45 incidents & 1 update (7/30/13)

2013 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

FATALITY Kansas City worker killed repairing sewer line identified (a City Water Services worker died in a accident at 5:25 p.m. Monday – the worker was found just behind the police department’s South Patrol station – he died while working on repairs to a sewer line – he had been “an exceptional employee” for 14 years – he was killed while fixing a sewer manhole – no other details)

FATALITY Worker dies in apparent foundry accident (emergency responders were called shortly before 3:30 a.m. and they found an unresponsive man in a piece of equipment – attempts to revive him were unsuccessful – he was working on a furnace that was not operating at the time – it was not clear if the man was injured by the equipment or suffered a medical condition – he was about 40 years old)

CATASTROPHIC FAILURE of EVAPORATOR Mill worker burnt (a Sugar Mill worker has been hospitalized after being burnt by hot water from a collapsing tank – the accident has left the worker with 60 per cent burns to his body – investigation as to how the support structure of the tank gave way – the bottom of one of our evaporators gave way and spilled hot water onto the floor – an operator ended up with burns to his body and he is admitted at the Hospital burns unit)

FORKLIFT FATALITY Worker killed in forklift accident involving 1,500-pound press (worker, 27, was killed in a forklift accident – deputies discovered the worker dead at the scene – he was working under a large, metal press that was supported by a forklift – the press weighed around 1,500 pounds and fell on top of him, pinning him to the ground – he was working alone at the time of the accident – employees found him and emergency crews tried to revive him, but it was too late)

LOTO/GUARDING FATALITY Man killed in Franklin paper company accident identified (worker, 48, was involved in a fatal accident at a paper company – he was pronounced dead after he was caught under a rotating drum around 10 p.m. – the cause of death will be blunt force trauma, but he was an experienced worker so they won’t know how he was caught under the drum until the autopsy – there are rotating drums that are filled with this mixture that makes pulp – his job is to operate a bobcat that scoops that out – he got caught underneath one of these rotating drums)

FATALITY @ LANDFILL UNLOADING PIPE from TRUCK Worker killed at Oklahoma City landfill (a worker has died after an accident at a city landfill – the worker was hit by a falling pipe while unloading a flatbed truck – an investigation is ongoing)

OIL RIG EXPLOSION Several Workers Hurt After Oil Rig Explosion in Reeves County (several workers were hurt after an oil rig exploded around 9:30 am – there were two separate situations that occurred around that same area – at the time of the rig explosion, lightning had struck a tank battery near the that particular rig – the two sites were about a quarter mile apart from each other – there were no injuries from at the site of the tank battery fire – however, at the site of the explosion, there was a crew of four men working on a unit – they felt the ground shake underneath them when the rig exploded – one man was taken to a  Hospital by helicopter – that man is in critical condition – the worker underwent six different surgeries overnight – the other three men were transported to a local hospital and were treated for facial bruises and minor injuries)

ELECTROCUTION Woodstock man dies after industrial accident (worker, 52, has died following an industrial accident after 2:30 p.m. – he was reportedly working when he sustained a electric-related injury – he was discovered a short time later by co-workers unconscious and without vital signs – he was transported to a hospital where he later succumbed to his injuries)

PROPANE PLANT EXPLOSION Massive explosions rock central Florida gas plant; 8 hospitalized, all workers accounted for (a series of explosions rocked a propane gas plant and sent “boom after boom after boom” through the neighborhood around it – eight people were injured, with at least four in critical condition – no one died despite massive blasts that ripped through the propane plant – officials initially scrambled to find more than a dozen employees after the explosions – possible causes of the explosion may be either equipment malfunction or possibly human error – sabotage was not suspected – four persons were listed in critical condition – some others drove themselves to area hospitals – five workers walked up to a command center firefighters set up near the plant with skin hanging off their arms, torso and faces – their arms were outstretched and they were in complete shock – worker said they were doing repairs and painting the tanks when one of the paint lines had broken, but it was repaired – the workers were getting ready to go home when the explosion happened)

UPDATE on FATAL EXPLOSION 2nd worker injured in W.Va. gas drilling explosion dies (a second worker, 37, injured in a July 7 explosion at a drilling operation has died – he was one of five workers burned in the explosion at the drilling site – another worker, 45, died on July 24 – the other workers were flown to the same hospital with varying degrees of burns)

ARC FLASH Worker injured at Palm Harbor Homes plant in northwest Fort Worth (a worker was burned in an electrical explosion and fire at a plant that makes manufactured homes – worker was taken by helicopter ambulance from the plant to the burn unit at a Hospital – the injured worked suffered burns from a flash fire/high energy arc – the injuries “did not appear to be life-threatening” – he was conscious and alert when he was transported to the hospital)

RIG FIRE Natural gas fire continues to burn after well blowout (a fire from a natural gas well blowout in the Gulf of Mexico may keep burning for several days – emergency workers assessed how to stem the out-of-control leak and extinguish the blaze that collapsed part of the rig – no one was injured and all 44 workers were safely evacuated from the rig before the fire started at 10:45 p.m. – the cause of the blowout had not been determined)

FLASH FIRE Flash fire injures 4 oil field workers in Laird Hill (four oil field service workers were hospitalized and treated for burns sustained in a flash fire at an oil well site – the incident occurred at 7:30 p.m. – the flash fire happened near a vacuum truck – two of the men were flown to a Burn Center, while the others were transported to a Medical Center – none of the injuries were considered at the time to be life-threatening, but the two men sent to the Burn Center were “critically burned”)

FLASH FIRE Shoe factory blast kills 1, 7 critically injured (one worker, 22, died while at least seven others were critically injured in a fire caused by a chemical drum explosion at a shoe sole factory – fire broke out around 4:30pm a worker on the spot – others have been admitted to the burn unit of a Hospital with 19 to 90 percent burn – fire fighters found the blown-up chemical drum, labelled as “Thinner”, a solvent used to dissolve paints, outside the tin-shed factory housed on the roof of a two-story building)

DUST EXPLOSION Carrier Lumber Mill Explosion Injures 1 (a pipe at the mill exploded injuring a single worker – the person has suffered what are believed to be minor burns in an explosion and small fire – victim was taken to hospital as a precaution – the explosion was in a pipe which carries chips from the mill to the blower building – about 20 people were in the mill at the time, but all the employees will be okay)

FATAL EXPLOSION Compressor explosion kills one, hurts seven (the incident took place at around 5pm at the tiny factory – a shoe factory worker was burnt to death while seven others received severe burns when a compressor exploded – one of the victims said a compressor that had been used to color the shoes exploded)

FATAL EXPLOSION One killed, 8 injured in cylinder explosion (one person was killed, while eight others sustained injuries after a gas cylinder exploded in a color dye factory – the cylinder was being used for heating the boilers and nearly 80 workers were present inside the premises when the explosion occurred)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Worker Killed in Bridgeport Tanker Truck Explosion (a worker, 50, died when his welding torch sparked a blast – he was working on the truck when the explosion blasted him several feet back, killing him – he was welding on the back of the empty tanker truck, which is used to transport water from oil drilling sites – along with the water, the trucks often pick up gaseous fumes or vapors that can’t be seen – “When he began welding on a hatch on the back of that trailer, we suspect that some of the vapors escaped, causing the subsequent explosion”)

HOTWORK on DRUM EXPLOSION Westhampton welding explosion determined to be an accident (a man welding a 55-gallon drum shut suffered burns and cuts after vapors from residual flammable liquid in the bottom of the drum exploded – State Fire Marshal’s office has determined the explosion, which happened at about 2:30 p.m. was accidental – the victim was flown by helicopter to a Medical Center after the explosion – his condition is not known – the man had been welding a cover on the drum to make it water tight so it could be used to help float a dock)

REFINERY EXPLOSION Gas explosion forces Nansei Sekiyu to delay Nishihara refinery restart (a gas explosion at a furnace has forced a delay in the restart of a refinery – the explosion, which occurred during the preparation of resuming operations at the 100,000-barrel-per-day (bpd) refinery after maintenance, resulted in damage of one of the walls of the furnace used in the production of gasoline, but had no impact on the refinery’s crude distillation unit (CDU) – the fire department has ordered the company to suspend all the operations at the refinery as the repair work will take at least 30 days)

HYDROGEN EXPLOSION during PRESSURE TESTING Explosion rocks PX plant in E China (a flash fire followed by an explosion erupted at a paraxylene plant injuring several residents in a nearby village – accident caused no chemical leaks or pollution – the blast and fire broke out at a cracked hydrogen pipeline at 4:35 a.m. as it underwent a pressure test – the fire was put out at 5:15 a.m. – eight workers were at the site at the time of the accident, but none were injured – the blast, however, shattered windows in the nearby Village and caused objects to fall, injuring some villagers)

Y-12 nuke plant guards wounded in accident on anniversary of Oak Ridge security breach (on the anniversary of the worst security breach in the plant’s history, there was yet another security incident at the nuclear weapons plant – two security police officers were wounded by the accidental discharge of a firearm – the guards received first-aid shortly after the 12:15 a.m. incident and then were taken to a Medical Center, where they were treated and released – their injuries were described as minor – the gun incident is under investigation, and the federal agency refused to release details)

AMMONIA Fruit warehouse ammonia leak cleaned up (an ammonia leak at a fruit warehouse closed a section of Main Street – it reopened a couple of hours later – the leak started from pressure in the valves – an employee who smelled the chemical was checked out at the hospital, but is okay – the leak shut down Main Street until it was safe)

AMMONIA New Toxic Leak at Samsung Chip Factory (an electronics chip plant sprung another toxic leak, the third this year – the first two happened in January and May – four staff of a subcontractor who were working outside the plant complained of an ammonia smell and stinging in their eyes and throat and were taken to a hospital – company immediately checked both inside and outside the plant but found no ammonia, and leakage levels were normal when the local authority conducted its own survey – police believe that ammonia gas must have leaked when pipes for the dust-filtering vacuum pump were replaced – on January 27, highly poisonous hydrofluoric acid leaked in the main chip plant, killing one worker and injuring four – on May 2, residual hydrofluoric acid leaked again while the pipes that caused January’s leakage were being replaced, injuring further staff)

CONSTRUCTION

WORKZONE FATALITY Landscape worker killed when car leaves road, hits him in southwest Wichita (a landscape worker, 47, died after being struck by a vehicle just after 5 p.m. – a 20-year-old was traveling north on West Street when the car left the road and struck a fire hydrant and the worker – no other injuries were reported – the cause of the accident was not immediately available – he was doing “edging work on the side of the roadway” when he was hit)

FATAL FALL Construction Worker Dies After Fall (a construction worker died after falling 15-feet at a construction site around 1 p.m. – he was pronounced dead at the scene – several workers were installing a metal deck on the mezzanine level)

FALL into HOLE Construction worker hurt at Tonawanda High construction site (a construction worker suffered a broken leg while helping install a light standard at the new athletic complex behind a High School – shortly after 10 a.m., while the pole was being installed, the worker lost his footing and slipped into the 10-foot-deep hole, becoming pinned between the pole and the side of the hole – the worker was secured in a harness – the light standard, still attached to a crane, was removed before a ladder was placed in the hole, and two firefighters climbed down to help the worker – firefighters placed a splint on the worker’s left leg and used a Stokes basket to lift him out of the hole – he was taken by ambulance to a Medical Center)

WORKZONE FATALITY Investigation continues into death of highway worker (officials said it is not believed the accident was the result of a medical issue – an autopsy revealed that the man died as a result of being struck by the vehicle – the three people who were sent to the hospital following the accident, two in the private pickup that ran into the paint crew worker and a man inside a Department of Transportation and Works pickup truck that was also struck, were all released after being treated for minor injuries)

WORKZONE – DISTRACTED DRIVING Distracted driving linked to Braceville accident injuring road worker (Highway Patrol says a driver may have been distracted when his truck struck a Department of Transportation employee – a tow truck driver was glancing down at an electronic tablet when he hit the 18-year-old worker who was flagging traffic for a DOT crew before 10 a.m. – worker was flown to a Hospital with injuries that the patrol describes as serious – tow truck driver, 47, was not injured)

CRANE FATALITY Metro employee killed in accident at work site (a welder, 45, was crushed to death after a crane moving iron beams weighing 9 tons collapsed on him – at 12:45 pm, he and four co-workers were trying to erect iron beams for the completion of an emergency staircase – the workers had strapped the iron beams, each weighing 3 tons, to a crane hoist – the beam was approximately 30 feet in length – while the beams were being moved, the crane began to tilt to the left and collapsed – the deceased worker was assigned the task of controlling unwanted movement of the beam, by tugging a rope in the opposite direction, came under one of the beams – Co-workers claimed that there was no site engineer, supervisor at the time of the incident and also claimed that they were being instructed through a mobile phone – according to a police officer, the crane was not overloaded as it had the capacity to lift a payload of up to 12 tonnes – “However, the surface on which the crane stood had moisture due to rain and the ground could have possibly given way when the beam was being shifted” )

CIRCULAR SAW GUARD REMOVED & KICKBACK Worker in Bountiful nearly cuts off his leg in accident (a worker was hospitalized with critical injuries after nearly cutting off his leg in a construction accident around 11 a.m. – the man had been cutting wood on the porch and had removed the guard off a circular saw – at some point, the saw had kicked back into the man’s upper thigh, cutting to his bone and severing his femoral artery – one of the officers applied a tourniquet to slow the bleeding – he was flown by helicopter to a Medical Center for surgery)

CRANE COLLAPSE Crane accident injures man in 60s, a female worker involved ends up in water in St. Clair Shores (a male in his 60’s injured his left arm and ankle when the crane he was operating tipped – a second worker, a female, was also involved in the accident – the two workers were attempting to transfer a welder from a truck on the road down to a boat when something went wrong – the second worker, a female, either was thrown overboard or jumped in the water to avoid a more serious accident – was unclear what lead to her ending up in the water – unsure of whether or not the crane operator had the four stabilizers deployed – crane may also have been on unstable ground)

WORKZONE FATALITY Cabby who hit Bangladeshi worker at manhole still not found (a construction worker was killed in a hit-and-run accident while at work at around 5am – the cabby involved in the accident has still not been found – he was supervising other workers who were laying underground cables along the road at about 5am when a taxi hit him and fled – he suffered serious head injuries and died about an hour later in hospital)

WORKZONE BACKING Dump truck backs over paving worker (worker, 34, was seriously injured when a dump truck full of asphalt accidentally backed over him at about 12:35 p.m. – it happened during preparation for a road-paving project – he was treated at the scene and taken to a Hospital)

PIPELINE Man injured in gas pipeline construction accident (a worker with a subcontractor on a pipeline project suffered a serious injury to his leg and was taken to a hospital for treatment – workers had been boring and digging a trench for an extension of the gas line along the highway)

FATAL FALL from SCAFFOLDING Worker Dies After Mt Hope Bridge Fall, OSHA Investigating (a worker who fell from a Bridge has died – worker fell 30 feet while scaffolding was being removed after a painting job – he landed on the deck of the bridge – accident happened at around 8:30am)

CRUSHING FATALITY Worker killed at Pinehills construction site (worker, 26, died in a construction accident was fatally injured when a concrete form he was working on collapsed, trapping him beneath a heavy wall of wooden frames and rebar – workers used heavy equipment to lift the wall off the man, but there was nothing paramedics or firefighters could do for him – the man suffered severe head injuries and was pronounced dead at the scene – the victim was working atop the 12- to 16-foot wall of forms being prepared for concrete when it collapsed just before 9 a.m.)

FATAL FALL into HOLE Three workers dead in construction site accident (three workers died after falling in a hole at their worksite)

ROOFER BURNED with TAR Worker at Wright-Patt burned by hot tar (a man working on a building project at an Air Force Base was severely burned with hot tar as he was repairing a roof – incident occurred just before 2 p.m.)

ELECTRICAL Drilling underground electric wires, worker burned like a torch (two workers accidentally drilled into the underground electric wires – after explosions, both were shot out beyond 1m and fell onto the road – worker used a drilling machine to drill the road)

FLASH FIRE Official: Worker’s cigarette caused Pa. gas blast (a contractor’s cigarette may have caused a gas explosion that leveled a home, injuring eight people – inspectors at the scene concluded a gas leak was to blame for leveling the unoccupied home, which was being remodeled – a contractor had been trying to light the pilot on a water heater – neighbors reported that the man lit a cigarette at one point and the house exploded – contractor remains in critical condition with burns – seven others were treated for minor injuries)

EXPLOSION Eastwood gas tanker explosion injures two workers on building site (a worker who was using an excavator to try and remove a huge gas tank from a work site when it exploded directly in front of him says he is lucky to be alive – he was using a six ton excavator in an abandoned lot – “It’s been sitting there for more than 30 years.” – ten people from neighboring buildings were assessed for minor hearing complaints and ringing in the ears immediately after the explosion but nobody else was taken to hospital)

MISCELLANEOUS

ELECTROCUTION Worker killed in tree trimming accident was electrocuted, coroner says (worker, 42, died of electrocution in the tree trimming accident – he was killed when he struck a high-powered, 12,000-volt power line during annual tree trimming – he was pronounced dead at the scene and the death has been ruled accidental)

TRIPLE ELECTROCUTION Three workers electrocuted to death at kibbutz fish pond in northern Israel (three men were electrocuted to death while working at a fish pond – one of the men deployed a new device for feeding fish and entered the water – for a reason that is currently unclear but may be linked to a problem with the device, he was electrocuted – a colleague entered the water to help him but was then electrocuted, as was a third colleague – another worker present at the site unplugged the device, retrieved his colleagues’ bodies from the water and called for medical assistance – the three were employed by a fish pond maintenance company)

CROP DUSTING Teen corn detasselers accidentally sprayed with fungicide (a farm chemical accident sent 70 teens to the hospital – workers were detasseling corn in a field when a crop-dusting plane accidentally sprayed them with chemicals – a hazardous materials crew was called to the scene to decontaminate, and the teens were rushed to a Hospital – the teen workers were released to their parents – no serious injuries were reported, just skin irritation)

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