28 Incidents & 2 Updates (11/24/12) – Safety Engineering (SAFTENG)

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since 2012	since 2012	since 2012

2012 Fatality Tracker

Electrical

(2011 = 81)

(2010 = 90)

(2009 = 100)

Forklift/Manlift

Mobile Equipment

(2011 = 84)

(2010 = 110)

(2009 = 88)

Mining

(2011 = 248)

(2010 = 480)

(2009 = 586)

Explosions

237

(2011 = 218)

(2010 = 246)

(2009 = 302)

Cranes

(2011 = 50)

(2010 = 50)

(2009 = 82)

Falls

(2011 = 123)

(2010 = 139)

(2009 = 172)

(2008 = 250)

Work Zone

(2011 = 54)

(2010 = 50)

(2009 = 69)
(2008 = 69)

Trenching

(2011 = 36)

(2010 = 54)

(2009 = 48)
(2008 = 90)

LOTO/Guards

(2011 = 64)

(2010 = 51)

(2009 = 68)
(2008 = 66)

Confined Space

(2011 = 62)

(2010 = 112)

(2009 = 73)
(2008 =137)

The numbers above are obtained from the news sources used to compile the Incident Alerts. They are NOT official numbers published by any government agency. They are derived SOLELY from my search engine search strings.

INDUSTRIAL

OIL RIG Oil rig worker injured in accident at Heritage Park (a worker, 38, on an oil rig was taken by Life Flight helicopter to a Medical Center after he was rescued from the damaged rig after it partially collapsed – the man was conscious but had an apparent head injury received in the incident, which occurred shortly after 11 a.m. – the man had been trapped when the rig snapped, but was wearing his safety harness and helmet – he fell 15 to 20 feet when the rig suffered a partial collapse)

SODIUM SULPHATE BURNS Workers injured in accident at Galaxy plant (an accident at a lithium carbonate plant has resulted in burns to several employees and contractors – during a three week maintenance period, a blocked fiberglass pipe ruptured in the sodium sulphate crystallization area – heated sodium sulphate solution spilled onto “a number of employees and contractors” who sustained second degree burns)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY on CONVEYOR BELT Power station worker killed after becoming trapped between rollers and belt of machinery (worker died after becoming trapped in machinery at a power station as peat was being loaded to feed the plant – he got caught between the rollers and the belt – his clothing may have got caught in the belt – he was last seen by colleagues in the plant at 3pm – the alarm was raised afterwards and his body was discovered at 12.30am jammed between the conveyor belt and the roller)

FALL Disneyland employee injured in Space Mountain accident (a worker, 37, fell while cleaning the roof of the Space Mountain attraction breaking a leg and several other bones – a subcontractor was in a bosun chair when it came loose from an anchor and he fell 20 to 30 feet – accident happened just after 7 a.m – a barrier on the roof kept the worker from falling to the ground – firefighters had to rescue him with a fire engine outfitted with a cherry picker on a ladder – worker broke his left leg and right collarbone, as well as some ribs – Cal/OSHA is already investigating an Oct. 3 accident on the Space Mountain attraction that led to the hospitalization of a 68-year-old machinist working on the ride – the machinist suffered back, chest and head injuries when struck by a car on the attraction)

LOTO/GUARDING Worker breaks arm in industrial accident (a worker, 27, is recovering from a broken arm after an industrial accident around 7 a.m. – worker had her arm up to her elbow caught in the gearbox of a conveyor belt – firefighters helped dismantle the equipment, which had already been turned off and partially taken apart, so her arm could be freed after about 20 minutes – she stayed conscious and talking through the entire process and was able to walk to the ambulance)

LOTO/GUARDING Worker Injured at J.L. French (a worker, 50, suffered a serious foot injury in an industrial accident around 3:30 when he became caught in a die cast machine – the worker was standing on the machine when his foot slipped into the stamping machine – he was freed and taken to a Hospital for treatment)

MINE FATALITIES Coal and gas explosion kills 18 miners, traps 5 in southwestern China (a coal mine accident killed 18 workers and trapped five more – there were 28 workers working in the state-owned coal mine when the coal-and-gas explosion happened about 11 a.m., and five of those were rescued – no other details were immediately available)

UPDATE on FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker burned in Gulf oil platform fire dies (one of the men critically burned last week in an offshore oil platform fire died early Friday morning, according to the Philippine Embassy – he died at a Baton Rouge hospital – the Nov. 16 explosion and fire on a production platform also killed a worker, 42, whose body was found in the waters near the platform the following night – the search for another missing worker, 28, was called off earlier this week – the recently deceased was among 11 workers injured, four of them critically, during the explosion and fire on the platform, located about 18 miles off the Louisiana coast)

NATURAL GAS EXPLOSION Two workers injured in fiery explosion at Carbon County natural gas station (an explosion and fire at a natural gas compressor station injured two workers at about 8:50 a.m. – employees who were at the facility each suffered critical injuries due to burns – a man in his early sixties was transported by an AirMed Helicopter from the scene to a Burn Center for treatment – the second victim, a man in his late twenties, was transported by someone in a company truck to a Medical Center, but they were met by an ambulance while enroute – that victim was later transported by Life Flight helicopter to the burn center – by 1 pm the fire was contained, but several buildings on site had been consumed – the cause for the explosion had not been determined)

EXPLOSION and ACID BURNS Man hurt in Brisbane winery explosion (a man who suffered acid burns in an explosion at a Winery received first aid from four of the workers as they waited about 20 minutes for paramedics to arrive and be cleared to enter the scene – the contractor was servicing a machine that washes wine bottles in part of the warehouse when the explosion happened just after 11am.- he received burns to the upper part of his body – the injured worker was taken to a Hospital where he is in a serious but stable condition – the cause of the explosion is not yet known but firefighters are investigating along with Workplace, Health and Safety officials)

UPDATE on FATAL BOILER EXPLOSION Public Works pleads guilty in death of worker killed by boiler explosion (worker, 50, was killed in October 2009, and three others were injured, when a boiler blew in a steam plant that helps heat the parliamentary precinct and other downtown buildings – it pleaded guilty to failure to provide the necessary health and safety training for the operation of a boiler; failure to adequately train supervisors and managers in health and safety issues; and failure to develop a program for the prevention of workplace hazards – the cause of the explosion remains unknown, according to an agreed statement of facts in the Ontario Court of Justice)

UPDATE Chevron fire moves governor to form task force (Gov. Jerry Brown has formed an interagency working group on refinery safety after questions emerged following a fire at a Richmond refinery about whether California is diligently inspecting oil plants – after a fire caused by a corroded pipe badly damaged the Richmond refinery Aug. 6, The Chronicle learned that the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health had averaged less than 50 hours per planned inspection at the state’s 15 oil refineries over the previous decade – that was well below the 1,000-hour average of a three-year federal inspection drive across the country – the federal inspections resulted in an average of $76,000 in fines at problem refineries, but the state inspectors did not collect a single fine from a major oil company)

AMMONIA TANK Accident at copper plant leaves 5 dead in Turkish province (five workers died and at least 11 others were injured after becoming trapped under the fallen lid of an ammonia tank at the copper plant – the incident took place while the workers were trying to install the lid of the tank, which weighs around 300 tons – five workers who were trapped in the wreckage died at the scene and 11 others were wounded in the incident – a rescue team is working to remove the lid and pull out the injured – one of the injured is reported to be in critical condition – a total of 25 people were working at the plant when the collapse took place)

UPDATE on METHANOL UNLOADING EXPLOSION Cause Of Explosion At Garland Chemical Plant Still Unknown (investigators from all levels of government continue their probe at the complex to figure out what caused the explosion on November 16, that ripped apart a portion of the chemical facility – surveillance video from a camera outside a business across the street captured the explosion, the flames and thick, black smoke that quickly swallowed everything nearby – the video shows one employee getting into his truck and driving off – OSHA investigators interviewed employees and toured the facility to figure out if any violations led to the explosion and fire – fire marshals consider the fire an accident so far, and say the explosion rocked the plant, as crews unloaded methanol from a rail car into a tank)

MAINTENANCE Man injured at Calera cement plant (a contract employee was injured as four contract employees were completing plant maintenance activities on a large fan when the fan shaft broke free, injuring one contractor – worker was transported to a hospital – MSHA and plant officials are conducting a full investigation – the employee is “doing quite well”)

FIRE Yuma Packing Plant Fire Destroys 3 Buildings (three buildings at a produce plant have completely collapsed and are still burning tonight – the fire broke out suddenly before two o’clock in the afternoon – it spread very quickly – Sheriff’s Office blocked off all streets within a one-mile radius of the plant, and everyone within the zone was forced to leave – by five-thirty in the afternoon the fire was 90 percent contained – the evacuation order was lifted around six-thirty)

FIRE Blommer Chocolate factory near East Greenville reports another fire: ‘Not a pleasant odor’ (as it roasted cocoa beans, the factory caught fire, damaging the roaster and forcing evacuation of the plant – no one was injured in the fire, which was reported at 6 p.m. in the plant)

Fire destroys pallet plant in Clarksburg (a fire has destroyed a pallet plant – the fire broke out at the plant around 1:15 a.m. – no one was in the building at the time and there were no injuries – the cause of the fire hasn’t been determined)

Weekend fire damages Grand Haven wastewater treatment plant (a possible electrical problem on the roof of the Wastewater Treatment Plant ignited a fire that damaged the facility – firefighters were quickly able to extinguish the blaze – a bar near the plant was evacuated as a precaution, but no homes were evacuated – public safety officers blocked off a number of intersections around the plant while firefighters battled the blaze – no injuries were reported – fire investigators believe an electrical malfunction in the rooftop ventilation louvers ignited methane gas built up inside the facility, causing the fire, however, investigators plan to probe further to establish an exact cause – authorities did not release a damage estimate)

CRANE Man dies in scrapyard accident (a worker, 50, has died after being hit by a piece of equipment attached to a crane at a scrapyard at 12.12pm – a second man also suffered non life-threatening injuries – no other details)

REFRIGERANT LEAK Gas leak sends 16 PUSD employees to hospital (leak blamed on refrigerator chemical – the refrigerator gas leak sent 16 employees to area hospitals at approximately 7:30 a.m. – upon arrival, the fire department found employees complaining of minor to moderate levels of respiratory distress – after evacuating the building, the leaked material was identified as a commercial refrigerant that can cause respiratory distress in certain concentrations – the building was cleared at approximately 9 a.m. and employees allowed to return to work)

HOTWORK TANK EXPLOSION Man injured in tank explosion in critical condition (a man who was injured in an explosion at an Oil Company is in critical condition at a hospital burn unit – workers were cutting some large tanks down to scraps when a 10 – 15 gallon diesel tank exploded – it is not clear whether the worker was an employee or a contractor)

ARC FLASH Man hurt in explosion at Hebron facility (an electrical explosion at a factory sent one person with burns to the hospital just after 3 p.m. – the man who suffered burns to his hands and face was flown by medical helicopter to a burn center – the flash fire was caused by an electric arc flash from an electrical panel – there were no other injuries, and the fire was contained to the immediate area of the electrical panel – it was unclear what caused the lighting panel to arc – the man who was taken to the hospital was in the area of the panel that arced)

CONSTRUCTION

WORKZONE FATALITY Worker killed as car hits truck on N1 (a road construction worker, believed to be aged in his 50s, was killed and eight of his colleagues seriously injured when a car rammed into a stationary truck after lunchtime – the injured were taken to hospitals around the city with suspected back and neck injuries – workers at the scene said the car seemed to come out of nowhere and “the next thing bodies were sprawled across the road” – a Hyundai Elantra hit a stationary construction truck which was loaded with steel barriers and a number of workers were [thrown] off the truck – one of the workers had been found nearly 30m from where the crash occurred, on the outbound side of the highway)

CRANE Worker crushed by falling scaffolding at South Perth building site (a truckdriver was crushed under scaffolding falling from a crane – the injured worker was the driver of the truck and was supervising the lifting of the load when it broke free and crashed to the ground on top of him – fellow workers on site dug the injured man out from underneath the fallen metal – according to a co-worker the load had not been properly secured – paramedics treated the man on site before taking him to hospital – he was in a stable condition)

TRENCH FATALITY Worker identified from fatal work accident at NC State (a worker, 39, died after being trapped under several feet of dirt while digging a trench – workers were laying pipe when a trench collapsed – worker was recovered about 2.5 hours after crews initially arrived – rescuers had to vacuum out the soil and couldn’t try to get in because of the unstable ground – he was helping install a 16-inch, 18,000-foot line – contractor was recognized in 2006 by the National Utility Contractors Association as the overall winner for a national safety award)

CRANE Crane falls in Saskatoon freak accident (the crane was being used for building a development that is building two-and-three bedroom townhouses at the site – weather was not a factor – no one was hurt in the incident)

WORKZONE FATALITY Fatal crash kills two construction workers (a fatal accident at the intersection of C-470 and Broadway took the lives of two construction workers, 27 and 47, shortly before noon – the driver of the vehicle lost control on the exit ramp – the vehicle was driven into the grassy area between C-470 and the ramp, and then rolled off of an embankment, where it struck the two workers, killing them instantly – after striking the construction workers, the Subaru ran into a Honda Pilot that was northbound)

CRUSHED Worker’s leg crushed at BlueScope site (an industrial accident partially severed a workers leg – the 42-year-old man had been working as part of a three-man crew to replace an attachment on a 20-tonne rock breaker, known as a woodpecker, about 7.50am when the accident occurred – the attachment, weighing about 1.5 tonnes, struck the man, throwing him on to a wooden pallet – he was then briefly pinned down by the attachment, which crushed and partially severed his left leg)

Scaffolding accident hurts two in West Scranton (two workers, 21 and 50, preparing to fix a roof were injured when one fell 30 feet off scaffolding onto the other – both were taken to a Medical Center and treated for non-life-threatening injuries – one complained of back pain and one of knee pain – the two men were putting up scaffolding about 11 a.m. when the 50 year old fell onto the 21 year old)

MISCELLANEOUS

Man dies after accident while clearing ditches in Co Cork (a worker has died after an accident occurred while he was clearing ditches – the accident, at a water services site on Carr’s Hill, happened just before 2pm – the worker was injured when he was struck by a pole, which was knocked over during clearance work – he was removed by ambulance to a Hospital)

LOTO AMPUTATION Ohio Ski Resort Worker Loses Arm In Accident (a worker at a ski resort had his left arm torn off at the shoulder while installing new equipment – he was installing a conveyor lift in the new tubing park – an emergency crew flew the worker to a hospital where he was in serious condition in intensive care)

BUCKLE UP Glen Rock DPW Worker Injured in ‘Freak Accident’ (the blade of bucket truck hit a raised manhole cover injuring a worker – the worker was operating a bucket truck cleaning up leaves – the front blade of the front-end loader truck clipped a raised manhole cover, causing the truck to stop suddenly – the force of the abrupt stoppage propelled the driver forward, causing injuries – the windshield was pushed out of the vehicle – the worker, a foreman, was taken to a Hospital – injuries are not life-threatening and he is home)

FALL from ROOF Worker in critical condition after four-storey fall at St. Paul’s University (a worker, 28, was in critical condition in hospital after falling from the roof of a building on the University campus at about 3:20 p.m. – at the scene paramedics found a worker who, while still conscious, had suffered life-threatening head injuries, a broken leg, fractured ribs and a collapsed lung – worker had fallen four stories, or about 15 metres – he was working for a telecommunications company)

BURNS Worker Burned in Fire at Car Repair Shop (a man was burned in a fire at an auto repair shop about 3:45 p.m. – fire was quickly brought under control – an employee of the shop was taken to a local hospital with first and second degree burns – the blaze occurred when a vehicle under repair caught on fire)

What’s New @ SAFTENG.net

Security video of Methanol Railcar Unloading explosion

Chlorine Leak video footage (17K pound 2002 Festus, MO)

Federal Jury Convicts Former Shaw Group Safety Manager Of Major Fraud Against The United States

Internal Combustion Engines as Ignition Sources

November is a month to think fire safety

2012 Photo of the Week # 46 (Respirator Warning!)

UPDATE The importance of PROPER SECONDARY CONTAINMENT for Flammable Liquids (Videos)

Risk of carbon monoxide release during the storage of wood pellets

OSHA cites 50 safety violations, proposes $917,000 in fines after flammable liquid explosion

Evaluation of Health Effects of a Chlorine Gas Release in a Poultry Processing Plant – Arkansas

Unsafe line break into a NH3 line results in three workers hospitalized and more than $55K in fines