This one occurred in South America but due to the sheer power of this event, I am sharing with the SAFTENG membership. The worker was thrown over 650 feet and of course, perished in the accident. Its the same old story… tanker starts to leak – they take to a repair shop for repair – repair shop does NOT prepare the tanker properly and begins welding on it and… BOOM! Another life taken!
The tanker truck was used to transport tallow, sort of like animal fat. It is assumed that the workers did not recognize that once welding work began, the heat converted the slime to a liquid, which has a Flashpoint of 500F; but with the welding taking place, the FP was achieved and vapors were liberated within the tanker truck. Once the LEL was achieved, we can see the results.