23 incidents & 3 updates (8/20/12)

2012 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

QUARRY FATALITY Coroner IDs Worker Killed at S. Nevada Quarry (a worker, 29, was crushed at a quarry – no details)

FATAL FALL Cargill plant worker dies after last week’s fall (an elevator technician, 48, has died after a fall last week at a soybean-processing plant – he had extensive injuries after he fell 15 feet at the storage facility)

GLASS LACERATION Man severely injured at glass plant (a worker at a glass company was seriously injured and rushed to a Medical Center – two employees were moving a large piece of glass when the glass broke – the person who was injured was a man, who received a severe laceration to the neck)

CRUSHED by TANK Storage container traps, kills Casper worker (a worker, 65, died Thursday at a building was found trapped underneath a 500-gallon metal storage container – he was alone when he died – another worker found him and called authorities about 2:30 p.m.  – he died at the scene – the container was storing gasoline additives and weighed roughly 4,000 pounds – a preliminary examination indicated he suffered a traumatic crush injury to his upper body)

EXPLOSION Two injured in incident at Koch Nitrogen (two contractors were transported for injuries following an early morning incident at the plant involving a large pressure release – both were taken to area hospitals and one has been released – plant was not in operation at this time – the pressure release did not result in a fire)

MINE EXPLOSION Danao mine explosion injures four (four coal miners were injured in an explosion – one of the workers allegedly hit a hard object creating a spark while digging with the use of a pick mattock – the methane gas caught the spark which may have triggered the explosion – the victims sustained second degree burns and were brought)

AMMONIA Bethlehem worker rescued after passing out on roof due fumes (rescue crews bring a worker safely from the roof after he passed out from inhaling ammonia fumes – he was overcome by ammonia fumes while working on equipment on the building’s roof – he was atop the roof of the heat-treating company building when he inhaled a large amount of ammonia fumes at 11:50 a.m. – the initial blast of fumes came from a furnace-like piece of equipment and knocked the worker unconscious)

UPDATE on REFINERY FIRE $100M Regina refinery fire ruled an accident (an investigation by the City of Regina and three provincial agencies has determined that the 2011 fire at the refinery was an accident – no one was killed in the Oct. 6, 2011 accident, but 36 people were injured, and about $100 million worth of damage was done to the  refinery – at the time, contractors were working on a $1.9-billion renovation and expansion of the refinery – a six-inch-diameter reactor effluent line carrying hydrogen gas, hydrogen sulphide and diesel fuel suffered a “catastrophic failure” when a 7.5-inch breach occurred due to internal corrosion – the leaked contents caused the explosion when they met multiple ignition sources and hyper static electricity – it caused breaches in four other hydrogen lines, triggering a series of explosions – on May 15, 2012, another fire broke out at the refinery when an oil pump overheated, igniting crude oil – the fire caused an additional $5 million in damage)

CRUSHED by RAILCAR Bayonne man suffers injuries to both legs in Jersey City plant accident (a worker, 30, was struck by a freight train that was reversing and was pinned between two rail cars – the victim sustained an extensive left leg injury and injuries to his right leg – according to police reports, he had given the signal for the train to begin reversing, but when one of his co-workers didn’t see him the co-worker went to look for him and saw the man had been pinned behind the freight train and a rail car – the victim told police, “I was looking to unlock the rail car and the driver didn’t see me.”)

REACTION Evacuation order lifted near Belle Chasse chemical plant (a mandatory evacuation order was lifted Saturday morning for residents near the plant shortly before 10 a.m. – the situation was a chemical release and not a fire caused by a lightning strike, as was originally believed – people were evacuated because of the possibility that a tank involved might explode and cause a more serious leak – the tank began to swell and they feared an explosion)

HOTWORK on TURPENTINE TANK EXPLOSION Turpentine tank explodes at Jacksonville plant (a 250,000 gallon tank of turpentine products, a little less than half full, caught on fire, causing a vapor explosion – sixty firefighters and hazmat crews worked to put the fire out – officials aren’t sure what triggered the explosion – there were workers on top of the tank doing welding work when the tanks exploded, but they weren’t hurt – the only damage done was to the roof and surrounding trees – no one had to be evacuated and vapor exposure was not a concern)

FIRE Fire breaks out at wood pellet mill (the plant makes wood pellets for alternative fuel and was not seriously damaged – the fire is under investigation – there have been previous fires at the plant, including one in October 2009 during a scheduled training exercise – cause of that fire was a mechanical failure, according to previous reports)

CEMENT SILO COLLAPSE FATALITY (???) Worker presumed dead after silo collapse at NW Miami-Dade concrete plant (a cement plant worker, 58, is presumed dead after a silo collapsed at 8:30 a.m. – the roof of the massive concrete silo suddenly gave way as a worker was measuring the silo’s cement content – he was not heard from again – the search and rescue mission moved into a recovery operation at around 5 p.m. – two crews were able to enter and inspect the inside of the silo – company officials are working with the Mine Safety and Health Administration on removing debris from the silo to continue the recovery effort – the size of the silo is approximately 200 feet high – it was 20 percent full, which estimates the man’s fall along with the concrete debris at 140 feet)

AMMONIA Firefighters get handle on minor ammonia leak (a minor ammonia release was controlled on-site about 10:41 a.m. and posed no threats to residents downwind – workers disassembling an ammonia line forgot to purge the line first, causing a small release – a crew from a Fire Company quickly capped the leak and the affected building was ventilated)

CONSTRUCTION

TRENCH Light-rail site worker falls into hole near Capitol (a firefighter dangled upside down to rescue a worker who fell in a 12-foot-deep hole at a light-rail transit construction site – the rescue had to done from overhead because the earth was very soft and the fire department feared the hole would collapse if anyone approached – the worker was taken to a hospital, but did not appear seriously injured – some GREAT rescue photos @ link)

SAW Worker cut in chest with saw during construction accident (a construction worker, 34, cut in chest with saw during construction accident – a construction worker was accidentally cut in the chest with a saw and badly injured at 8:23 a.m.)

Man survives horrific ‘brain skewer’ injury (a construction worker, 24, makes a remarkable recovery after a falling iron bar impales his head, passing through his brain – the sharp 6ft piece of metal fell from five storeys above – it went through his hard hat, passed through the back of his skull and a major part of his brain, and ended up poking out between his eyes – he did not lose consciousness and was able to describe the circumstances of the accident to doctors)

UPDATE on FLASH FIRE now a FATALITY Mount Prospect worker dies after flash fire (one of three workers burned in a chemical flash fire earlier this month died Sunday – the worker, 29, was pronounced dead at 1:55 p.m. Sunday in the burn unit – he was one of three men burned about 3 p.m. Aug. 9 while working in the basement of a large apartment complex)

FATAL FALL Ohio man dies in fall from Pa. wax plant roof (a worker, 43, has been killed in a fall while working on the roof of a wax products plant – he worked for a contractor removing beams from the roof to make way for new equipment at the plant in Titusville – he was wearing fall protection equipment, but had removed it briefly so he could move from one position on the roof to another – that’s when a beam gave way and he fell)

FALL from CATWALK Man, 19, falls 60 feet in abandoned Dundalk plant (a worker, 19, is transported to Shock Trauma in critical condition – he fell about 60 feet from a catwalk in an abandoned plant)

CRANE Crane topples, brings wires down on Toronto bus (a crane toppled down bringing down hydro poles and associated power lines that came to rest on a bus around 1:21 p.m. – the mobile crane downed several hydro poles and wires, which came down on top of a bus that was heading northbound – the crane operator was also trapped, but has now been taken to hospital – no injuries have been reported)

MISCELLANEOUS

ELECTRICAL Mall of America worker hurt in electrical accident (an electrical accident injured a mall worker – the electrician was treated at the scene, then taken to a hospital with electrical burns)

ELECTROCUTION 1 worker dead, 1 injured in southern Utah electrocution; truck apparently hit power lines (one man is dead and another is injured after an electrocution accident – three men were working on a water pump when their truck apparently hit overhead power lines – the contact sent out a shock that killed one of the men and hurt another)