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2014 Fatality Tracker
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INDUSTRIAL FATAL FALL from BOOM TRUCK Worker dies in fall about 50 feet to ground (a worker died from his injuries after a 50’ fall from a boom truck about 10 a.m. – crews were hanging new power lines on the west side of the road in the area) FOUNDRY Molten metal burn one of most severe (a “catastrophic mechanical failure,” not an explosion, caused an accident that injured seven at a foundry – molten metal burned seven workers – fire investigators said the crew was pouring hot metal into a cast when the fiery accident happened – seven workers were burned as molten metal splashed on them) STRUCK BY FATALITY DRIVER CHARGED AFTER WORKER STRUCK, KILLED IN NORTH PHILADELPHIA (the driver of a van that struck and killed a worker at a beer distributor was drunk – he is charged with DUI, involuntary manslaughter, homicide by vehicle and related offenses – around 1:30 p.m. the victim, 54, was working at the Beer Distributor – he was outside a delivery truck helping a coworker back up when witnesses say the van struck him – driver did stop at the scene – worker had only been on this job for 8 months) MINE Worker reported badly hurt at SW Indiana coal mine (a coal miner was badly injured in an accident at a mine – the miner was hurt when he somehow became trapped beneath underground mining equipment – other miners freed the man and brought him to the surface – emergency crews treated the man at the scene before he was taken by helicopter to a hospital with serious injuries) UPDATE on MINE FATALITIES Three held after Turkey’s mine disaster (a Turkish court ordered three suspects to be kept in custody on a provisional charge of “causing multiple deaths” in last week’s mine disaster, as the last of the 301 victims were buried – of the remaining 22 people detained earlier, six suspects have been released but could face prosecution later – questioning of the other 16 people was continuing – the detentions came five days after a fire sent deadly carbon monoxide coursing through the mine causing the county’s worst ever industrial accident – an initial report on the possible causes of the accident indicated the fire may have been triggered by coal heating up after it came into contact with the air, rejecting initial reports that a transformer explosion was responsible) CHEMICAL Worker hospitalized following HAZMAT spill at Republic Steel (worker was hospitalized with minor injuries after a hazardous material spill at the plant at 12:33 p.m. – he was taken to a Regional Medical Center around 3:15 p.m. – the man had to be tested for contamination by the County Hazardous Materials Response Team before being transported – an accident occurred while chemicals were being removed from five old storage tanks the plant plans to reuse – chemicals were being pumped into an approximately 8,000-gallon truck by workers – the chemicals included aluminum hydroxychloride, phosphoric acid, phosphoric acid ester, sodium hydroxide and sodium nitrate – one of the chemicals ruptured a hose to the truck, causing a brownish, yellowish plume about 3 feet wide and 15 to 20 feet high to rise – the worker inhaled plume vapors) CRANE Worker crawls from rolled crane (a crane driver was injured when his crane toppled at a shipping yard about 7.30am – two men had become trapped during a crane rollover – only one man in the crane and he managed to get himself out of the cabin – he was treated for minor injuries at the scene then taken to a Hospital as a precaution) HOT WATER @ NUCLEAR PLANT Workers injured in Indian nuclear accident (six taken to hospital after hot water spilled from valve during repair work at plant, but no radiation leak reported – the injured were carrying out maintenance work in the turbine building when the incident took place) EXPLOSION @ STEEL MILL 6 injured in Gerdau Ameristeel Mill explosion in Knoxville (investigators tried to determine what caused an explosion at a steel mill that injured six workers and could be heard by residents from blocks away – one worker was critically burned in the explosion at the mill, which uses an electric arc furnace to turn scrap metal into steel and was being treated at a regional burn center – five others injured workers had been treated and released from a local hospital) BOILER FLY ASH 2 workers burned at Resolute Forest plant in Catawba (two workers suffered thermal burns on various parts of their body by “boiler ash” or “wood ash” at about 3 p.m. – severity of the burns and the workers’ current medical condition are unknown – they were conducting routine maintenance in the energy generator area of the mill – they were cleaning out built-up waste in a boiler when they were hit by hot ash – cause of the sudden ash release is still under investigation – last year, a contractor, 39, was killed and another was injured at the plant when chemicals leaked into the decommissioned tank on which they were performing routine maintenance – in June 2012, a contractor was injured when he was splashed in the face with “white liquor” – a chemical used to break down wood chips – while transferring it from a tanker truck to a holding area – in May 2012, three employees were burned after a valve burst, spraying them with “white liquor” – one worker suffered the worst injuries, including blindness and burns over two-thirds of his body – another was burned on 30 percent of his body, and the other on 7 percent of his body – in 2000, an explosion at the plant killed two contract welders who were connecting pipes to an outdoor tank when it exploded) oxy-acetylene cylinder Workers hurt in Chester factory gas blast (two workers at a glass manufacturer suffered neck and face injuries after a gas cylinder “exploded” – workers were rushed to a Hospital where they were said to be recovering – the accident involved an oxy-acetylene cylinder, which are traditionally used for welding metal or fire polishing glass – Ambulance Service stated a gas bottle had “exploded” causing “flash burns” to the victims) RV on TANK LIFTED by STEAMING Fire extinguished at Utah oil refinery (a safety valve on a tank at an oil refinery ruptured but there was no fire as originally reported – workers were putting steam into the tank to control vapors when a safety valve at the top of the tank ruptured about 3 p.m. – the rupture make a loud noise and caused steam to be released, but there was no explosion and no materials leaked from the tank – no one was injured) FATAL EXPLOSION 1 killed, 5 injured in blast at Neyveli power station (one person was killed and five others were injured in an explosion around 11am – a pipeline from a heater in a boiler at the seventh unit of thermal power station 1 blew up due to high pressure, ripping off the roof of the unit – chief manager, 53, died while being taken to hospital – condition of two of the five injured is said to be critical) POWER PLANT EXPLOSION Fire breaks out at Seoul power plant (a fire broke out after an explosion at a power plant – fire department officials are investigating the cause of the explosion, which occurred between 4 p.m. and 4:30 p.m. – no casualties were reported – there were reports of an explosion in at least one of the power station’s electric transformers) AMMONIA FIREFIGHTERS RESPOND TO AMMONIA LEAK AT FRESNO FOSTER FARMS PLANT (firefighters were called to the plant around 5 p.m. for reports of an ammonia leak – the leak was contained to the plant itself, so they didn’t have to order any evacuations in the surrounding area – issue was fixed in less than an hour) Ammonia leak contained at Hermiston Foods (emergency crews responded to help contain an ammonia leak – facility’s own maintenance team was able to isolate and shut off the release within 20 minutes – no employees were working at the time, and no food was contaminated) AMMONIA Firefighters tackle chemical leak at Mars in Slough overnight (25 firefighters responded after there was a valve failure in the automated process system which caused ammonia to leak into the building – the fire crew worked together with the plant safety team and managed to stop the leak by isolating the leaking system and switching it off – there is ‘no risk to public health or the environment’) CHLORINE Washington chlorine leak prompts business evacuation (a chlorine leak at the water treatment plant has prompted a cautionary evacuation of nearby businesses – no individuals or residences are in danger – authorities have asked for an evacuation of businesses near the plant during cleanup) FORKLIFT Man flown to a Baltimore hospital after forklift accident on Sharpsburg Pike (man was flown to a hospital after his arm was trapped beneath a forklift in an accident at a business at 2:10 p.m. – he was flown to a Hospital, where care providers specialize in injuries to extremities, according to the supervisor – no accident details) CONSTRUCTION FALLING REBAR FATALITY Construction worker killed by falling rebar (a construction worker was killed in an accident at a job site – a crew member had been hit by falling rebar at a rental-car facility under construction – medics tried in vain to revive the injured man at the scene) Construction worker killed by ‘piece of flying machinery’ just weeks after dodging death in similar incident (a construction worker, 24, was killed by a ‘piece of flying machinery’ just weeks after dodging death in a similar incident – he was killed after being struck in the head by an object while laying foundations for a new office block – just six weeks earlier he had posed for photographs with the mangled wreckage of crane that was crushed by a digger only minutes before he planned to move into the area) FATAL FALL California Railroad Bridge Collapses, Kills Worker (a construction worker, 59, died from a fall after a railroad bridge he was cutting collapsed and pulled him down to a freeway – he was attached to the bridge by a harness and cutting part of the structure in half when it buckled – worker was taken to a hospital where he was pronounced dead) WORKZONE Highway worker hit, critically injured on State 172 near Green Bay (a worker, 64, on a survey crew suffered critical injures but is expected to survive after being hit by a car – he was attempting to cross eastbound lanes when the crash happened around 11 a.m. – the car was cresting a hill at a curve in the road and officials say it appears those were factors in the crash – there were no warning indicators on the roadway alerting motorists to the presence of the crew – workers were wearing high-visibility suits) WORKZONE Worker on I-64 injured by vehicle’s side mirror (a DOT contractor was struck by a vehicle’s side mirror on Interstate 64 shortly after 9:10 a.m. while the contractor was part of a short-term work zone – driver of the vehicle that hit the worker stopped – contractor was taken to a hospital with injuries that were not considered life-threatening) FORKLIFT FATALITY Construction killed when equipment tips over in Arlington, Virginia (a worker was killed when a piece of equipment tipped over at construction site at about 3:30 p.m. – the man was pronounced dead at the scene) EXCAVATOR FATALITY Worker Dies After Excavator Tips Over (a construction worker has died after a large excavator tipped over and fell on him at a construction site around 3:30 p.m. – the victim, believed to be the equipment’s operator, was pronounced dead on the scene by medics at 3:40 p.m. – this is the second serious construction accident in a month and a half at the construction site – on March 31, a worker fell four stories and suffered serious injuries while working on a different building) FALL from SCAFFOLDING Worker falls from freeway scaffolding (a construction worker helping to build an overpass was injured and had to be rescued after a fall at 4:30 a.m. – the worker fell 6 feet, eight inches from a double-wide plank onto a cement floor within the bridge structure – this left the worker about 30 feet above ground) FALL Worker rushed into surgery after fall at Tervis plant expansion (a construction worker was critically injured after falling 25 feet from a steel beam and landing on his head at a work site at 9:55 a.m. – when emergency crews arrived, the construction worker was unconscious and bleeding from the back of his head – worker was taken by helicopter to a Regional Medical Center) FALL Edmonton worker injured after falling down shaft (worker, 18, was rushed to hospital after an accident on a construction site just after 9 a.m. – worker lost consciousness after falling down a ventilation shaft under construction – he then had to be extricated by emergency crews – the man was standing on a piece of lumber about a metre and a half off the ground before he fell – he had reportedly asked another worker to get a tool for him; when the co-worker returned with the tool, he found the man unconscious on the ground – extent of his injuries is still unknown) WORKZONE KDOT worker hit by vehicle in Franklin County (a DOT contract worker was hit by a vehicle – a dump truck loaded with asphalt millings overturned about 8:45 a.m. – no one was hurt – while emergency crews were working the accident, a DOT worker crossing the highway was hit by a westbound pickup truck – worker was flown by air ambulance to a hospital – driver of the pickup was not hurt and was cooperating with investigators) UPDATE on HOTWORK Petaluma company cited for huge San Francisco blaze (fire officials say work being done by a steel subcontractor is believed to have ignited a massive blaze that barreled through an apartment building construction site in San Francisco in March – the president of the contractor was cited and fined $1,000 this month for being out of compliance with the city’s fire code – officials say the March 11 blaze likely started from sparks that came from cutting and welding work – a report estimated damage at about $40 million) Miscellaneous FALL from AMUSEMENT RIDE Disneyland worker hurt after fall at Matterhorn (employee was taken to an area hospital with apparent minor injuries from a fall at the ride about 10 a.m. at the theme park – employee was working at a loading dock when she fell) Torch sets auto repair shop on fire (a fire at an auto sales and repair shop was fueled by a torch underneath a car that was on an overhead lift around 8:15 a.m. – an oxy/acetylene torch was below a car on an overhead lift and was fueling the fire – investigators determined that’s where and how the fire started) |
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