27 incidents & 2 updates (7/8/13)

2013 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

ELECTRICAL KCP&L worker ‘severely burned’ after power line accident (worker was injured while working on a power pole – he is a lead lineman with the power company and made contact with an energized wire around 11:30 a.m. – he was working with three other employees performing maintenance on the line – he received severe burns to his body and remains in critical condition – workers began CPR and an ambulance was called)

CRUSHING FATALITY Woman crushed to death under a pile of wooden barriers at a paintball centre (worker, 45, was unloading a stack of obstacles when they fell on her – workers found their female colleague crushed to death under a stack of wooden barriers she was unloading from her van – she was found by fellow staff and pronounced dead at the scene by paramedics)

UPDATE now a FORKLIFT FATALITY Deere worker hurt in forklift accident has died (employee, 54, injured in a forklift accident last week has died – he was struck by a forklift while working on third shift)

FLASH FIRE/EXPLOSION @ DRILL RIG Gas Well Fire Injures 8 Workers in Doddridge County (five contract workers were taken to a Burn Center after a fire and possible explosion at a well site – the extent and severity of injuries were unknown – company could not confirm how many other workers were taken to area hospitals, but the County EMS reported that eight workers were injured in the accident – three contracting companies were involved – the well was drilled and completed, and crews were preparing to enter production tubing into the well – two frack tanks were a part of the accident)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Blast in Baddi factory leaves three dead, two injured (at least three factory workers were killed and two others were injured in a blast at a paper mill – the blast occurred in a parked truck on the premises – two injured were admitted to a private hospital – preliminary investigations revealed that the incident took place in the noon when factory workers were loading the paper bundles in the truck number – investigations revealed that the blast took place shortly after the three deceased worker switched on the welding set to carry out some routine operations – police suspect that this might have led to heating up of fuel tank of the truck that suddenly blasted; leaving all three dead on the spot)

POWER PLANT EXPLOSION Explosion at Takoradi Thermal Plant (a plant has exploded in the centre of the plant, known as the Switch yard around 8:30 – the cause of the fire is not known, but internal fire officials subdued the blaze – explosion has not caused any major destruction to the main plant – a worker at the Power station is reported to have sustained some injuries as a result of the explosion)

UPDATE on FATAL GRAIN DUST EXPLOSION Cause of fatal grain elevator explosion found (a malfunctioning pulley caused the June 24 explosion at a grain elevator that killed a worker – the Co-Op is no longer operating and may have to be rebuilt or torn down because of extensive damage primarily to the roof covering all of the 24 silos in the facility – on the day of the explosion, a conveyor was taking grain from the basement to the top of two silos when a steel shaft on a pulley operating the conveyor came loose – the heavy steel pulley, about five feet in diameter, slid into a concrete wall – because the conveyor kept operating, the pulley continued to rotate – the friction from the pulley rubbing against the concrete wall eventually generated enough heat to ignite grain dust in the elevator resulting in an explosion – grain in two of the silos also caught fire – worker, 67, was on a work platform outside one of the silos when the force of the blast caused him to fall more than 100 feet to his death – impact of the blast lifted the concrete roof three feet – when it came down, if cracked many areas of the roof and damaged the perimeter of the roof)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding sparks cause Gedney Hill workshop fire (a fire at a workshop was caused by sparks from welding – the fire badly damaged a car, cylinders and other items kept inside – firemen spent about an hour tackling the blaze)

FATAL FALL Man dies in accident at Tell City plant (a contractor, 45, died in an accident at a Foundry – the death was accidental and that he fell from scaffolding)

ELECTRICAL EXPLOSION Minor blast reported at Ariz. nuclear power plant (a reactor unit at a Nuclear Generating Station was nearly back to full production Friday after what its operator described as a minor explosion in a cabinet that held electrical switching gear – the explosion consisted of arcing inside a cabinet, called a “load center,” that routes electricity to equipment in a turbine building)

AMMONIA LEAK 200 Evacuated In Tyson Ammonia Leak (about 200 workers were evacuated from a foods plant following an ammonia leak – no one was injured – circumstances of the ammonia leak are under investigation – when officials found out about the leak, they evacuated the plant at about 6:15 p.m. – employees were allowed to go back inside the plant about one hour later and continued working)

CHLORINE 9 people treated after chlorine leak in Charlotte (nine people are being treated for minor injuries after chlorine seeped from a tanker truck being cut up at a recycling company – equipment being used to cut up a truck pierced or struck a small pocket of chlorine inside the tanker, allowing the gas to escape – some workers inhaled the fumes – 39 people were working at the time of the accident – nine people were taken to area hospitals for non- life-threatening injuries)

CONSTRUCTION

Construction worker injured, work on Victoria Road delayed (construction worker, 59, was injured on a job site – worker suffered a serious leg injury after being pinned under a large packer – fellow workers helped free the man from the large piece of machinery – the injured worker was transported to a Hospital and later to a trauma facility for emergency surgery to his left leg)

FORKLIFT FATALITY w/ PIPE Staten Island Man, 55, Is Killed by a Falling 15-Foot Pipe (worker, 55, was killed in a construction accident – he died after a 15-foot length of pipe fell from a forklift as it was being unloaded from a truck at 8:26 a.m. – the pipe was to be used for a storm sewer)

EXCAVATION & ELECTRICAL Electrical accident snarls First Ave. intersection, but the power stays on (a contractor for the city installing a new manhole hit an electrical feeder, causing an explosion – there were no injuries – the accident was caused when the contract workers were putting in a new manhole for the water main project)

TRENCH FATALITIES Three killed, one injured in construction site accident (three workers died in an accident at a construction site, while another was injured – three are believed to have died on the spot, while another sustained injuries to both his legs when earth from a small side section of a two-metre high embankment fell on them at a housing construction site – two of the victims were retrieved by fellow workers while two others were dug out by the department)

VEHICLE 2 workers hurt in construction accident near Orting (two workers were injured in a construction accident just before noon – a vehicle popped out of gear at a rock pit and began rolling downhill – the vehicle rolled over one man’s ankle while another guy jumped out of the way… and over an embankment, falling 30 feet – he was able to climb back up himself – both men were taken to a local hospital to be checked out)

CRANE and ELECTRICAL Crane accident injures man, knocks out power in No. Utah County (two construction workers narrowly escaped serious injury after their crane came in contact with a high-voltage power line – from a blown-out tire to melted plastic and burned sod, even a trench in the dirt, it’s very easy to see the path the electricity took after a crane got too close to a high voltage power line – they swung their crane around and came in contact with 130,000 volts just before 9:30 a.m. – the operator of the crane was inside the cab, and another worker was standing near the truck – it is unclear if the boom actually made contact with the power line or came close enough to make the electricity arc – operator of the crane was not hurt, but the worker standing nearby was hit with flying debris – it had conducted the power through the truck and it blew out one of their tires, causing injury to one of the workers, severing an artery in his arm – paramedics were able to stop the bleeding and rush the man to the hospital – he’s expected to make a full recovery)

FALL Construction Worker Hurt at Former Stop & Shop (20′ fall results in injuries around 10:15 a.m. – EMS personnel had originally called for a helicopter to airlift the injured worked from the site but weather conditions prevented its use – he was transported by EMS to an area hospital – the extent of his injuries was unknown)

HOTWORK FIRE Fire started on roof by welders (a fire was apparently started by construction workers at a High School at 5:40 p.m. – a second alarm was sounded about 6:10 p.m. because of smoke reported in the building – blaze was extinguished about 45 minutes after it started, but not before creating a large amount of black smoke – the fire was believed to have been caused by contractors who were welding on the roof of the school, catching insulation in a wall on fire – there were no injuries from the fire and no damage estimate was available)

TRENCH FATALITY Woman Dies in Construction Accident in Waterloo (a construction worker, 35, died in a trench collapse just before 2 p.m.)

CRANE FATALITY 4 die in Shanghai factory collapse (four people died and three others were injured after a factory that was under construction collapsed around 5 pm – witnesses said the building collapsed after a beam that was being lifted by a crane fell on the building – two people were killed at the scene, while another two died after medical treatment failed to save them)

FORKLIFT Man stable after forklift accident at Waitoa (worker, 66, whose legs were crushed in an industrial incident is now in a stable condition – shortly before 9am when three-ton forklift crushed the worker’s legs – crews arrived to find the contractor free of the machine, and the construction crew were tending to the serious crushing injuries to his lower legs – they believed the man may have slipped and the three-ton forklift rolled over his lower limbs)

MISCELLANEOUS

TRAIN FATALITY Metra Worker Hit By Train, Killed (worker, 36, was struck at about 1:30 p.m. while doing maintenance on one of the tracks – the exact circumstances of the crash were still under investigation – he had worked with Metra since 2001)

FIREWORKS Worker recovering after Hales Corners Fireworks Explosion (a shell got stuck in a launch tube and exploded, injuring one worker at the fireworks show – emergency crews took him to a hospital with a severely fractured ankle)

FIREWORKS Northeast Kansas workers hurt in fireworks accident (two workers were reported injured after a malfunction at a public fireworks display – officials believe fireworks stored in an uncovered tote apparently detonated, touching off a large volume of fireworks – one male worker sustained severe burns to his arm, and a woman sustained a broken arm – both were transported by ambulance to a regional hospital – at least three other people declined medical treatment for minor injuries)

TUGBOAT DROWNING Wisconsin man dies in tugboat accident on Mississippi (rescue workers searched the area and attempted to gain access to an overturned tugboat that reportedly lost power and went over Lock & Dam No. 7 – three crewmen were on board when the accident happened – one crew member, 22, did not make it out and drowned in the boat – he was in the boat at 6 a.m. when it was swept over the roller gates after the boat apparently lost power – his body was found by a diver from the middle level of the three-level boat at 3:15 p.m. – he was found wearing a life jacket)

FIREWORKS Worker injured, Cherry Grove Pier damaged in North Myrtle Beach fireworks show explosion (one person was hurt and the Pier was damaged when fireworks prematurely exploded during the fireworks show – it ended about six minutes into the event when the explosion occurred – worker was injured in the blast and was taken to a Medical Center for treatment – the employee suffered a laceration, was treated and released – the explosion caused a two foot by three foot hole in the pier and damaged about four feet of pier railing – no other damage or injuries were reported)

What’s New @ SAFTENG.net

2013 Photo of the Week #27 (Forklift, Falls, Electrical… Just unreal!)

2013 Video of the Week #27 (Rigging Failure)

EPA RMP GDC citations w/ Lighting Strike leading to Tank Failure ($30K)

OSHA issues PSM citations to Meatpacking facility ($120K)

UPDATED, 7/6/13 – Emergency Recall Order Issued to The Lite Cylinder Company, Inc.

Seven Keys to Surviving a Chem NEP Audit (John Newquist)

Interviewing: 10 Common Indicators of Deception – Part 2 (USFA)

OSHA reaches settlement agreement with Food Company to protect workers from NH3

Safety Tip: Fire Watch and Monitoring (FM Global)

Confined Space Barriers (video product demo)

RR974 – Identifying the human factors associated with the defeating of interlocks on Computer Numerical Control (CNC) machines

Hansen RV’s – URGENT PRODUCT SAFETY NOTICE IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED

Preliminary First Draft Proposed 2015 Edition NFPA 652

Cal/OSHA Cites Employers for Worker’s Death in Confined Space

Answering the question… Can a Relief Valve be installed horizontally?

VPP Policy Memorandum #7: Further Improvements to the Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP)

Compliance Tip: LPG Cylinders Storage

RAGAGEPs and “the numbers”

Interviewing: 10 Common Indicators of Deception – Part 1 (USFA)

DHS CFATS Update as of June 6, 2013

Compressed Gas Cylinders That Have Not Been Tested Properly

Compliance Tip: Do I need a first aid team?

Human and organizational errors are the major cause of equipment failures in in the process industries