63 incidents & 1 updates (5/30/15)

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2015 Fatality Tracker

INDUSTRIAL

RAILYARD FATALITY BNSF worker killed in NE Minneapolis rail yard accident (railroad employee was killed in a heavy equipment accident on the tracks – workers were unloading some old, heavy track material that was clipped by a second train at 11:45 a.m. – victim was pinned under the equipment, leading to a recovery effort that lasted several hours)

CRUSHING FATALITY Worker killed in accident at Saginaw County concrete plant (worker, 50, was crushed by a several ton concrete high beam – he was killed when a concrete beam rolled on top of him – employees were “in the process of taking a beam out of the mold and placing it on the ground when the beam rolled and struck an employee)

MINE FATALITY St Andrew Goldfields worker killed in underground accident (a fatal underground accident halted all operations – worker, 22, was killed after being involved in an underground rail haulage accident – incident occurred mid-shift, at about 13:30)

SANITATION TRUCK FATALITY Sanitation worker killed in rolling truck accident (sanitation worker, 55, was killed when he got out of his garbage truck to pick up trash when the unoccupied truck started rolling – he tried to jump into the passenger side of the cab just as the truck sideswiped a utility pole)

Man injured in industrial accident in Hibbing (worker was pinned under a piece of machinery – he had been freed from under the machinery when fire rescue and ambulance workers arrived, but he was in traumatic cardiac arrest with CPR in progress – crews began advanced life-support measures and were successful in getting the return of a pulse)

FATAL FIRE Coroner releases name of worker killed in business fire (worker, 49, died in a fire at a business – he was a veteran employee who had worked for the business a long time and had just been transferred to the location – he was operating a bailer when the fire started, and he fell trying to get out and escape the fire – a coworker trying to rescue him was burned on his right arm)

CRANE and ELECTRICAL Electric worker injured in Mount Vernon (a subcontractor working on a substation being built was flown by AirEvac to a hospital after an accident at 1:34 p.m. – worker was on the ground and in contact with a crane which contacted a transmission line that was live with approximately 69,000 volts of electricity – he was standing, awake and able to talk with personnel, but that he suffered second and third-degree burns throughout his body)

GUARDING FATALITY Workplace accident claims life of employee at metalworking plant (worker at a metalworking plant died after he was apparently struck by a tool that got kicked out by heavy machinery – worker was operating a sheet metal press machine when he placed a tool on the machine, according to the state Labor Department’s preliminary findings – the machine made contact with the tool and kicked it out, hurling it into the right side of the worker’s chest)

CHEMICAL Farming Accident in Northern Ottawa Co. Injures Worker (a farming accident has injured a worker, 27 – he was delivering liquid fertilizer to a farm and was standing near the valve and hose of his company’s truck when a leak occurred, causing the substance to spray onto his torso and down to his legs – officials believe that a recirculating pump caused the 28% UAN solution to heat up and burning the victim)

LOTO w/ AMPUTATION Employee loses part of arm in cheese plant accident in Turlock (worker had his left arm partially amputated in a machine accident at about 7:30 – employee “was repairing the cheese elevator with an auger when his left arm got caught between the auger and the pan of the machine – his left arm was partially amputated as a result of the accident)

LINEMAN Construction worker burned while working on power lines (worker was burned while working on electric power lines at a Country Club – contractor was injured while upgrading and replacing equipment on new poles)

MINING FATALITY Worker killed at gold mine (worker has been killed at a underground gold mine – no other details)

MINE FATALITY Worker dead at N. Nevada gold-silver mine (officials are investigating the work-related death of an employee at a mining site – circumstances involving the death were not immediately available, but it was reported about 10:40 a.m.)

CONFINED SPACE FATALITY w/ ARGON ASPHYXIATION Worker dies of argon poisoning in Mochovce nuclear power plant (worker, 27, involved in the construction of the third and fourth blocks of a nuclear power plant died after inhaling the gas argon – the fatal accident was caused by leaking of gas argon during welding works – accident occurred during underground welding – another man, 28, sustained serious injuries and has been taken to the hospital – causes of the accident are under investigation)

CHEMICAL – HCL Worker exposed to hydrochloric acid in boiler room incident hospitalized (one person was taken to a hospital after a pipe carrying hydrochloric acid burst just before 11 a.m. – firefighters found that two employees had been transferring hydrochloric acid from one container to another – when that was done, the employees were flushing out the transfer hose when it burst – one employee, who was wearing a protective suit but no respiratory gear, was splashed with the acid and inhaled some fumes – the other employee was splashed with the acid but his protective suit kept him from being exposed – two other people were evaluated but declined to be taken to a hospital)

FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION One dead, two injured in Chinese shipyard explosion (one worker has died while another two were injured in an explosion at about 14:00 while electric welders were working in a ship’s cabin – ship was under maintenance at the yard – injured workers were taken to hospital)

HOTWORK Welding torches start fire at Canfield business (investigators believe a fire that prompted the evacuation of a business was caused by welding torches being used to repair an overhead door – authorities believe that heat from the torches started a fire that spread through the wall – no one was injured – estimates that the building sustained $30,000 damage)

UPDATE now a HOTWORK FATAL FIRE ‘Welding near flammable chemicals caused Kentex fire’ (Arson Task Force has released the results of its investigation on the massive fire that killed 72 people – investigation showed that fire started when sparks from a welding machine set ablaze flammable chemicals inside the factory – this was based on interviews with survivors, employees, the company’s owners, and the welders working in the factory – group has also yet to decide whether to file charges against the welder, or to consider him a witness)

HOTWORK FIRE Welding sparks fertiliser plant fire (six people were taken to hospital following a fire – one man, who was rushed to a Hospital with suspected smoke inhalation, was discharged a few hours later – five other workers were taken to hospital some hours after the fire, for precautionary checks for smoke inhalation – fire began shortly after 8am, during welding work in a duct – sparks ignited a rubber seal and the smoke travelled into an extraction fan)

HOTWORK Oil rig evacuated at Harland and Wolff after small fire breaks out (more than 300 factory workers had to be evacuated from an oil rig after a small fire broke out during welding operations – workers were back on board within 30 minutes – the fire was accidental and was contained and confined to one of the legs of the oil rig)

START-UP NH3 RELEASE Gas leaks at Agrium plant in Borger (ten construction workers were transported to area hospitals after a gas leak at a plant – the anhydrous ammonia leak occurred about 4:15 p.m. – thirteen workers were impacted by the leak, 10 of whom were transported to a Hospital – leak occurred at the Urea Unit at the north end of the plant, which was in the process of resuming operations after several days of repairs)

TANKER EXPLOSION Explosion at Pembroke concrete plant (a tanker truck exploded and caught fire outside a concrete plant – firefighters say they were able to extinguish the fire before it could damage a second tanker filled with 300 gallons of fuel – the cause of the explosion is still under investigation, but firefighters say they believe it had to do with an electrical issue)

AMMONIA Fresh Express plant in Clayton Co. evacuated after ammonia leak (plant was evacuated after an ammonia leak – leak was contained in a 5000 square foot room at the facility – leak is believed to have been caused by a faulty pipe – there were no reports of injuries)

FORKLIFT Man stable after work accident (worker, in his 40s, is in a stable condition – it is understood the accident involved a forklift truck)

CONSTRUCTION

FATAL FALL Worker Killed In Fall At Construction Site In Dallas (worker fell from a “higher floor” of the four-floor building at 7:24 a.m. and was pronounced dead on scene)

ELECTROCUTION CTA contract worker Kevin Benoit electrocuted in Lincoln Park construction accident (contract worker, 30, was electrocuted in a construction accident – he came in contact with power lines just before 5 p.m. as crews were performing track work on the Brown Line “to remove slow zones and to improve rail service”)

WORKZONE Roadside worker injured, southwest police urge caution (driver of a semi hit a tree-trimming truck, injuring an employee standing in a crane – driver is suspected of being under the influence of drugs or alcohol – charges are pending)

EXCAVATOR Worker injured when excavator crashes through ground (excavator operator is recovering after the construction equipment crashed through the ground into a basement – the hole was a portion of the basement that went under the rear parking lot, and the excavator tracked over the space and it collapsed, and the excavator and the gentleman inside fell about 10 feet – still not clear why the accident happened)

CRANE FATALITY Construction worker dies in Hammondsport accident (construction worker, 50, died in a work-zone accident – a large steel beam broke free from a clamp and when it broke free, it struck her in the back and hit her in the head – workers were using a crane to hammer steel beams into the ground)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Construction worker badly injured after fall from scaffolding at hospital (construction worker fell about 30 feet from scaffolding – few details about the cause of the incident were available – he had been seriously hurt and was transported to a Medical Center for treatment of his injuries – he suffered serious wounds but was in stable condition by mid-morning)

CRANE FATALITY Worker crushed to death by falling concrete in Mandarin (worker, 42, was crushed to death at a construction site – a 7 1/2-ton slab of concrete fell on the worker – he was driving a transport vehicle filled with sound barriers in the area of the construction project when an offloading slab fell off the back of the truck – he was standing next to the truck when the concrete fell atop him, killing him just before 2 p.m.)

CRANE FATALITY Construction Worker Killed Near Wind Farm Construction Site (subcontractor, 40, was killed in an accident that occurred on a county road near the construction of a wind farm – he was fatally injured when the crane he was driving rolled over into a ditch)

FALL from TRAILER 4 workers injured in fall at Happy Valley construction site (four construction workers were injured after falling at a construction site – the four construction workers were unstrapping some 20 to 25 foot long rafters at a build site around 9:30 a.m. – both the rafters and the construction workers fell about 15 feet to the ground – all four were taken to the hospital, two have been released – the other two are still being treated for broken legs after falling from the top of a garage)

AERIAL LIFT FATALITY Construction worker dies in Wilkinsburg (construction worker, 35, died while performing repairs on an overpass about 8:20 a.m. at the busway overpass – he was on a hydraulic lift and apparently was crushed against the roof of the overpass and was pronounced dead at the scene)

WORKZONE FATALITY O’Fallon, Ill., man killed in construction accident on SIUE campus (construction worker, 47, has died during an accident – worker repaving a road on the campus was killed when a piece of construction equipment he was operating rolled over on him – he was driving a heavy piece of machinery with a roller attached shortly before 4 p.m. when a portion of the road collapsed causing the machine to flip – worker tried to jump from the machine but got pinned under it – he died of blunt chest and abdominal trauma)

WORKZONE FATALITY CDOT worker killed on U.S. 50 ID’d as David Morris, 61 (Department of Transportation worker, 61, was killed in an accident on U.S. 50 – accident happened in an active construction zone where temporary signaling devices were in place, alternating east and westbound traffic – an tractor-trailer traveling eastbound failed to stop at the signal and crossed into westbound lanes, colliding with three vehicles, including a CDOT truck)

WORKZONE FATALITY Worker from Abingdon killed along I-95 near Havre de Grace Thursday (worker, 59, was struck at about 1 p.m. by a 2003 Ford E-150 van while he was working with a mowing crew in a grassy area along the highway – he was pronounced dead at the scene – he was a faculties maintenance technician with MdTA)

TRENCHING FATALITY Man buried in construction pit pulled out alive; co-worker dead (rescue teams were able to free a man who was buried up to his upper body in dirt when the wall of a trench in which he was working collapsed, trapping him and killing his co-worker – the accident killed a co-worker, and authorities said it did not appear safety equipment had been used properly at the site – incident occurred at around 12:30 p.m. at a construction site – the dead worker remained buried in dirt mere yards from where rescuers freed the trapped man – when teams arrived they could only see the feet of the surviving worker, who had apparently been knocked sideways in the pit by the collapse)

EXPLOSION Worker injured in explosion at Fort Loudoun Dam project (construction worker is expected to be okay after an explosion at a work site – no blasting was occurring at the construction site – workers were cleaning up scrap material from previous blasting activities when the accident happened – company believes that there was still powder residue inside one of the metal pipes they use to store the explosive powder – workers were cutting up those pipes, called caissons, for disposal when the explosion happened – worker was taken to UT Medical Center with non-life threatening injuries)

FALL from SCAFFOLDING Worker critical after fall down elevator shaft at SFMOMA site (worker fell one floor down an elevator shaft after the 141-foot-high scaffolding he was standing on gave way – he was rushed to a hospital in critical condition with two broken legs and a broken pelvis – the worker fell about 20 feet during the accident, which was reported at 10:10 a.m. – he was working on the construction of the scaffolding within the elevator shaft when it collapsed – he fell from the seventh floor to the sixth)

AERIAL LIFT FATALITY One worker killed at Markham work site (one worker has been killed and another is in serious condition after an aerial work platform toppled over at a construction site – it appears the straight boom lift was moving either forward or backward on the sidewalk when the rear-left wheel rolled on to the flat top of a media utility box – weight of the boom lift caused the wheel to break through the top of the box and the piece of equipment toppled over into the street – boom was not extended but the two workers were at a height of at least 30 feet, when they fell from the aerial platform to the road – one worker was declared dead at the scene and another was sent to hospital in serious condition)

MOBILE EQUIPMENT FATALITY Worker killed in İstanbul subway construction (worker, 32, was reportedly sitting on the side of a construction vehicle when he lost his balance and fell off the vehicle – the operator using the vehicle did not notice him and accidentally caused his death – worker was pulled out from under the vehicle by his coworkers, who called an ambulance)

FALL Construction worker injured at wastewater treatment facility (worker was injured when he fell 25 feet while working on the Wastewater Treatment Facility just before 10 a.m. – worker slipped and fell and then slipped out of his safety harness – he landed in the basement area of the building – worker injured his head and back but was awake and talking when paramedics arrived)

FATAL FALL from LADDER Worker dies after falling from ladder (a worker, 51, died a day after falling off a ladder at a construction site – he fell about 20 feet from a ladder around 9 a.m. – circumstances surrounding the fall are still under investigation)

DEMOLITION FATALITY One worker killed in accident at Samsung SDI facility (worker, 58, was crushed to death while dismantling an unused plasma display panel (PDP) facility – accident took place when a 2.5-meter-high panel fell while worker was demolishing the PDP production facility)

TRENCHING Worker rescued from collapsed trench; agency says safety procedures weren’t followed (worker was taken to the hospital after being trapped for more than an hour when a trench collapsed on him at the construction site of a storm water retention facility – worker was injured – incident occurred about 9 a.m. – it took rescuers nearly an hour to remove the worker, who was in an 18-foot-deep trench buried up to his waist in dirt and rocks)

FALL from ROOF Worker falls off roof in Roslindale (worker fell off a roof – worker had been clearing shingles off a roof when they fell – it is not known if the worker was injured)

CRANE FATALITY Construction worker killed in crane collapse (worker, in his late 20’s, died and three others were injured when a crane collapsed at a construction site – crane toppled over causing heavy traffic congestion in the area and a partial road closure – reason for the collapse was not known)

ELECTRICAL Electrical fire burns worker (an electrical fire at a warehouse burned a worker – an explosion sent up plumes of smoke from the back of a warehouse where construction workers were just starting their workday – one worker was sent to the hospital to treat burns, and others were examined onsite by paramedics)

ELECTRICAL Worker ‘severely burned’ in electric shock in Gloucester city centre (a contractor has been left with serious burns after suffering a massive electric shock – he suffered severe burns to his leg, face and abdomen – he may have drilled through a power cable in the road, but details are as yet unclear)

MISCELLANEOUS

LOTO FATALITY w/ ELEVATOR McLean County Worker Dies in Elevator Accident (county employee, 56, died in an elevator accident – firefighters found the man in the basement of the law and justice center – Fire officials found the worker had been trapped under the counterweight of the elevator in the basement of the building)

LOTO FATALITY w/ ELEVATOR Worker killed while servicing elevator at Onondaga nursing home, police say (worker, 53, died after being pinned by an elevator at a nursing home shortly after 9 a.m. – he was at the nursing home to do service work on an elevator – while he was in the shaft doing maintenance, another elevator came down and pinned him between a steel ladder and a support beam)

CRUSHING FATALITY Worker killed in accident at Lexington business (Granite and Stone employee died after a slab of granite fell on him at 10:19 a.m. – employee was pronounced dead at the scene – employee was helping people move a piece of granite when the accident occurred)

FALL Devine worker falls from restaurant sign (worker is being treated at a Hospital after a witness said he fell more than 100 feet from a restaurant sign – the man was working on a sign outside the steakhouse when he fell – no word on the man’s condition)

FLASH FIRE Worker burned in Pompano marina fire (worker, 28, was badly burned while working on a docked boat and was taken to a hospital for treatment – he was performing maintenance work at about 9:15 a.m. on a 39-foot center console fishing boat when there was a flash fire aboard the vessel – he was treated for second-degree burns on his face, arms and legs)

FATAL GAS CYLINDER EXPLOSION Factory worker dies in gas cylinder explosion (factory worker, 45, died today when a gas cylinder exploded while being unloaded – the incident took place at about 4 pm when the cylinders were being unloaded from the canter at a workshop – one of the cylinders, used in gas welding, was being carried inside the workshop when it exploded – worker died on the spot)

CHLORINE Jersey City worker overcome by chlorine fumes at DPW facility (worker was taken to a Medical Center after being overcome by fumes at a DPW garage – employee opened a container that contained old pool chlorine tablets and he was immediately overcome by the fumes – employee, who had difficulty breathing, was given oxygen at the DPW facility, then treated and released at 11 a.m.)

HOTWORK Welder accidentally sparks three-alarm grass fire (a person welding a fence accidentally started a three-alarm grass fire that burned about 3 to 4 acres)

Stop by session 721 on

Wednesday 6/10 @ 7:45 a.m.

Process Safety Management

Enforcement Trends and Best Practices

I am also teaching my

1-Day PSM Course

as a ASSE POST Conference Seminar

on Friday 6/12

What’s New @

SAFTENG.net

Cargo Tank Motor Vehicle (CTMV) Loading/UnLoading operations: Recommended Best Practices Guide

New releases of WISER are available for every current platform

Pipe labeling by way of ASME A13.1

OSHA PSM citations @ acetylene repackaging facility (Acetylene & $57,400)

NH3 Line Break accident

FATAL failure of an anhydrous ammonia compressor

Ammonia Line Rupture Kills One Worker, Injuring Two

ZERO energy state (ZES) means ZERO energy state

Recommended Non-Destructive Testing to Improve Nurse Tank Safety, Phases I and II

Safety irony of the week…

2015 Photo of the Week #21 (Fire Extinguisher Security)

2015 Video of the Week #21 (Forklift Rollover Fatality caught on CCTV)

Chemical Security Program Statistics as of May 1, 2015

Nitrogen Cylinder Failure Incident (TX FM Report)

OSHA PSM citations @ Chemical Plant (Methyl Mercaptan & $99K)

Refinery fined $200,000 for fire caused by pipe failure

EPA RMP citations @ refrigerated food processing facility (NH3 & $3,000,990 RMP & EPCRA)