ALL FATALITIES are colored RED
Industrial
MINE FATALITY Iowa worker killed in partial mine collapse (mine worker, 52, was pronounced dead after being recovered from a collapse that occurred just before 10 p.m. – he was a mine truck operator who had worked at the mine for 12 years – he was outside his truck in a remote part of the mine, which was not in operation, and was found buried under rock)
FORKLIFT FATALITY Stop & Shop worker killed in accident at Freetown distribution center (worker, 51, died in a fall at a company distribution center – he was killed when he fell between a loading dock and a tractor trailer as the vehicle pulled away from the dock and a forklift then fell on him)
CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – ENGULFMENT Worker dies after being buried under fertilizer at Lakeville workplace (worker, 50, was killed in a workplace accident around 10:20 a.m. – three workers were trying to unload fertilizer from a covered hopper rail car when the hopper got jammed – according to a preliminary investigation, one worker fell into the hopper while trying to break up the jam – that worker then became buried under the fertilizer and died – workers explain in a sad story of what they went through watching their co-worker die)
CONFINED SPACE FATALITY Worker dies after industrial accident at Oakville container business (worker died after an industrial container business at 9:10 a.m. – worker who was working in a confined space was found unconscious, and was pronounced dead at the scene – it’s too early in the investigation to release the circumstances around the death)
GARBAGE WORKER FATALITY Maryland Worker Dies After SUV Crashes Into Garbage Truck (worker, 30, worked for the public works department for more than a decade – he was killed after an SUV crashed into the garbage truck he was loading – the driver of the SUV struck a parked car along the Road and then hit the worker, who was at the back of the truck loading trash – he was crushed and pronounced dead at the scene)
FORKLIFT Worker injured in industrial accident (worker at a recycling business was taken to the hospital with serious injuries following an industrial accident – he was at the facility unloading a vehicle from a flatbed truck when the vehicle slid from the truck, pinning the man on the ground at about 1:25 p.m. – coworkers were able to lift the vehicle to remove the man)
TREE FALLING FATALITY Worker Struck, Killed by Falling Tree in Ashland Co. (worker, 45, for a professional tree cutting service died after a tree fell on him just before 11 a.m. – he was “limbing” a tree when another tree being prepared to be cut down prematurely fell and landed on the man, who was pronounced dead at the scene)
UPDATE on CONFINED SPACE FATALITY Bumble Bee Pleads Guilty in Worker’s Gruesome Oven Death (Bumble Bee Foods and the director of plant operations at the time of the accident, each pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor Labor Code violation – worker, 62, had gone into a 35-foot-long cylindrical oven to make repairs when co-workers, unaware he was in the oven, trapped him inside when they loaded 12,000 pounds of canned tuna and then turned the oven on for a two-hour sterilization process – Bumble Bee was hit with felony charges after the accident, and ultimately settled for $6 million— more than $3 million to modernize equipment at the facility where the accident occurred, $1.5 million to the worker’s family, $750,000 to the Los Angeles County DA’s Office’s Environmental Enforcement Fund, and $750,000 in fines, penalties, and court fees – the felony counts against the company and the director of plant operations were reduced to misdemeanor counts, and guilty pleas were anticipated under the settlement – the plant’s former safety manager was also hit with a felony count that was later reduced to a misdemeanor; he completed community service and occupational safety courses and pleaded guilty in August 2015)
FORKLIFT FATALITY (2015) Mechanic crushed to death by forklift after handbrake left off (worker, 22, was crushed to death by a forklift he was repairing when the machine accidentally slipped into gear while the handbrake was off – he was found unconscious and “turning purple” by shocked workers at a sawmill only minutes after he had been seen eating his lunch – he was a fully qualified forklift fitter, was trying to trace a leak on the loader when the incident happened)
ASPHYXIATION FATALITY @ STEEL PLANT RSP worker dies of asphyxiation due to gas leak, six affected (a contract worker at a Steel Plant died of asphyxiation after gas leaked from a blast furnace – six others suffering from asphyxiation have been admitted to a Hospital – the incident took place around 5.45 pm in the underground gas pipeline meant for drainage of gas between blast furnaces 1 and 4 -the drainage line is ideally filled with water to hold the gas, but it had dried up due to lack of maintenance – a leakage in the pipeline exposed workers engaged above the drainage to carbon monoxide gas resulting in asphyxiation)
HOTWORK Grass fire extinguished (sparks from welding caught the grass in the surrounding area on fire – fire burned approximately 2 acres, but was quickly contained by the fire departments – no one was injured in the fire)
METHANE FIRE JBS fire investigation closed (a giant fireball and smoke erupted from a methane lagoon – investigation found that on the morning of the fire (Jan. 21), staff ignited a pressure relief torch in the methane retention system to burn off excess gas that had accumulated – some debris had accumulated within the burner area of the torch and ignited – aided by the wind, officials said, the embers dropped down and ignited methane gas that was venting around the manhole cover to the influent water system to the lagoon – fire is believed to have burned along the border of the manhole cover, then igniting an overflow hose leading to the top membrane of the lagoon system. – once compromised, methane gas began leaking through the membrane covering causing ignition of the gas – damage to the lagoon was estimated at $500,000)
Accident at power plant in Armenia (an accident occurred at a power plant – as a result of the accident energy supply of the substation and the first power unit of the nuclear power plant was interrupted on Jan. 21 – no details on what happened)
EXPLOSION IP Explosion: Officials Talk Black Liquor Dangers, Cleanup Work (paper mill experienced significant structural damage to their largest pulp digester and power house during an explosion – the incident caused a mixture of wood fiber, water and black liquor to be released into the surrounding area)
CRANE Large crane topples at Takahama N-plant (a 113-meter crane toppled over two buildings at a power plant around 9:50 p.m. – the 270-ton boom crane partially damaged steel frames of an auxiliary building and an adjoining spent fuel storage facility for the No. 2 reactor, but no one was injured – the central control room for the reactor is located in the auxiliary building – when the crane fell down, a storm warning was in effect, with wind speeds 81 meters above the ground reaching 14 meters per second – crane was not in operation at the time of the accident)
FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION Two killed, seven injured in Ogun gas plant explosion (two persons were confirmed dead, while seven others were injured in an explosion at a gas plant around 11.30am – according to an eyewitness, a welder was welding a gas tank when the gas therein escaped and the vapor caught fire from a generator being used in a shop adjacent to the gas plant – the fire, the eyewitness added, followed the vapor back to the gas plant located inside a filling station and exploded into huge flames – two attendants were said to have been caught up in the ensuing inferno – seven others, including a seven year-old child, sustained various degree of burns)
EXPLOSION Gas Tank Explodes at Thermal Power Plant in Russia, One Injured (at least one person has been injured in an explosion at a thermal power plant – blast caused metal structures to collapse over a 600-square-meter area – preliminary reports say a gas mixture exploded at the power plant – one person has been confirmed injured, although earlier reports stated that one person had died)
FATAL HOTWORK EXPLOSION BREAKING: One dead, one injured in ice plant explosion at fishing wharf (one man was killed and another injured in an explosion at an ice plant – repairs were being conducted on the plant at the time of the incident – worker were doing welding and apparently the gas was in the atmosphere and there was an explosion – the person who actually was doing the job fell and broke his neck and he got some minor burns – the men were in an elevated area at the plant when the explosion occurred, ripping out the zinc walls of the building and pitching them out)
FLAMMABLE LIQUID TRANSFER EXPLOSION UPDATE: Cause of last year’s fertilizer plant explosion undetermined investigation finds (the cause of the explosion was undetermined after a State Fire Marshal’s Office investigation into the Aug. 8 incident, however, a recently released report indicates possible contributing factors to the explosion – report states the point of origin of this explosion was inside a tank that was being filled with the liquid chemical Triclopyr 3 – ignition source, ignition sequence and first material ignited could not be determined – determination regarding causation is based on a methodical search of the area, observation of structural damage to building and tank, evidence observed at the scene, and statements of eyewitnesses – report listed four factors that could have contributed the the explosion: The truck and trailer offloading the chemical was not grounded, which was required for the process; the intermodal tank was not improperly vented during the unloading process; a centrifugal pump was used that was not made to handle flammable materials as per the manufacturer’s instructions; a sensor system was used, which its paperwork stated should not be used in hazardous environments)
REFINERY EXPLOSION Ghana’s only oil refinery shut after explosion (an oil refinery is shut after an explosion at a newly installed 5.8-million-euro crude oil heating unit – the explosion, which caused no casualties, is the latest problem to hit the refinery, which has for decades performed below its capacity of 45,000 barrels per day – it was a damper failure – it failed to open to allow heat to escape through the chimney and that led to the explosion)
AQUA AMMONIA Birmingham Fire working to clean up almost 20,000 gallons of ammonia spilled on Industrial Drive (Fire and Rescue is working to clean up a leak of between 15 and 20,000 gallons of ammonia – the leak reportedly came from an abandoned warehouse and is coming through very slowly – Fire and the warehouse property manager have been working to clamp and close the leak)
Construction
EXCAVATION/TRENCH FATALITY Woman, 19, killed in construction accident (female construction worker, 19, was killed around 10:30 a.m. at a construction site when a backhoe operator didn’t know the victim was at the bottom of a 15-foot hole when he dropped the digger into the hole, killing her – she was at the bottom of the hole with her brother, who was also working, but he had just climbed out to get another pipe, when she was killed)
ELECTRICAL or FATAL FALL Police confirm worker died at Lynchburg Powder Coating plant Wednesday (the worker, 68, who was killed at the plant was a self-employed electrical contractor – he was working on a light while elevated 18 feet up on a piece of equipment when an electrical event took place that sent him falling to the ground – he was pronounced dead at the scene)
SCAFFOLDING COLLAPSE Worker injured in scaffold collapse at Weymouth home (accident occurred shortly before 10 a.m. as the worker was installing vinyl siding – he fell 20 feet when a “pump jack” that kept the wooden scaffold board in place failed – he was taken to a Hospital for trauma treatment)
WORKZONE FATALITY Friends and family remember MTA worker killed on turnpike (a local truck driver hit and killed a turnpike maintenance worker, 53 – from his rear view mirror, the Foreman saw the accident that killed his longtime friend and co-worker – a co-worker started CPR, but he died at the scene – he had just gotten out of his truck to grab some safety cones at the end of the Exit 48 northbound onramp – a 20-year-old driver hit two vehicles from behind, before veering into the construction zone, hitting and killing the worker)
WORKZONE City worker hit by car, critically injured in southwest Omaha (worker, 48, was struck by a vehicle and critically injured about 9:50 a.m. – he was taken to the Nebraska Medical Center in critical condition with a head injury – a city crew was preparing to fill potholes, and the worker was standing on the driver’s side of the crew’s truck – a 2012 Toyota Camry was northbound on 144th in the inside lane – witnesses told police the Camry drifted over and struck the worker – neither excessive speed nor alcohol use was a factor in the accident)
FATAL ARC FLASH Two workers severely burned in Xcel Energy building accident (two construction workers are in critical condition after they were severely burned because of an electrical fire – the workers were drilling into an electrical box on the second floor of a parking garage under construction – the two workers were transported to a local hospital with life- threatening injuries, according to Fire Department spokesman – UPDATE on one worker passing away)
WORKZONE and AERIAL LIFT Construction worker from Cape Coral injured in vehicle/crane accident (construction worker was hospitalized after an accident – man was driving an automobile transporter east in the inside lane – the outside lane was closed for construction being done on the overpass – at about 11 a.m., the front left corner of the semitrailer and the left side of the automobile hauler collided with the underneath portion of an extended boom crane on site for the construction – the crane boom rotated as a result of the collision – worker, 46, was thrown from his protective harness and the raised basket he was in onto the roadway and sustained serious injuries – he was transported to a Hospital and listed in serious condition)
FATAL FALL British worker killed on Qatar stadium site (accident took place while the worker was on a suspended catwalk platform designed to manage technical functions relating to sound and light installations – one of the lever hoists supporting the platform failed, causing the fall of the worker, who was wearing all his safety equipment, including the safety harness – the harness was cut during the fall with a fatal outcome – what caused the cut is subject to further investigation)
ELECTRICAL and BOOM Paramedics revive man shocked while fixing guardrail in Macomb County (five county workers were shocked while repairing a guard rail and one, 38, was critically injured – he had no pulse and was not breathing when fire crews arrived – the injured worker was transported to a Hospital and is recovering – accident happened while the county employees were installing guardrails – the employees were using a “boom” type device to suspend the guard rails in the proximity of a power line when the boom became close enough to the power line for the electricity to jump from the line to the boom mechanism – this caused a work truck to be electrically charged, shocking the workers – the most seriously injured worker was touching a trailer, which was hitched to the truck, when he was electrocuted – while the man was attached to the trailer, another employee tackled him, removing him from the trailer – four other workers were mildly shocked and evaluated at the scene)
UNLOADING FATALITY Waipio industrial worker crushed to death (worker, 28, was crushed to death while unloading construction materials from a container – he died of asphyxiation due to compression of the neck and chest)
ODOT maintenance worker dies after work site emergency (maintenance worker with the state Department of Transportation died on the way to the hospital after a medical emergency on a work site around 4 p.m. – a DOT employee was performing CPR on the worker, 60, who was a Transportation Maintenance Specialist for a crew – he had been a ODOT employee for more than two decades, starting his time with the state agency in in the early 1990s – NOT SURE IF THIS IS AN INDUSTRIAL FATALITY or natural causes)
TRENCH Ten-foot trench collapses on Belmullet worker (construction worker, in his 30’s, was airlifted to hospital suffering with serious injuries after part of a trench in which he was working collapsed on him around 2pm – he was working on the sewer pipeline – it is understood that the worker was in the ten-foot-deep trench when part of the embankment came in on top of him – a machine is believed to have been operating in close proximity at the time of the incident – he suffered injuries to his chest and pelvic areas – his condition has been described as serious, but not considered to be life threatening)
Tokyo cops: Worker’s head crushed by 300 kg iron wall (a 300-kilogram iron wall fell over and crushed a male worker’s, 51, head at a construction site – worker was shoveling out soil when he was killed by the wall used to store excavated soil at the site near around 3:30 p.m. – two of the victim’s colleagues managed to escape moments before the wall fell)
ELECTROCUTION Worker electrocuted at building site (construction worker, 32, was electrocuted at a building under-construction – the work of laying pipes for water and power connection was in progress on the ground floor when the incident occurred – he was carrying some materials from the second floor – while getting down, on the first floor, he accidentally touched a live wire)
CONFINED SPACE FATALITY – ELECTROCUTION Welder repairing water bowser dies of electrocution (welder, 32, was repairing a mobile water tanker and was electrocuted – he was emerging out of the tank he was attending to when suddenly there was a loud noise – witness he saw the worker shouting and falling into the tank and he immediately disconnected the switch of the plant as he feared that he would have got electrocuted)
Miscellaneous
FATAL EXPLOSION Accident at Squaw Valley leaves ski patrol employee dead (a ski patrol employee, 42, died during avalanche control procedures at about 8:35 a.m. – incident occurred at the top of Gold Coast Ridge and “does not appear to be avalanche related” – multiple sources familiar with the resort have confirmed that the incident involved the use of explosives)
Worker seriously injured in Pearson industrial accident (worker, 22, sustained serious leg injuries in an industrial accident at an airport around 10 a.m. in a Gate area – the man’s leg got stuck between a belt loader and another vehicle – he was taken to hospital with serious injuries)
LOTO/GUARDING @ SKI RESORT Mount Timothy employee in hospital after workplace accident (a maintenance manager, 23, remains in hospital after both arms were were sucked into a conveyor belt lift mechanism at a Ski Area – he has already undergone three operations and could be facing a fourth)
LAWNMOWER FLIPPED UF worker pinned under lawn mower (maintenance worker, 37, was operating a lawn mower when it fell and pinned him to the ground at about 10:39 a.m. – he was driving a lawn mower uphill when the vehicle started to slide backwards – he fell back and was pinned underneath the lawn mower)