LOTO Accidents #1
This page was last updated on 05/06/2010
UPDATE, OSHA clears J.R. Wheel for restart; Worker at the factory was killed over weekend in incident with robot
BY STEPHEN DYER, Beacon Journal staff writer
NORTON: The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has allowed J.R. Wheel to start making wheels again. A robot at the factory killed a worker over the weekend, but OSHA officials said employees should not be concerned that a similar incident could happen again. “We are comfortable that they have proper lockout procedures,” said OSHA’s Clevelandarea Director Rob Medlock. The agency has determined that the robot on which Tyron Watson, 48, was working early Saturday morning was not properly “de-energized.” So when he walked into the cage that houses the robot to work on it, the robot re-activated and smashed him into a conveyor belt, killing him. Medlock said the company has a proper “lockout” procedure that, if followed, would make the robot immobile and incapable of functioning when a human is in the cage. The operator has to put a lock on the machine so it can’t “energize,” Medlock said. Lonnie Hinton, J.R. Wheel’s human resources director, said the company received the go-ahead to resume operations from OSHA on Monday afternoon. He said the company has set up grief counseling sessions with employees as they return to work. Some workers have taken advantage of the sessions, he said. Other employees apparently remain fearful of returning to work. The wife of an employee said yesterday that she won’t let her husband return to work until she is satisfied Saturday’s tragedy can’t happen again. “I’ve seen (robots) just start flinging wheels (in the cage),” said the woman, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her husband’s identity. “It’s basically a human being. You can trust them, but you’ve just got to know what you’re doing.” Medlock said the agency will take several weeks to determine, among other things, if Saturday’s accident was caused by operator error, or if the company’s procedures at the time were inadequate to avoid the accident.
Robot kills factory worker
Machine pins Akron employee at J.R. Wheel in Norton. Accident under investigation by county, state agencies
BY STEPHEN DYER, Beacon Journal staff writer
NORTON: An Akron man was killed yesterday morning when he was crushed by a manufacturing robot at a Norton wheel plant. The industrial accident killed Tyrone Watson, a polishing operator, shortly after 6 a.m. at J.R. Wheel on Wooster Road. Watson, 48, died when a robot that is used to pick up wheels and drop them into a polishing machine caught the worker and pinned him against a conveyor belt. A friend who had stopped at the plant to pick up Watson at 7 a.m. broke the news to his mother. “I asked him, `Where’s Tyrone?’ ” Watson’s mother, June Watson, said. “He told me he was dead.” The 71-year-old mother said she believes the company should have called to tell her about the accident. “I think it’s terrible they didn’t call,” she said. Lonnie Hinton, director of J.R. Wheel’s human resources department, said yesterday that the company did directly contact the family about Watson’s death. Watson had recently returned to J.R. Wheel — a company he worked for several years ago. “He works all the time,” said June Watson. Her son was planning to buy a new house. He was staying with his mother until then. His mother said Watson had five children. He was married, but has been separated from his wife for several years, she said. The Summit County Medical Examiner’s Office is handling the investigation on death. Spokesman David Turney said no ruling would be made until toxicology and other reports are returned to the office, which could take several weeks. Hinton said the plant will be shut down until the Occupational Safety & Health Administration completes its investigation of the accident. OSHA officials couldn’t be reached for comment. yesterday. The agency noted several serious violations of its policies at J.R. Wheel in 1999, including one for violating its standards for abrasive wheel machinery. The other violations were for electrical and welding systems. Those violations were settled and this year the company passed an unannounced OSHA inspection, according to the agency’s Web site. There were no accident investigations for the company in the agency’s database. According to OSHA statistics, 17 people were killed in 2000 at motor vehicle parts manufacturers such as J.R. Wheel. June Watson said her son’s funeral arrangements are being handled by Stewart & Calhoun funeral home in Akron.
Second day a health hazard
In two separate accidents, two Victorians have been seriously injured on their second day of work. One of the men, a factory hand, lost his right arm when it was caught in the dough machine he was operating. WorkSafe inspectors have since placed a prohibition notice on the dough machine. In the second accident, a new employee at Santini Constructions was hit by a bobcat bearing a one tonne load of crushed rock. WorkSafe Victoria says that a construction wheelbarrow the man was pushing at the time appears to have absorbed the majority of the weight, resulting in “an unbelievably fortunate escape for the worker involved”. However, the man sustained pelvic injuries, broken ribs and suspected head injuries. In the same week, a fruitier was killed when he was hit by a vehicle at Footscray’s Fruit & Veg market. The fatality takes the death toll involving forklifts and stock tug vehicles since 1985 to 47.
Lukens woman killed on job
By Bajeerah Lowe, Staff Writer, December 19, 2001
VALLEY — A press operator at Bethlehem-Lukens Plate was killed on the job Monday evening. Wanda Smith, 41, was pronounced dead on the scene by plant safety personnel after being crushed near an annealing press where she was performing final flattening of plate products, according to a statement from Bethlehem spokeswoman Bette Kovach. Dr. Rodger Rothenberger, Chester County coroner, said around 5 p.m. on Monday Smith was killed instantly after being pinned under a moving transfer car that weighed between 9,000 and 10,000 pounds. He said the car appeared to become activated after a switch malfunctioned. “This was a switch the foreman found a problem with earlier in the day,” said Rothenberger. “No one was supposed to be around there. We’re not sure why she was back there.” He said the accident was not witnessed. Investigations are being conducted by a joint union/management safety committee and the Chester County coroner’s office. An autopsy will be performed today. Domenick Salvatore, assistant area director of the Philadelphia-area office of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, confirmed his office will also have an open investigation into the death. “We are mandated by law to conduct an investigation anytime there is a fatality,” Salvatore said. According to Bethlehem officials, Smith, of Coatesville, was hired by the plant in January 1998. “We are deeply saddened by her loss,” said Van R. Reiner, president of the Sparrows Point division, which is responsible for the Coatesville operations, in a statement. “She was well-respected and well-liked by the entire operation. We extend our deepest sympathies to her family at this difficult time.” Two other Bethlehem-Lukens employees were taken to Brandywine Hospital for observation following the discovery of Smith, said the statement from Kovach. The current status of the two employees was not available at press time. Phone calls to Kovach were not immediately returned.
Steelworker killed in machine; Death is Stelco’s first since 1995
HAMILTON – A 34-year employee of Stelco was killed yesterday morning when he became entangled in equipment at a bar mill just minutes after starting his shift. Jeffery David Turner, a 57 year-old father of four, died shortly after 6 a.m. after trying to remove loose bars from a bundling machine at Hilton Works No. 1 Bar Mill. Hilton Works spokesman Roger Fulton said it’s unclear how Turner became trapped in the machine, which packages steel bars in preparation for shipping. He said Turner had worked with the machine for years, and was one of the first employees trained on it. “He’s an experienced operator there,” Fulton said. “This is an extremely upsetting event for everyone at Hilton Works.” Fulton said the machine appeared to be operating normally. The Ministry of Labour, who is investigating the accident along with the police and Stelco’s joint occupational health and safety committee, has issued a stop work order on the bundling machine until they get a report from an engineer certifying that it’s safe. Turner, who has two children and two step-children, had just relieved a co-worker when the accident happened. He was pronounced dead at the scene after being discovered by a co-worker. His step-daughter Stacey Long said Turner led a quiet life along with his children, aged 16, 22, 29 and 31. “He took care of his family. He took good care of my mom.” She said the Turners had just put up their Christmas tree in their Mountain bungalow, and looking at it as family and friends gathered yesterday made the painful news about his absence sink in. John Wordock, a retired Stelco employee who had worked with Turner, called the ex-U.S. marine a dedicated family man and an excellent union steward. “He was the type of guy you’d want to represent the guys in the plant. He could get along with almost anybody,” said Wordock. The last fatality at Stelco was in 1995 when a worker was electrocuted.
UPDATE, Fulton, N.Y. Chocolate plant cited by OSHA following amputation
SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A Fulton, N.Y., candy company’s failure to provide adequate machine guarding is among 32 alleged violations cited by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration following the agency’s inspection of a June 12 accident in which a worker’s arm was amputated in a machine. OSHA cited Nestle Confections and Snacks and proposed penalties of $62,450 for 27 alleged serious violations, two alleged repeat violations and three alleged other-than-serious violations of standards. Among the alleged serious violations for which the employer was cited was failure to provide adequate machine guarding for a variety of equipment, including rotating horizontal shafts, belts and pulleys. The serious violations carry a total proposed penalty of $44,950, according to OSHA area director Diane Brayden. The plant was also cited for failing to label chemical containers with the identity of their contents and failing to post warning notices on hazardous confined spaces. Both were alleged repeat violations with a total proposed penalty of $17,500. The employer was previously cited for similar conditions at the plant in March, 2000. OSHA also issued citations for failing to determine safe floor loads on an upper floor, failing to maintain fire alarms, and unsafe stacking of pallets and other materials. The three alleged violations were classified as other-than-serious. A serious violation is defined as a condition which exists where there is a substantial possibility that death or serious physical harm can result. An other-than-serious violation is a hazardous condition that would probably not cause death or serious physical harm but would have a direct and immediate relationship to the safety and health of employees. The investigation was conducted by OSHA’s Syracuse area office, located at 3300 Vickery Road, North Syracuse, N.Y., telephone (315) 451-0808. Nestle Confections and Snacks, of 555 South Forth St., Fulton, has until Dec. 18 to contest the citations.
Company fined over work accident
A Hastings company must pay $7,500 to a woman who was scalped by machinery in a work place accident. Crasborn Packing Ltd was fined after Judge Perkins found it had not taken all the steps necessary to provide the victim with a safe working environment. The woman had been sorting apples when one became jammed in the conveyer system. She went under the machine to try to dislodge the apple when her hair became entangled, and as she tried to free herself her hand also became caught. The victim was scalped and suffered severe lacerations to her hand, including losing part of her right thumb. Murray Thomson from Occupational Safety and Health in Hawke’s Bay says companies should ensure that workers cannot reach dangerous parts of machinery. He says policies preventing workers from doing so are not sufficient. Thomson says Judge Perkins indicated other packing houses should note that if a similar accident happens again they could face a far more substantial fine.
Man dies after getting trapped in equipment
Victim was cleaning chicken-cutting device; circumstances unclear
By HEATHER HOWARD
MARSHVILLE — A maintenance worker died Monday night after he was caught in a machine at a Union County poultry processing plant, officials said. Workers found Favian Paz, 23, of Monroe about 8 p.m. at the Pilgrim’s Pride processing plant in Marshville in eastern Union County, said Marshville Police Chief Mike Gaddy. Paz was pronounced dead at the scene, Gaddy said. His death appears to have been an accident, and officials do not suspect foul play. Paz’s body has been sent to Raleigh for an autopsy, Gaddy said. Paz worked for a Greensboro-based contracting company that provides maintenance work for the processing plant, Gaddy said. He had been cleaning a machine that halves chickens when he apparently got caught in the equipment. No one saw the accident, and it was unclear how Paz became trapped in the machine, Gaddy said. “We’re unsure how he got caught up,” Gaddy said. “We don’t know if he fell into it or his clothes got grabbed.” An inspector with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration visited the plant Tuesday and found no problems with the halving machine, Gaddy said. The Pilgrim’s Pride poultry processing facility – formerly the Wampler Longacre Poultry Processing Plant – is Marshville’s largest employer. Ray Atkinson, a public relations manager for Pilgrim’s Pride, said the company is still conducting its own investigation and declined at this time to comment further.
BHP fined for coal accident at Port Kembla
BHP has been fined $200,000 over a workplace accident, which occurred three years ago at its Port Kembla steelworks. A worker was knocked down by an avalanche of fluidised coal while cleaning a conveyor belt. The employee suffered a dislocated shoulder in the incident. BHP pleaded guilty to a breach of occupational health and safety laws before the New South Wales Industrial Relations Commission. WorkCover told the court, the risk factors contributing to the accident were serious enough to cause a fatality and should have been foreseen.
Borger man dies in accident at Agrium plant
BORGER – A Borger man died early Monday in an Agrium U.S. Inc. plant accident that severed an artery in his leg, said Steve Psutka, manager of the Borger nitrogen operation. Melvin Clark, 59, died at the scene of the accident at the company’s urea plant just off Farm-to-Market Road 1551, Psutka said. The fertilizer plant had just restarted operations after a month of shutdown, he said. About 2 a.m. Monday, Clark was working on a compressor that had developed problems after the plant’s restart, Psutka said. When he removed nuts from the bolts holding a valve cover plate, the cover plate blew off the valve and struck Clark in the upper leg, Psutka said. A mechanic and an operator in the area provided immediate medical assistance to no avail, Psutka said. No one else was injured in the accident. The urea plant has stopped operations while the company investigates, Psutka said. The anhydrous ammonia plant, located on the same grounds, remains open, he said.
Ford fined £20k for lost finger accident
Oct 8 2001
FORD has been fined £20,000 after a factory worker lost a finger. The worker had his finger amputated after working on an unguarded drill. It happened a year ago at the car manufacturer’s plant in Croydon, South London. Ford was prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive, and pleaded guilty to breaching the Health and Safety at Work Act. HSE inspector Catherine Jeffs says,”A company of the size and stature of Ford should be leading the way in health and safety, with minimal intervention from the HSE. “Instead they fell far short of the required standard.” Ford has released a statement saying ,”We deeply regret the injury and have agreed liability in this case. “Nothing is more important to Ford than the safety and well-being of our staff and we are proud of our safety record. “We have taken the necessary action to ensure nothing like this happens again.”
Repairman Dies Under Escalator
Safety: Norco man working in Central Courthouse is trapped when power comes on.
By MAI TRAN, TIMES STAFF WRITER
A worker repairing an escalator at Santa Ana’s Central Courthouse was killed Thursday when the power to the stairs was turned on, trapping him underneath. Mark Pillitiere, 37, of Norco was standing in a 3-foot by 5-foot space under the “down” side of the stairs about 11:30 a.m. When the escalator came on, Pillitiere was trapped between the structural support and the metal mechanism. Within 30 seconds, an Orange County sheriff’s security deputy who heard the man’s cries turned off the emergency power switch. A Santa Ana Fire Department crew responded within three minutes, but the worker was dead at the scene with massive injuries, authorities said. Pillitiere was a contractor for the courthouse through Fujitec America Inc. in Torrance, where he had worked for three months. His co-worker on the Santa Ana job was not injured. “We’re investigating to see what caused the power to come on,” Sheriff’s Department spokesman Jim Amormino said. Emergency power switches are at the top and bottom of the escalators, and a main power switch at the top can be operated only with a key, he said. The Sheriff’s Department and the California Division of Occupational, Safety and Health, which monitors workplace injuries, are conducting independent investigations, authorities said.
Man rescued from compactor
Saturday, August 25, 2001, By Tom Murphy
Jeffrey MacDaniels of Rome became trapped in machine while attempting to repair it. A Rome man escaped serious injury Thursday evening after his arms became trapped in a trash compactor at a Rite Aid distribution center in the city. Jeffrey S. MacDaniels’ upper body kept him from being pulled into the compactor after he fell onto a conveyor belt and his hands and arms became ensnared in the machinery, according to an Oneida County Sheriff’s Department news release. MacDaniels, 23, a maintenance man at the center, was trying to fix a problem with the compactor when the accident happened around 7:50 p.m. Undersheriff Peter Paravati said MacDaniels climbed a ladder above the machine to listen for a strange noise. He left the machine running so he could hear the problem. MacDaniels was standing on the ladder, which was on the compacting machine. He was trying to maneuver a bar on the machine when his right hand became stuck in the machine, the release stated. His other hand also became stuck between the compactor’s large rollers and a conveyor belt. Co-workers stopped the machine and rescued MacDaniels. An ambulance then took him to Rome City Hospital. Hospital officials said he was treated and released. Paravati said MacDaniels’ employers told deputies they would notify the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration about the accident.
DaimlerChrysler to pay safety violation fine in worker death
The Associated Press
TOLEDO, Ohio (August 23, 2001 1:38 p.m. EDT) – DaimlerChrysler AG has agreed to pay a $153,000 fine for safety violations uncovered after a machine repairman died at an automobile plant last year. Lazaro Fuentes Sr., 50, died when a conveyer line suddenly started as he made repairs on a nearby robot. Fuentes was pulled into the system and crushed. Occupational Safety and Health Administration inspectors said faulty wiring and poor implementation of machinery shutdown procedures contributed to the May 2000 accident. The company agreed to test and train workers on safety procedures. The Jeep plant opened in 1911 and is the nation’s oldest auto assembly factory. Since the former Chrysler Corp. acquired the plant in 1987, OSHA has cited the factory for 130 safety violations.
Hefty fine for work accident
The Occupational Safety and Health Service has welcomed the $20,000 sentencing of a Kawerau company after a man suffered serious burns in an accident last year. Norkse Skog Tasman Ltd contracted the engineering firm the man worked for to carry out maintenance work at its pulp mill last August. But when the man removed a valve from machinery hot pulp poured out, inflicting him with severe burns to 30 percent of his body, including his hands. Murray Thompson, OSH service manager for the Taupo-Eastern Bay of Plenty region, says the heavy fine – $15,000 of which will go to the victim – sends a strong message to employers. He says they must take all reasonable steps to ensure the safety of employees and contractors on their site. Thompson says a year on from the accident the man faces the next 18 months in a pressure suit and is unlikely to return to full capacity work
UPDATE, OSHA fines Owens Corning in Denver
Owens Corning has been cited with three violations, potentially carrying fines totaling $130,000, by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration in connection with an accident at its Denver plant in February in which an employee lost an arm. The company received citations for two willful violations and one serious violation of the Occupational Safety and Health Act. OSHA inspectors said they found inadequate machine guarding on asphalt shingle manufacturing equipment. “An employee lost his arm and other employees were exposed to serious machine guarding hazards because this employer did not address recognized hazards prior to the accident,” Herb Gibson, acting OSHA area director in Denver, said in a statement. OSHA’s citation for failing to guard sprocket wheels and chains carries a $70,000 proposed penalty; the company’s failure to guard rotating parts could carry fines totaling $60,000. Owens Corning has two weeks in which to contest the citations and fines.
Repairman receives serious shock on roof
By ALAN BURKE, News staff
PEABODY — A critically injured air conditioning technician, struck by hundreds of volts of electricity, was rescued yesterday from a Centennial Park rooftop after he managed to call for help on his cell phone. The repairman, Edward Eastman, 37, of Methuen, was taken first to Salem Hospital and then to Massachusetts General Hospital, where he was listed in critical condition late last night.
Eastman, an independent contractor working on behalf of Associated Mechanical Industries in Woburn, was alone on the roof of FEI Company at 10 Technology Drive at the time of the accident. Exactly what brought him into contact with the electricity could not be determined yesterday. But workers inside the building knew at once that something was wrong. “I guess the lights flickered,” said Ed Cahill of FEI. “That must have been when he was injured.” On the loading dock, another employee heard a series of loud pops. According to Deputy Fire Chief Paul Hinchion, Eastman was hit with between 220 and 440 volts of electricity. “The electricity probably entered through his hands,” he said. “He was working with his hands. Then it has to exit somewhere and it came out up near his neck. … He got zapped pretty good.” Eastman suffered significant blood loss through the wound on his neck, according to one witness. Stunned, he was nevertheless able to call 911 and report the accident. He could not make clear, however, which part of the huge roof he was on. But in a remarkable twist, workers at FEI were apparently listening to a scanner and realized that the accident had occurred above them. They also called 911, while alerting the dock workers. Eastman was located slumped alongside the air conditioning unit. A charred metal neck chain was found next to him. The Peabody Fire Department, along with Peabody Police and Northshore Ambulance, responded “within minutes,” according Hinchion, reaching the roof and turning off the power. “He was still breathing, still talking to us,” said EMT David Rowley. The air conditioning unit was found open, the no-longer-live wires exposed.
The fact that the victim remained conscious was encouraging, Rowley said. Moments after the accident, Eastman was being slowly, painstakingly lowered from the two-story brick building, down the gradual slope of a fire truck’s ladder. His arms were raw and red from burns and blood, and he was moving occasionally. Employees of FEI stood about watching, grim faced. “It’s extremely unsettling,” said Eileen Boudreau of FEI, which produces semiconductors for computers. The building’s air conditioning, she added, had been showing the stress of a long heat spell. The federal Occupational Health and Safety Administration and city officials have begun an investigation of the accident, according to police spokesman Sgt. Dennis Bonaiuto.
Man killed checking grain elevator
By M.K. GUETERSLOH, Pontiac bureau chief
SAUNEMIN — A Hopedale man was killed Tuesday as he conducted equipment safety checks at Saunemin Grain Co. Livingston County Coroner Michael P. Burke said Craig A. Springer, 23, died after he became caught in machinery in the south elevator. Rescuers found Springer at 10:23 a.m., Burke said. Springer was pronounced dead at the scene. Springer worked for a contractor who was hired to locate hot spots in the elevator’s equipment, authorities said. The name of the contractor was not available. Springer was using infrared equipment to scan the elevator when the accident occurred. Burke did not know how Springer became caught in the machinery. Typically, the inspection allows elevators to detect machinery problems — such as overheating bearings — and repair them before an accident or fire, Burke said. Saunemin Fire Department was assisted by the Pontiac and Cullom fire departments. Livingston County Sheriff’s Department and the coroner’s office continue to investigate. An autopsy has been scheduled for today, and an inquest is pending.
Autopsy shows worker at Millville Airport was electrocuted
August 14, 2001 – 12:15 AM, By JOYCE VANAMAN, Staff Writer, (856) 825-2303
MILLVILLE – The result of an autopsy conducted this past weekend lists electrocution as the cause of death of Mark Voorhees Jr., who was working in an electrical vault at Millville Airport last Thursday. Glenn Nickerson, Cumberland County public information officer, said Monday the autopsy was conducted at Shore Memorial Hospital in Somers Point by Dr. Elliot Gross, medical examiner for Cumberland and Cape May counties. Further study and investigation of the incident is being conducted under the direction of Col. John McCarnan, chief of police for the Delaware River and Bay Authority, which operates Millville Airport. “We are conducting the investigation and evaluation of evidence,” McCarnan said. Voorhees Jr., who would have been 34 this month, was employed by Gary Kubiak & Sons of Allentown, Monmouth County. Cumberland County Prosecutor Arthur Marchand, whose office worked with McCarnan, previously said it looked like Voorhees might have gotten a jolt and then drowned. There was some water in the vault. The victim was removed from the vault by workers and emergency medical personnel. Voorhees was transported to South Jersey Hospital-Newcomb Medical Center in Vineland by the Millville Rescue Squad and was pronounced dead a short time later.
10 treated in Institute chloroform leak
Tuesday August 14, 2001, By Ken Ward Jr., STAFF WRITER
Ten workers were treated Monday by company medical staff after a leak of toxic chloroform at the Aventis chemical plant in Institute. About 170 pounds of chloroform leaked from a pipe during a maintenance job on the pipe, according to Aventis estimates. No injuries were immediately reported outside the plant gates. Aventis said that a mistake by a paging company inadvertently prompted a shelter in place at the nearby West Virginia Rehabilitation Center. A plant emergency alarm was activated about 8:45 a.m. The leak was under control in about 25 minutes, Aventis officials said. In a news release, Aventis said that eight company employees and two contract maintenance workers were affected by the leak. Plant spokesman Hal Turley said that the contractors worked for Kellogg Brown & Root, a nonunion construction and maintenance company base in Texas. Turley said that the workers were doing routine maintenance in the plant’s East Carbamolyation production unit. The Institute plant makes a type of pesticides known as Carbamates. According to Turley, workers opened one of the unit’s pipes to begin maintenance on it. The pipe still had chemicals in it, and the chloroform leaked, Turley said. In the production unit, chloroform is used as a refrigerant. “Of course, we’re still investigating the cause of the leak,” Turley said. Chloroform is a colorless liquid with a sweet odor. The chemical was formerly used as an anesthetic, but that use had been largely discontinued. Today, chloroform is used in the production of plastics and as an industrial solvent. It produces poisonous gas in a fire, and is unstable when exposed to air. When exposed to light or heat, it can break down to phosgene, hydrochloric acid and chlorine. Chloroform causes cancer, and can also damage the liver, kidneys, and nervous system. Contact with it can irritate the skin, causing a rash or burning feeling. Turley said that one of the Brown & Root workers was treated for minor burns. Plant medical staff saw eight of the other nine workers as a precaution. The other worker was treated for minor chemical exposure, Turley said. “The vapors are much heavier than air, so the release hugged the ground,” the company said in its news release. “The situation was brought under control by the site emergency squad using firewater and sprinkler systems to eliminate the vapors.” Under federal law, leaks of 10 or more pounds of chloroform must be reported to regulators. Aventis said that the chloroform it released Monday “was released as a liquid to the ground and was largely contained within the unit.” Aventis owns and operates the old Union Carbide Institute plant, which was bought in the mid-1980s by the French company Rhone-Poulenc Ag Co. In December 1999, Rhone-Poulenc merged with a German company to form Aventis. Since then, federal workplace safety officials have inspected the plant just once, according to U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration records. That inspection, in April, prompted no citations, OSHA records show.
OSHA CITES NEW JERSEY COMPANIES FOR SAFETY VIOLATIONS FOLLOWING INVESTIGATION OF AMPUTATION
Ronell Managed Services LLC, of Roselle, N.J. and Topps Meat Co. in Elizabeth, have been cited for safety violations, with total proposed penalties of $103,500, following investigation of an amputation at Topps Meat Co., the Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced today. OSHA initiated its investigation in February, after a Ronell maintenance worker’s arm was severed as he was cleaning a mixer-blender. The Labor Department agency charged Ronell Managed Services with one alleged willful and four alleged serious violations of OSHA standards, according to Robert D. Kulick, OSHA’s area director in Avenel, N.J. Ronell was cited for failing to ensure that employees used lockout/tagout devices on machinery, an alleged willful violation carrying a total proposed penalty of $70,000. Alleged serious violations, with a total proposed penalty of $20,000, were issued for:
· failure to conduct periodic inspections of energy control procedures.
· failure to properly train employees required to clean machines about how to recognize and isolate energy sources.
· failure to inform the on-site (host) employer about lock/out procedures.
· failure to ensure that disconnects for machines were properly marked.
The host employer, Topps Meat Co. of NJ Inc., received citations for six alleged serious violations, with total proposed penalties of $13,500, for:
· failure to keep obstructions away from emergency exits.
· failure to provide locks for employees responsible for dismantling and cleaning machines.
· failure to conduct an annual review of lockout procedures and train employees in the procedures.
· failure to apply locks on machinery disconnects prior to cleaning.
· failure to properly guard rotating machinery parts.
· failure to label disconnecting boxes and provide a continuous ground path.
Topps Meat was also cited for failure to post and to certify the required OSHA log of injuries and illnesses at the workplace. The two other-than-serious citations carried no monetary penalty. A willful violation is defined by OSHA as one committed with an intentional disregard for, or plain indifference to, the requirements of the OSH act and regulations. A serious violation is defined as a condition where there is a substantial possibility that death or serious physical harm can result. An other-than-serious violation is a hazardous condition that would probably not cause death or serious physical harm, but would have a direct and immediate relationship to the safety and health of employees. The investigation was conducted by OSHA’s Avenel area office, located at 1030 St. George Avenue, Suite 205, Avenel, N. J. Telephone: 732-750-3270. Ronnell Managed Services LLC, of 298 Cox St., Roselle, and Topps Meat Co. of 1161 E. Broad St., Elizabeth, have until Aug. 22 to contest the citations.
Plumber killed in flat
A plumber has died after being involved in a freak accident while working on a central heating system in a flat. It appears that James Duncan, 55, who had been working alone, was electrocuted. He was found in the bathroom of a flat in Thomson Street, Aberdeen, by the owner of the property. Emergency services who were immediately called to the scene of the tragedy battled to revive Mr Duncan, but were unsuccessful.
The plumber, who had run his own business in the city for a number of years, was well-known throughout the city. Grampian Police and the health and safety executive are investigating the accident and a post mortem will be carried out. A spokesman for the police said: “It is not known how long a period of time there was between the occupier leaving him to get on with the task and him returning to the flat around 2pm to make the discovery.”
Man hurt when electricity flows in line under repair
A utility worker was seriously injured Wednesday after receiving an electric shock at an apartment complex in northern Charlotte, authorities said. The worker, identified by police as 48-year-old Roger Crump, was working on an underground power line in a hole near the intersection of Canterwood Drive and Elgywood Lane about 1:45 p.m. Somehow, the power was turned on, police said. Several co-workers rushed to help Crump, a Pike Electrical Co. employee. The Charlotte man had stopped breathing before co-workers and paramedics resuscitated him. Medic took Crump to Carolinas Medical Center, where he was in serious condition late Wednesday. The incident occurred at the Maple Run Apartments in the Hidden Valley community. Officials from the N.C. office of the Occupational Safety & Health Administration are investigating.
2 workers burned in electrical accident
By Cass Peterson, Daily Record
EAST HANOVER — An electrical accident left two workmen critically burned Tuesday morning at a pharmaceutical business on DeForest Avenue. Ralph Newhouse, 41, and Franco Augstan, 37, both of Elizabeth, were working on electrical equipment in the basement of a building at 44 DeForest Ave. about 8:22 a.m. when the accident occurred, police said. The building is occupied by Sidmak Laboratories Inc. East Hanover Lt. James Monaghan said both men were critically injured, Newhouse suffering burns over 50 percent of his body and Augstan over 14 percent of his body. Both were taken to the St. Barnabas Medical Center burn unit in Livingston, where both were listed in critical condition. Newhouse and Augstan were employed as electricians by Arco Electric of Elizabeth. The cause of the accident had not been determined Tuesday evening, and was under investigation by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the Morris County Prosecutor’s Office and East Hanover police, Monaghan said. Sidmak Laboratories, headquartered in East Hanover, is a maker of generic versions of widely known prescription drugs, including propranolol (Inderal), cimetidine (Tagamet), metronidazole (Flagyl) and cyclosporine (Neoral).
GM, state probing death of worker
Monday, July 23, 2001, By Chad Swiatecki , JOURNAL STAFF WRITER
Flint – A 32-year General Motors employee, crushed to death in a press at the Flint Metal Center on Saturday, was experienced at changing dies in the presses, a GM spokeswoman said Sunday. Randy D. Wark, 52, of Essexville died about 4:30 p.m. when he was crushed between a transfer press and a die he was changing at the plant on W. Bristol Road. Wark was a die-setter leader who was assisting with a die-setting operation on overtime on Saturday. “He was a very experienced employee, and people there respected him and looked to him as a leader because he does this type of operation all the time,” said Mary Irby, director of communications at the Metal Center. GM’s internal team of investigators is looking into the accident, along with investigators from the Michigan Occupational Safety Hazard Administration. GM expects to complete its investigation early this week. “We’re not ruling anything out, and we’ll be conducting a full investigation to look into this,” Irby said. “We have a good record of safety, and when an accident like this occurs, we look into every detail.” Lori Donlan, a spokeswoman for the state Consumer and Industry Services division, said an investigator from her agency is reviewing the accident. The investigation could take several weeks, and will include a review of the plant’s MIOSHA history, she said. GM is offering counseling to Wark’s family and siblings, most of whom live near Bay City and Essexville. “We want to work hard to understand what happened, and in our conversations with his family, we’ve let them know how sorry we are for what happened,” Irby said. “Everybody at Metal Fab talked so highly of him because he was such a hard worker that everyone looked up to.” Wark’s death is the first fatality at the metal stamping plant since 1988, when an employee was cutting wires on the roof, became entangled in some cut wires and was dragged off the roof. In 1973, an employee was crushed to death by a bulkhead being moved from a freight cart. Workers at the plant make a variety of sheet metal parts for various GM vehicles. Wark was an avid motorcyclist and fisherman. He leaves his parents, Ralph and Betty Wark of East Tawas, one brother and two sisters. His brother, Tommy, of Akron, Mich., said his brother’s experience makes his death so puzzling to the family. “I’m shocked,” said Tommy Wark, who works at GM Bay City Powertrain Division. “He’s changed the dies hundreds of times.” Funeral services will be at 1 p.m. Wednesday at the Unionville United Methodist Church in Unionville., with burial in Hickory Island Cemetery. Arrangments are being handled by the Briggs-Trenerry Funeral Chapel in Akron, Mich. Journal staff writer Marlon Vaughn contributed to this report. Information from Journal News Service also is included.
Miner dies in underground electrical accident
21 July 2001, By Roger Alford, Associated Press
PIKEVILLE, Ky. — A coal miner was electrocuted Friday morning in an underground mine at Slemp. Gary R. Caudill Jr., 26, of Delphia, was pronounced dead at Blue Diamond Coal’s No. 77 mine in southern Perry County. The fatality was the first in Kentucky’s coal industry this year. Inspectors from the Kentucky Department of Mines and Minerals and the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration are investigating the cause. Perry County Deputy Coroner Clayton Brown said Caudill, who had been a miner for five years, was working on an electrical panel that controlled a conveyor belt when the electrocution occurred about 2:45 a.m. Brown pronounced Caudill dead at the scene about 4 a.m. It was the first mine fatality in Kentucky since Oct. 4, 2000, said Cathy Prothro, spokeswoman for the Department of Mines and Minerals. “At this point last year there had been six fatalities,” she said. Prothro said the safety of miners is a key concern for regulators in Kentucky, which has had more fatalities than any other state for the last three years. “As always our personnel are out there working hard to make sure every miner is performing his job safely,” she said. MSHA, in a report released in January, said Kentucky accounted for about one-third of the 38 coal miners killed in the United States last year. Thirteen miners were killed in Kentucky mines; nine in West Virginia; four each in Virginia and Utah; two each in Illinois, Pennsylvania and Wyoming; and one each in Colorado and Indiana. The last time Kentucky had more than 13 mining deaths was 1993 when 18 miners were killed on the job. More stringent safety procedures and closer oversight by regulatory agencies have greatly decreased mine fatalities over previous decades. Nationally, more than 100 miners were killed each year through the 1970s. In the 1980s, the annual deaths ranged from 53 in 1988 to 125 in 1984. The number of fatalities nationally fell each year from 1990 through 1998, when they reached an all-time low of 29. In 1999, 35 miners died on the job.
Worker at library site electrocuted
CULVER – A man working on the Culver Library expansion project was electrocuted Thursday. Marshall County Coroner John Grolich said Clairance Strawderman, 45, of Walkerton, was pronounced dead on arrival at Saint Joseph Regional Medical Center, Inc. – Plymouth Campus. Strawderman was employed by W.A. Sheets and Sons of Fort Wayne, one of the contractors working on the library project. The Culver-Union Township Library is being expanded from 4,500 square feet to more than 19,000 square feet in order to meet the needs of the library for the next 20-30 years. The construction project is expected to last between 12 and 15 months. Strawderman was reportedly working with a pumping device to pour concrete walls. Witnesses at the scene said Strawderman did not come in contact with power lines. Investigators believe he may have come too close to the lines and was electrocuted. Efforts were made to revive him at the scene. A 911 call was made to Culver Police, Fire and EMS, but he died before emergency rescue personnel arrived. The incident remains under investigation by the Marshall County Coroner’s office.
Machine worker dies from injury; State investigates Chandler accident
By Carlos Miller, The Arizona Republic, July 18, 2001
CHANDLER – A construction worker whose legs were severely mangled in an accident at the Chandler Fashion Center site died Tuesday, prompting an investigation by the Arizona Division of Occupational Safety and Health. George Luna, 60, died less than 24 hours after falling into an idling piece of heavy machinery used to mix materials on construction sites. It took rescuers and fellow workers 40 minutes to take the machine apart and free the east Mesa man. He died at Maricopa Medical Center in Phoenix after undergoing surgery for severe injuries to his lower body. “Our main focus will be to determine if there are any violations of the occupation and health standards,” said Darin Perkins, director of the state safety and health agency. The agency will investigate Luna’s employer, Wheeler Construction Inc. of Phoenix, to determine whether the boring machine was guarded properly, whether Luna was trained properly to operate the machine and whether it is procedure to leave the machine idling when it isn’t in use. Authorities are still trying to determine what caused Luna’s accident. Officials from Wheeler Construction declined comment. The agency has inspected Wheeler Construction sites several times in the past, but found violations only once, for two minor infractions in 1983. The investigation in Luna’s case may take up to three months. Neighbor Eugene Wamsley remembers Luna as a friendly man who always stopped his yard work to wave or holler out a greeting. He also helped his friends.
Final UPDATE, Bakery fined for employees’ oven deaths
The two men were carrying out maintenance work
A bakery company and three company directors have been fined #373,000 after two workers died inside a bread oven. The men were carrying out maintenance work when they became trapped inside the machine where temperatures were above 100C. They died from burns and heat exposure after being unable to escape. Fresha Bakeries, trading as Harvestime Bakeries had admitted breaching health and safety regulations. David Mayes, 47, of Rushey Mead, Leicester, and Ian Erickson, 43, an engineer from Walsall, West Midlands, died after maintenance on the bread oven went wrong at Harvestime’s plant in Thurmaston Boulevard, Leicester in May 1998. The men were sent into the oven only two hours after it had been switched off. They climbed in through the bottom and onto a conveyor used to take the dough through the giant machine. All they were wearing for protection were all-in-one suits. Anthony Barker QC, prosecuting, said: “The oven was normally set to run at 260C. It had only been turned off for two hours and the centre was 100C when these two men went inside. “No-one, it seemed, looked at the temperature gauge at the side of the oven which would have indicated it wasn’t safe to go in.” Mr Erickson, had taken a radio with him and after a few minutes inside sent a panicky message saying it was too hot. “They were trapped. There was no system of reversing the conveyor and no system of getting them out of the oven,” said Mr Barker. It took 17 minutes – the time it took for the conveyor to pass through the oven – before other workers could help the men. Mr Erickson was brought out in “a state of collapse” and had extensive burns. Mr Mayes was trapped inside the oven and had to be freed by the fire service. He had 80% burns to his body and died at the scene. John Bridson, 54, of Hale, the managing director of Fresha Limited, the company which owns the bakery, admitted two charges of failing to provide a safe system of work. The production director, Brian Jones, 60, of Hertford, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to a single count of the same offence. The chief engineer, Dennis Masters, 45, of Mountsorrel, admitted one charge of failing to take reasonable care for others at work. Fresha Bakeries were fined a total of #250,000 and ordered to pay costs of #175,000. The firm’s owners, Harvestime Ltd, of Walsall, West Midlands, was fined a total of #100,000 and made to pay costs of #75,000. Mr Bridson was fined #20,000 and ordered to pay costs of #5,000. Mr Jones was fined #1,000 and Mr Masters #2,000 because of their financial means. They also escaped having to pay costs. The prosecution followed a joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and Leicestershire Police.
TRACK WORKER ELECTROCUTED
By DAN MANGAN
July 18, 2001 — A subway track worker was killed yesterday morning after falling onto an electrified third rail in Queens. Samuel McPhaul, 49, of Elmhurst, had been working as a flagman for a track crew at 2 a.m. when he died, said TA spokeswoman Deirdre Parker. McPhaul was pronounced dead at the scene, about 100 feet north of the Grand Avenue station. Service was disrupted on the line for about two hours, Parker said. John Samuelsen, the Transit Workers Union’s track division chairman, said it was the first track-worker death since 1997.
UPDATE, Oven deaths sentencing due
Monday, 16 July, 2001, 14:53 GMT 15:53 UK
A bakery company and three of its directors are awaiting sentencing after two men were killed in an industrial bread oven. The two were carrying out maintenance work when they became trapped and were carried through the 75 foot oven on a conveyer belt. Unable to escape, they died from burns and heat exposure. Fresha Bakeries, trading as Harvestime Bakeries, pleaded guilty to four counts of failing to provide a safe system of work. David Mayes, 47, of Rushey Mead, Leicester, and Ian Erickson, 43, an engineer from Walsall, West Midlands, died after maintenance on the bread oven went wrong at Harvestime’s plant in Thurmaston Boulevard, Leicester in May 1998. The men, who were trying to retrieve a broken part, became trapped as temperatures inside the bread oven rose to 100C. Three company directors pleaded guilty charges under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974. John Bridson, 54, of Hale, the managing director of Fresha Limited, the company which owns the bakery, admitted two charges of failing to provide a safe system of work. The production director, Brian Jones, 60, of Hertford, Cheshire, pleaded guilty to a single count of the same offence. The chief engineer, Dennis Masters, 45, of Mountsorrel, admitted one charge of failing to take reasonable care for others at work. The company and directors were being sentenced at Leicester Crown Court on Monday. The prosecution followed a joint investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and Leicestershire police.
Farmer Recovering After Baler Accident
Doctor Expected To Update Condition Friday
NEW MARKET, Minn., 6:23 p.m. CDT July 13, 2001 — A New Market farmer who amputated his arm to save his life continued to recover Friday at a hospital. Doctors said Friday afternoon that Jarrod Wagner’s chances of recovery are “good.” He has undergone two lengthy surgeries. “It was a very bad injury on a relative scale,” Dr. Gregory Mesna said. “He’s doing very well from my standpoint. This is a very strong individual. We’re trying to save and preserve as much of the arm that’s left as we can. That way, he’ll have as much function as he can.” Wagner, 34, was working with a hay baler Tuesday night when a clump of hay clogged the machine. He reached inside to remove the obstruction, but his left arm was caught. Wagner was slowly being pulled in and struggled to free himself for about 15 minutes. Wagner broke his arm by kicking at it with his leg. With his free arm, he grabbed the protective headphones he was wearing to ward off the noise of the machine and used a piece of metal from them to saw off his trapped left arm below the elbow. He drove a nearby tractor about 300 yards to his father and best friend. Wagner and his friend went to Fairview Ridges Hospital in Burnsville while his father hunted for his forearm. His father found the arm, but it was too damaged to be reattached. From the Burnsville hospital, Wagner was taken by medical helicopter to North Memorial Medical Center, where surgeons worked on him for four hours. The limb could not be reattached, and doctors said that they might need to remove more of his arm. If an artificial limb can be fitted, Wagner might have surgery next week.
MAN SURVIVES SHRED HORROR
By ERIC LENKOWITZ
June 17, 2001 — A Long Island man miraculously escaped being crushed to death by the industrial wood shredder he was repairing yesterday, authorities said. Someone mistakenly turned on the machine when Edwin Rolando Parra, 29, was inside, cops said. It wasn’t until a co-worker heard Parra’s cries from inside the machine’s hopper that it was shut down and his colleagues freed him, cops said. Parra, a mechanic for the last three months at Global Land Materials, was rushed to Brookhaven Memorial Hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for severe chest injuries, said police. He was in critical but stable condition last night. “He was very lucky,” a Brookhaven doctor told The Post. Parra, an Ecuadorian immigrant, has been living with his sister in Long Island since moving from Peekskill.
Man loses arm in auger
By Susan C. Nicol, News-Post Staff
BUCKEYSTOWN – Local rescue personnel said it took a cooperative effort to extricate a man’s arm from an auger in a large machine at Alcoa Eastalco Works on Monday morning. Ed Stavish, a maintenance supervisor in the Central Maintenance Shop at Eastalco, was undergoing treatment Monday night at R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, Baltimore. His lower left arm was amputated, doctors said. Mr. Stavish’s left arm was caught in an auger that pulled him in up to the shoulder before co-workers could get the machine shut off, said Earl Robbins, an Eastalco spokesman. Investigators with Maryland Occupation Safety and Health agency were on the scene and are conducting a probe, Mr. Robbins said. Carroll Manor Fire Chief Allen Keyser said he immediately realized his crew was faced with an intricate operation. The 20-foot auger is made of special steel, and rescue personnel soon found out it was no match for their sawblades. Paramedics, and later a special team from R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center, monitored Mr. Stavish’s vital signs and administered intravenous fluids while the extrication effort proceeded. Realizing they were involved in a lengthy rescue with an unstable patient, the chief said he requested the “Go Team” from R Adams Cowley Shock Trauma Center in Baltimore. The “Go Team” is a rapid response team that consists of a surgeon, a nurse-anesthetist and a senior attending physician that respond to support local emergency medical personnel, said Dr. Andrew Pollak, the director. Dr. Pollak said Mr. Stavish remained conscious and alert throughout the ordeal. Amputating limbs in the field is rare and done as a last resort, Dr. Pollak said, but it’s something the team is prepared to do. With Mr. Stavish’s arm caught in the position it was, Dr. Pollak said it was difficult to determine the severity of the bleeding. Once Mr. Stavish was freed, Dr. Pollak said a tourniquet was applied. He was flown to the trauma center and rushed into surgery. However, the damage to his arm was too severe to save it. Chief Keyser said Eastalco workers pitched in to help and brought in special tools to cut the auger apart. “I asked for their best cutter, and he did a hell of a job,” he said. “There were a lot of different things facing all of us.” Rescue personnel involved in the extrication had to wear protective gear including breathing apparatus for a while because of the dangerous dust in the immediate area. “It was really hot in there, too,” Chief Keyser said. Both the chief and the doctor said they were pleased with the cooperative effort. “I just don’t have the words to explain how everyone worked as a team,” Chief Keyser said. “… That’s what it’s all about.”
Springfield worker killed in accident
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. (AP) — A worker was killed early Saturday after he became trapped in a machine that cuts rubber into strips, police said. A medical examiner said Gary Johnson, 34, died instantly at the Dayco Rubber plant, which produces rubber belts for the automotive industry. Johnson suffered massive injuries to his head and chest.
UPDATE: OSHA fines Clinton Nurseries for March incident
CLINTON – The federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration has fined Clinton Nurseries $10,800 for violations associated with an industrial accident last March that caused the loss of a nursery worker’s arm. Charles Chapman, 63, of Westbrook, was working to clear a jam in a screw conveyor used to move potting soil from a hopper into a warehouse at the sprawling Route 1 nursery when the March 17 accident occurred. Chapman’s sleeve became caught in the conveyor and he was forcibly slammed into the side of the warehouse. The injuries he suffered required the amputation of his arm. OSHA officials said Clinton Nurseries was fined for failing to take a number of precautions prior to allowing employees to work on machinery. The violations, all of them described as serious, included the failure of employees to lockout the conveyor from starting when being repaired, that property training was not provided to employees involved in repairs on the device, and there was no clearly labeled electrical cutoff. Company officials were not available for comment on the decision, which can be appealed. ©Clinton Recorder 2001
Nestle worker mangles his hand
Wednesday, June 6, 2001, By Catie O’Toole
A Nestle employee lost at least one finger and part of his right hand Tuesday afternoon while working at the Fulton plant, city firefighters and witnesses said. The man, whose name was not immediately available, hollered as his hand got caught in a machine, said a maintenance worker who asked to remain anonymous. About 2:20 p.m., a co-worker heard him yell and stopped the auger, a screwlike machine that mixes chocolate, the maintenance worker said. Then the maintenance worker called for help. Menter Ambulance treated the man in an ambulance outside the plant’s Fay Street entrance. Emergency crews brought the man to the River Glen Plaza parking lot, where a Mercy Flight helicopter met them. The helicopter then took the man to University Hospital, Fulton Assistant Fire Chief Dana Smith said. Before rescue crews arrived, the man was conscious and slumped over the machine in the refining room, the maintenance worker said. Several maintenance and production workers were able to free the man’s hand from the machine. Occupational Safety and Health Administration and Nestle are investigating the matter, said Nestle representative Tricia Bowles. Nestle also is offering counseling to its employees, she said. Police and fire officials were called to the scene, but they are no longer investigating the incident, Fulton police Investigator Dean Burridge said. Local 1974 of the United Food and Chocolate Workers President Fred DeMauro was unavailable for comment Tuesday. The Fulton plant is the oldest chocolate factory in the United States and in the 1960s employed as many as 1,500 workers. Today, it employs 550.
Worker scalped when hair gets caught in machine
TAVARES, Fla. — (AP) — A worker underwent hours of surgery after a drill machine ripped off her hair and scalp at a manufacturing plant. Norma Miller, 49, of Ferndale, was cleaning out a drill-component machine when a rotating bar grabbed her hair from the front, entangling it. The machine tore off her hair and scalp from her forehead to the back of her neck. “It happened so fast,” Miller said Tuesday from her hospital room at Orlando Regional Medical Center. “Snap your fingers. It was that fast.” Miller said she was wearing her hair in a bun when the accident occurred Thursday at the Qualtool manufacturing plant in Tavares, northwest of Orlando. She said she was working on a new machine that did not have a protective guard or shield. A Qualtool official said the company would not comment on the incident. After the accident, workers wrapped Miller’s head in ice and towels. She was taken by helicopter to the hospital, where she underwent surgery. Doctors reattached portions of her scalp and hair around her forehead, ears and the back of her neck. “I look at it this way: I’m alive,” Miller said. “It could have killed me.” Miller, who started working at the plant in August, said she faces several more operations, including a skin graft. Dr. Frank Stieg, a plastic and reconstructive surgeon in Winter Park, said such accidents are not common in American factories because of government regulations promoting workplace safety.
Man killed in industrial accident
By Dustin Block, May 22, 2001
STURTEVANT – A man was killed Tuesday afternoon at Rohner Asphalt and Grading Contractors while cleaning an industrial machine. Sturtevant Police Chief Art Scola said the man was crushed and died instantly. Police are not releasing his name pending notification of his family. Scola said the man was standing inside of an asphalt crusher and removing pieces of asphalt when the accident occurred. The machine was turned off, but apparently as the victim worked a large blade rotated and trapped him. “Basically this was a tragic industrial accident,” Scola said, who added the circumstances were “very unusual.” “This gentleman had been working with this type of machinery for the last 15 years,” he said. The accident occurred at about 1:30 p.m. Sturtevant police and fire responded, as did Flight for Life, the Racine County medical examiner and the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Rohner Asphalt and Grade is located at 9615 Charles St.
Supervisor’s lower body crushed at asphalt plant
By WARREN DUZAK Staff Writer
An afternoon accident yesterday at a Nashville asphalt plant was the kind of nightmare that haunts those who work with heavy machinery. A supervisor at the HMA Products asphalt plant along Whites Creek Pike either slipped or was pulled into a crushing device that smashed his left leg, tore open his stomach and left him bleeding badly and trapped in the metal jaws. ”By the time he ends up at Vanderbilt Hospital without losing a leg, it will be a miracle,” Emergency Medical Services Assistant Chief Robert E. Brooks said. ”’He is in extremely critical condition.” R.L. Alvis Jr., 57, of Lebanon, was carried by LifeFlight helicopter to Vanderbilt University Medical Center, where he was listed in critical condition last night. The accident, which occurred at 4 p.m., left emergency personnel with a difficult decision. Confronted with trying to remove Alvis from the machinery, they considered an emergency amputation to extract him. At one point they advised Vanderbilt Medical Center to dispatch a physician with the helicopter in the event an on-site amputation became necessary at the plant site. ”When you are dealing with heavy machinery where someone its trapped, it’s not like taking a door off a car,” Brooks said. ”You have to literally dismantle it.” He praised emergency technicians who were able to extract the victim in only 20 minutes. HMA Chief Manager Mann Pendleton said Alvis has been with the company for about 12 years, the same length of time the Whites Creek plant has been in operation. Pendleton described him as an experienced worker with about 30 years in the business. ”Unfortunately, we have had an accident with an experienced employee,” Pendleton said. ”There are hazards in any kind of manufacturing job.” Pendleton declined to give any detailed information about the machinery where Alvis was working or the cause of the accident. Brooks said there was a conveyor belt that led to a crushing device. Pendleton said the plant is operated by four employees. Alvis’ co-workers declined to comment.
Bakery worker killed in accident
BRIDGEPORT – A 45-year-old bakery worker died of severe injuries to the head and neck when he became caught in a baking machine, the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner said Saturday. Jose Manuel Guerra of Bridgeport died Friday night when he became tangled in a conveyor-driven roll-producing machine at the State Street bakery, police said. The incident occurred after the bakery sales room closed for the evening. The $8.4 million, 45,000-square-foot bakery opened two years ago and is believed to be among the largest bakeries in the state. It features computer-controlled stainless steel machines from Italy that produce 8,000 rolls an hour and employs several dozen workers. It supplies rolls and bread for school systems and supermarket chains in southern Connecticut. Officials of the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration joined Bridgeport police in the investigation late Friday night. An autopsy by the chief medical examiner Saturday ruled the cause of death was blunt trauma injuries to the head and neck.