35 incidents & 0 updates (6/7/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

CHEMICAL UNLOADING – Sodium Hydroxide Another worker burned at S.C. plant (a worker at forest products plant was injured when he was splashed in the face with the same chemical that hospitalized four workers at the plant last month – at about 1:30 p.m., the third-party contractor was delivering the chemical to the pulping area close to where four employees were burned by the chemical in a May 19 accident – during the procedure, which involves using a hose to transfer the chemical from a tanker truck to a holding tank, the contractor was splashed in the face with the chemical – doesn’t know how the contractor was splashed – an investigation would determine what happened – contractor was taken to a shower and washed down before being taken by ambulance to an area hospital where his condition is unknown – the chemical – called “white liquor” or sodium hydroxide – is used to “cook” or break down wood fibers into pulp for use in making paper)

FOUNDRY Industrial accident, fire hurts 2 in northwest Pa. (two people have been injured by an explosion and fire at an industrial plant around 3 p.m. – isn’t sure what caused the incident, but two employees were hurt – a spokeswoman for a hospital confirmed doctors are treating one burn victim from an industrial accident – another foundry worker was taken for evaluation at a different hospital)

LOTO FATALITY Name released of worker killed at Styrofoam plant (a worker, 46, was crushed to death by a press at a plant that makes Styrofoam packaging materials – the accident happened about 2:30 p.m. – he tried to dislodge a part from a press, which activated while he was working on it – he was dead at the scene)

CRANE & RIGGING FATALITY Man killed after cable holding marble was cut (heavy block fell on worker, 40, from a crane, two others injured – worker died on the spot after a sheet of marble fell on his head at his work place – incident happened at around 4.20pm when a crane had been lowering sheets of marble to workers who were placing them on the ground – the cable which had been tied around one of the heavy blocks was cut accidently and it fell on top of the victim killing him on the spot and injuring two others – the two men are in stable conditions)

MINE FATALITY – FATAL FALL from ELEVATOR Coal mine worker falls in pit, dies (a worker, 37, at a coal mine died after he slipped from a coal transport equipment and fell into a 45-meter pit – he suffered fatal head injuries due to the impact – the accident happened 7 p.m., when he went down into the pit with his two colleagues to repair the cart used in transporting coal – his body was pulled out an hour later – the elevator is open and riding it is risky)

LOTO FATALITY in CEMENT MIXER A cement factory worker, 31, died after a concrete mixer he was cleaning suddenly got switched on (his bones were crushed and his head was fractured when his body got stuck in the mixer – they are not discounting the possibility of foul play since the machine was shut down by the operator – when the tragedy happened, the victim’s co-worker was downstairs while he was extracting cement from the filter – it was the first time an accident involving the machine happened in the cement factory – the machine was acquired last March)

MINE FATALITY – LOTO/GUARDING CONVEYOR BELT Worker killed in accident (a worker, 21, was killed in a shocking conveyor belt accident at a quarry – worker died when he became entangled in a conveyor belt about 7.10 p.m. – he died at the scene)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Foundry accident kills Pa. man (a worker, 26, at a foundry was killed when he became trapped in a large press used to make iron molds – he was pronounced dead following the accident)

OFF-SHORE RIG FATALITY Erath Man Dies in Offshore Accident (a worker, 35, was killed while working on a drilling rig – the accident happened around 6:20 p.m. – he was a contract employee – cause of the accident is being investigated)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Man dies in Otsego work accident (worker, 29, got caught in machine at a landscaping plant – his arm and torso became caught in one of the large belts and rollers of an earth processing machine- he was removed from the machine, but was pronounced dead at the scene – no other employees witnessed the incident)

RAILCAR FATALITY Worker Killed in Accident at Recycling Business (a worker, 47, was killed in a workplace accident – he was helping put a derailed rail car back on the tracks when got caught between the car and a front-end loader – the crew was using a chain to put the car back in place, but once it was in place it rolled and crushed the against the front-end loader – he was taken to a hospital in critical condition – Medical Examiner says he died from a lacerated heart due to blunt force trauma)

COLLAPSE FATALITY Houma Worker Killed ( a worker, 52, died after a structure collapsed on top of him while at work – he was tacking a bearing block on a winch wall, and the structure collapsed on top of him – he was taken to a Medical Center, and later transferred to a hospital where is died)

TRUCK LOADING FATALITY Steel beam crushes worker at Port of Houston (a worker was killed in an accident – a worker for a trucking company died in the accident around 8 a.m. – the victim worked for a Staffing company as a temporary driver – he had brought a truck to the dock to receive pipe and unload a vessel – the truck was being loaded with steel beams when one tumbled off the truck and crushed him – he was standing on the driver’s side of his truck)

EQUIPMENT COLLAPSE Man Hurt in Accident at CA Logging Company (a worker was rushed by helicopter to a local hospital after being pinned by equipment at a small logging company around noon – the employee was doing maintenance on large equipment when the equipment fell and pinned him – co-workers freed the man)

ELECTRICAL LINEMAN and BUCKET TRUCK Electrocuted hydro worker remains in serious condition (a worker, 21, is in serious condition after being electrocuted while performing maintenance on lines – he was standing in the bucket of a crane working on the lines around 1:40 p.m. when he was shocked – he was knocked unconscious from the jolt – though the worker was secured by a harness he did fall out of the bucket and was hanging by the harness, which prevented the man from hitting the ground – he was transported by ambulance to a Hospital in “serious” condition)

LIGHTING STRIKE FIRE Officials believe lightning may have caused plant fire (all visible flames have been extinguished from a burning storage dome that caught fire – firefighters were still pouring water on smoldering areas of the dome, which stores calcined petroleum coke, a byproduct of the crude oil refining process – the cause of the fire remains under investigation, but authorities said lightning may have sparked the blaze which started about 7:30 p.m. – the roof of the plant is made of wood – it caught fire and collapsed on top of the stored product – there were no reported injuries)

FATAL EXPLOSION Blast at power plant kills two cleaners in Beijing (two female cleaners were killed and another seriously injured when a blast occurred at a power plant at 2 pm due to gas combustion in the instrument control room of a gas-fired cogeneration project – fragments of bricks and the surrounding fence were scattered on a section of road by the plant, and small trees near the yard were blown down – the condition of the injured woman, who was sent to hospital was not known)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Braintree boss Martin Channon crushed to death in work accident (a business owner, 52, was crushed to death after a fuel container he was helping to move fell on top of him – he was helping a colleague move a six-by-two metre fuel tank that was being carried on a forklift truck, when the tank came crashing down on top of him, trapping his legs – he was pronounced dead at the scene)

CONSTRUCTION

ELECTRICAL and BOOM TRUCK Construction worker shocked in Bellevue accident (a construction worker, in his 30s, suffered critical injuries after he was shocked while working next to a boom truck – the worker was shocked while holding a chain and standing next to a boom truck – firefighters at the scene are not sure if the boom truck came into contact with overhead wires- he is in critical condition)

WALL COLLAPSE FATALITY Newcastle contractor killed when wall collapses (a worker, 53, was killed while doing construction work at a home at 7:40 a.m. – a wall, which was 50-feet long and made of 4-foot tall ceramic pipe, had fallen on the worker, killing him instantly – the crew was in the process of taking down a wall to replace it)

SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE Four workers injured in scaffolding collapse (four workers were injured when the wooden scaffolding of a building under construction collapsed – the wooden scaffolding collapsed during concrete work on the ground floor of the two-story building – the collapsed portion measured about 12×6 meters – the four workers were standing on the scaffolding when it caved in – rescuers pulled out the injured workers who were trapped under the debris – three of them suffered minor bruises and were treated at the site while the fourth worker was taken to a Hospital where he was given treatment and released)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING and IMPALEMENT Worker Impaled In Sam’s Club Accident (worker, 19, fell from scaffolding – he is recovering after he was impaled by a piece of rebar in the accident – he was impaled in the armpit and was taken to a Hospital with non-life-threatening injuries)

FATAL FALL from ROOF Coroner identifies men killed in Ligonier, Unity accidents (worker, 53, died after falling off a roof – he was pronounced dead at the scene – he was working on the roof with a co-worker about 4:03 p.m. when he slipped and fell and his head struck the asphalt)

FATAL FALL from BRIDGE Worker Dies In Fall From Texas Highway Bridge (a construction worker died after he fell about 50 feet while working on a new highway bridge – the man evidently was putting corrugated metal into the bridge frame when he fell – authorities believe the worker had a safety harness, but it might not have been attached to a secure location)

FALL into BASEMENT 2 construction workers injured in fall from Quezon City condo building (two construction workers were injured after falling into the basement of a condominium building that was under construction – the workers, who did not have protective gear, were removing some scaffolding on the first floor of the condominium building when the accident happened – one of the injured workers, 26, admitted they were not wearing any safety gear – the other unidentified worker was rushed to the hospital because he was unconscious)

HOTWORK Plumber Caused Million Dollar Tenderloin Blaze (a fire that caused more than $1 million in damage to an apartment building was apparently caused by a plumbing accident – the two-alarm fire was reported at 6:13 p.m. at a seven-story building – it took firefighters more than three hours to extinguish the blaze, and they eventually got it under control at 9:54 p.m. – the fire was apparently caused by a plumber who was using a torch to solder a pipe on the second floor – the flame spread upward through the pipe all the way to the fifth floor – no one was injured in the blaze, which caused an estimated $1 million in damage to the building itself and $250,000 in damage to its contents)

FALL into TRENCH Construction worker injured after falling into trench (a man was hospitalized after a construction accident on the site of a new mall – a construction worker was installing a sewage line when he fell into a 15-foot trench – he was trapped for about an hour and freed with the help of crews – he was taken to a local hospital and was in stable condition)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Man falls from scaffolding at Governors Drive church, being treated for ‘substantial injuries’ (a worker, 26, fell from scaffolding and sustained “substantial injuries” shortly before noon)

WORKPLACE VIOLENCE

Man shoots co-worker with nail gun (police have arrested a 41-year-old man who they say shot a co-worker with a nail gun just before 11:30 a.m. – once officers arrived on the scene they found a 34-year-old male victim suffering from injuries to the upper body sustained from a nail shot from a nail gun while framing a house – the victim was taken to a Shock Trauma with possible life threatening injuries – police say they received information that indicated the incident was possibly an accident, but further investigation revealed that the victim was involved in a dispute with another member of the crew working on the same home – at some point a co-worker shot the victim with a nail gun – the coworker was charged with first degree assault, second degree assault and reckless endangerment)

MISCELLANEOUS

TREE TRIMMING FATALITY – CRUSHING Coroner ID’s Tree Worker Killed Monday on Rural Quarry Road in Los Gatos (worker, 61, died during accident outside home when a trunk fell on him – he died when he and another worker were cutting down a tree for a private homeowner and the tree fell on him killing him and trapping his body for hours before it could be retrieved)

BARGE and LOCK Barge worker hurt at lock and dam (a barge worker was injured round 4 p.m. when a 1 1/2-inch-diameter barge line broke and hit one of the deck hands in the head, knocking him down onto the barge – other deck hands and crew members got the other barge lines secured to the walls to stop the barges from moving – the man is currently in non-critical condition)

One dead, six hurt in two incidents at Missouri Army base (officials have begun investigating two separate accidents that occurred the same day, leaving one person dead and six others injured – worker, 45, was killed and three people were injured while doing maintenance work on a railroad spur – the worker was a railroad maintenance vehicle operator – two of the injured were in stable condition – the third person suffered minor injuries and was taken for observation to a hospital – also in a seperate accident, three National Guard soldiers from the Guard’s Kansas City-based 135th Signal Company were hospitalized after being shocked while working with a tactical antenna system during a training exercise at the fort – the three soldiers were hospitalized with injuries that are serious but not considered life-threatening)

AMMONIA LEAK in LAB UW building emptied after ammonia leak (people were evacuated from a research building at the University after an ammonia leak in a room at the Engineering Research Building – firefighters used SCBA as they checked other rooms in the building – the leak was reported in a laboratory on the ninth floor – firefighters entered the building and shut off a 20-pound ammonia tank that was the source of the leak – no one was hurt)