 56, of apparently became trapped in the machine and was crushed – worker was pronounced dead by the County Coroner at 3 p.m. – he was servicing – not operating – a forklift when he became trapped between the machine and the lifting mechanism and was crushed – his job with the company was to service machines at different stores, and he was based out of a distribution center)

ELECTROCUTION Man Dies After Being Electrocuted in a Tree in Huntingdon Valley (worker, 47, comes into contact with a high-tension  wire and dies on the scene – he was trimming a tree – the man accidentally touched an electric line that runs through the back yards – a co-worker on the ground pulled the victim from the power line by pulling on a rope that was dangling from the victim, but the victim remained stuck in the tree)

ELECTROCUTION Midtown Elevator Worker Found Electrocuted (authorities are investigating the death of an elevator mechanic, 44, who was electrocuted – he got a deadly jolt around 9:30 p.m. while working in an elevator machine room on the ninth floor of an office building – rmergency responders found his body lying near live wires – he had opened the cabinet containing the wires – he had been an elevator mechanic since he was 18)

CRANE Crane operator injured while trying to free dump truck (a man, 30, was injured when he was thrown from the crane he was operating in an effort to free a dump truck that had become stuck while delivering topsoil – he was transported to a Medical Center and released later that day – he was operating a truck-mounted crane that was lifting topsoil out of the bed of the dump truck in an effort to lighten its load so it could free itself – he was thrown from a seated position on the crane when it snapped from its mounted position on the truck)