LOTO Accidents 2

LOTO Accidents #2

This page was last updated on 05/06/2010

 

Man whose hand was severed to receive $1.75M
Tuesday, October 29, 2002
A former Paterson man who suffered a severed hand while working at a Coca-Cola plant will receive a $1.75 million settlement of a four-year-old lawsuit. John Betancourth, 50, whose hand was reattached following the 1996 accident, plans to use the money to move his wife and three children to Florida, his lawyer said Monday. “He’s very happy and very relieved,” said Hawthorne attorney Charles Ingenito. Betancourth was injured at a Queens factory while repairing a depalletizer – a machine that lifts items off wooden pallets. A portion of the machine fell on him and sliced through his right arm at the wrist, Ingenito said. He sued the Coca-Cola Co. and the manufacturer of the machine in state Superior Court in Passaic County in 1998. The case was moved to U.S. District Court in the Bronx, and Coca-Cola was eventually dropped as a defendant. Auto Quip, the Oklahoma-based machine manufacturer, will pay Betancourth $1 million in the next few days and the remainder of the settlement in February, Ingenito said. Betancourth currently lives in Queens. His use of his injured hand is limited, Ingenito said. 

Bailer traps, kills Rumpke employee
Glen E. Giffin, 32, of Circleville, died Friday afternoon following an accident at the Rumpke Recycling Center in Circleville. According to Pickaway Sheriff reports, Giffin was working inside a bailer when a pipe collapsed, trapping him inside. Rescue units from Williamsport Fire Department, Pickaway Plains, and Circleville Rescue freed Giffin from the machine but he was pronounced dead on the scene. The accidental death is still under investigation by the Pickaway County Sheriff’s Office and OSHA.

 

Worker Crushed At Seaport Manufacturing Plant
SEABROOK, N.H. — A worker at a Seabrook manufacturing plant was hospitalized after he was crushed by a large machine Monday morning. The 26-year-old Hampton, N.H., man works at the Venture Corp. on Route 1, which manufactures plastic auto parts. Workers said that the man was operating a large press that makes bumpers for pick up trucks. Witnesses said the man was inside the press, pulling out a bumper, when the machine slammed shut and crushed him. Employees said the man had worked at the plant for several years. “We arrived on scene and found a 26-year-old male with a crush injury,” paramedic Marc Bibaud said. “It took them some time to get him out. As soon as we got him, we began aggressive care on scene and throughout transport.” The man was flown to Boston Medical Center where he was listed in stable condition. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating the accident.

 

UPDATE, Wood industry fined $125,000 in connection with employee death 
Nelia Raposo October 10, 2002
News – Shelburne Wood Processing Limited was fined $125,000 last month in connection with the workplace death of employee Matthew Chrichton. The 19-year-old Grand Valley resident was killed on June 30, 2000 at the small wood treatment facility in Shelburne, while training another employee. He was showing the trainee how to load a roll of strapping onto the dispenser of a strapping machine (a machine which wraps metal strapping around a bundle of lumber planks to hold the planks together) when the machine’s platen (a flat metal plate) came down. Chrichton had placed his head between a bundle of planks and the platen to check why the bundle wasn’t moving. At the Sept. 27 hearing at Orangeville’s Ontario Court of Justice, the wood processing plant’s president Tim Seaman told Justice of the Peace Wendy Casey that it was especially hard for him knowing that an employee died while on the job at the family-run business his father started. In a telephone interview, plant controller David Ambridge said, “we have about 0 to 50 employees and half of them are still here (from when Chrichton worked there) and they remember Matthew as a bright, energetic young man. It’s always difficult when you lose someone.” A Ministry of Labour investigation found the strapping machine’s control mechanisms had not been locked out. Shelburne Wood Processing Limited pleaded guilty to failing, as an employer, to ensure that control switches or other control mechanisms, including the hydraulic power of the strapping machine, were locked out and that other effective precautions necessary to prevent any starting were taken when the starting of a machine, device or thing may endanger a worker’s safety, as required by Section 76 of the Regulations for Industrial Establishments. Since the fatal accident, Ambridge said that the primary thing the company has done is insist all six of the people on its health and safety committee are certified under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Ambridge also said that significant funds have been spent training all employees on locking out electricity and on upgrading equipment with “extensive guarding” in an effort to bring the plant’s safety features to date. “Clearly there’s much greater awareness (at the plant),” Ambridge said. “It’s sad that something like this needs to happen before something gets done.” Chrichton’s family could not be reached at press time.

 

UPDATE, Factory fined after machine traps worker 
Oct 10 2002 By Elwyn Roberts
A NORTH Wales factory was fined £17,000 yesterday following an accident in which a worker suffered severe arm injuries. Hefin Wyn Jones, 30, from Groeslon, near Caernarfon, was trapped for 10 minutes in a machine at North Wales Tissue Ltd in September last year. Flintshire magistrates, sitting at Mold, heard how Mr Jones was released by colleagues and underwent a six hour operation at the Countess of Chester Hospital. He was in hospital for 20 days, he could not drive for months and had been treated by a plastic surgeon and orthopaedic consultant, magistrates were told. Mr Jones was still in pain, had effectively lost the use of the arm, and he could not grip because he only had the use of his index finger and his thumb, the court heard. He was in court yesterday to hear the company, from Oakenholt, Flint, being fined. The paper tissue manufacturer was also ordered to pay £2,000 prosecution costs. After the hearing, Mr Jones said he was glad it was over, adding: “I am awaiting further surgery and I have been told the arm is unlikely to improve much more without more operations.” He said he had instructed solicitors to sue the company for compensation. Court chairman Lady Janet Jones said the company had failed to take action over a risk assessment which had earlier identified a hazard over access to the paper making machine. The court heard at the time the machine was in the process of being commissioned by Italian engineers and the magistrates said the company had failed to control the activities of the contractors on site. There was no system in place to prevent the over-riding of an interlocking system on the gates of the perimeter fence to the machine, which meant it could be operated with the gates open. A previous incident, which also involved contractors on site, should have given the company warning that action needed to be taken to make the site safer for its employees, she said. “We feel that the company has fallen below the standard that could be reasonably expected of them to protect their employees,” Lady Jones said. “We have also taken into account that Mr Jones suffered a serious and long term injury.” But she added compensation for such a serious and complex injury was best left to the civil court. The company changed its plea and admitted a health and safety at work charge. Earlier this year North Wales Tissue Ltd – which is about to expand its workforce from 80 to about 300 – was fined £7,000 with £12,000 costs after it was convicted of a health and safety charge after a man was severely hurt when he was trapped under a beam which fell from an overhead crane. Magistrates heard the company had been taken over by the international Swedish company SCA, which was planning to invest in two finishing plants at Flint that would mean a substantial jobs boost.

 

Both feet of recycling yard worker amputated
By Andrea Cavanaugh, October 9, 2002
The feet of a recycling yard worker were severed Tuesday morning in Saticoy when the man became entangled in a machine used to compact cardboard. The 28-year-old man, whose name was not released, was taken to Ventura County Medical Center after the 11:15 a.m. accident and was later transferred to Los Angeles County USC Medical Center. He was listed in serious condition, USCMC spokeswoman Adelaida De La Cerda said. Surgeons were evaluating the victim late Tuesday to see if his feet could be reattached, De La Cerda said. Firefighters were called to Paradise Industries, in the 1500 block of Lirio Avenue, by co-workers who witnessed the accident. A preliminary investigation indicates the man might have stepped into the machine after it became clogged with materials, said Dean Fryer, a spokesman with the California Occupational Safety and Health Administration. “It appears the cardboard-crushing machine had jammed,” Fryer said. “He was trying to clear it.” The man had already been freed from the machine when firefighters arrived, said Don McPherson, a battalion chief with the Ventura County Fire Department. Although it is possible to climb into the machine while it is operating, “you obviously shouldn’t be inside it,” McPherson said. The man was conscious and talking to paramedics as they tried to control the bleeding, he said. A man who identified himself as the owner of Paradise Recycling declined to comment on the accident.

 

UPDATE, Man who lost leg in workplace accident files lawsuit 
VALPARAISO, Ind.- A man who lost his right leg after it was crushed inside heavy machinery has filed a lawsuit seeking more than $50 million in damages. Jordan Moore, 23, lost his leg when it was caught in a corrugating machine at the Jet Corr plant near Valparaiso. The lawsuit filed last week in Porter Superior Court said Jordan was conscious and trapped in the machine for more than an hour as paramedics and co-workers worked to free his crushed and shredded leg. Moore’s attorney, Kenneth J. Allen, said Friday that Moore is recuperating from another surgery caused by sores from his prosthetic leg. “Jordan will never recover what he has lost, but perhaps we can compel some safety changes through a jury verdict,” Allen said. After the March 10, 2001, accident, plant supervisor Jerome Wilson told police Moore had gotten up on the top of the conveyer belt as a piece of cardboard had become jammed. He was trying to free it when his leg became caught. Wilson said Moore should not have been up on the machine. The lawsuit was filed against the German manufacturer of the equipment, BHS Corrugated Maschinen und Anlagenbau, GmbH; its American subsidiary, BHS Corrugated North America Inc. based in Baltimore, Md.; and the contractor that installed the machinery, Hunter Corp. of Portage. The defendants could not be reached for comment. Phone messages were left Friday and Saturday at Hunter Corp.’s Portage office. A woman who answered the phone at BHS Corrugated in Baltimore said no one was available to comment Friday. A message was left at BHS Corrugated on Saturday. Information from: Merrillville Post-Tribune

 

Bakery worker’s hand is injured by machine 
HARRISON – A 56-year-old man who works at a bakery caught one of his hands in the gears of a machine used to make bread yesterday afternoon, officials said. The incident occurred at 12:04 p.m., at Harrison Baking Co., at 840 Jersey St., according to Fire Capt. Jim Woods. When emergency personnel arrived at the scene, Woods said, employees of the bakery had already shut off the power to the machine that had trapped the man’s hand. Woods said the man had his hand caught in the gears of a conveyor, and that the conveyor had to be backed up manually with wrenches to remove the hand. He was taken to the Trauma Center at University Hospital, Newark. “The patient was obviously in pain, but he was conscious and alert the whole time,” Woods said, adding that it took about 10 minutes to remove his hand from the machine. Woods would not identify the victim, but said he is a resident of Harrison. Officials at University Hospital could not comment on the condition of the man.

 

UPDATE, Worker killed in rollercoaster horror
A WORKER killed when he was hit by a rollercoaster had not heard a colleague’s shouted warning, an inquest jury heard. Maintenance engineer Harry Mathews, 59, had been greasing the track after earlier problems with the Gauntlet ride at the Camelot theme park at Charnock Richard, near Chorley. A pathologist told the inquest at Preston that his injuries were the most serious she had seen in her 20 years’ experience. The Health and Safety Executive is still investigating the accident, which happened in October last year. Mr Mathews, from Merton Road, Highfield, Wigan, described as a skilled, conscientious engineer, had been putting diesel on the track after the ride got stuck earlier in the day. Witnesses said he appeared to be leaning over the track when he was struck. Colleague Andrew Carter said: “I shouted for him to move but he didn’t hear me. It came down the loop before hitting him. Coroner Howard McCann, recording a misadventure verdict, said: “Maybe he thought he was okay for a little while and misjudged it.”

 

UPDATE, Construction worker killed when loader bucket falls
Jim Adams 
A construction worker was killed and another was injured in an accident while they were working on a loader in Stillwater, police said. David P. Luedeke, 27, of New Scandia Township, was killed Tuesday afternoon when the loader’s bucket dropped on him while he was trying to repair a leaky hydraulic pressure line, police Sgt. David Roettger said. Troy D. Skogen, 34, of Lino Lakes, also was injured by the falling bucket. He was treated at Lakeview Memorial Hospital in Stillwater and released, officials said. The men worked for M.A. Raleigh Trucking. They were moving fill at a construction site in the 100 block of E. Olive St., Roettger said.

 

UPDATE, Duke Energy to pay fine on fatal blast 
By Dawn Marks, The Oklahoman
GUYMON — A gas company has agreed to pay a $10,000 fine for a March explosion that killed an employee in Texas County. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration reached a settlement with the company Tuesday, area director Jim Brown said. The March 6 explosion at the Duke Energy natural gas compression plant near Straight in Texas County killed one employee and hurt another worker. Andy Hanson, of Hooker died from the injuries he received in the explosion and fellow employee Corey Rose was severely injured. About 500 feet of the 600-foot building remained as a structural skeleton, according to fire department reports. “We found that in this case, the training was inadequate and the employee did not lock out the source of energy,” Brown said. “That appears to be the cause of the fire.” Duke Energy had just acquired the Texas County site about a week before the fire, he said. The initial citation, issued Aug. 27, stated that the company did not offer adequate training, did not have certification of training and an employee failed to lock out the system. At that time, the agency recommended $15,000 in fines, he said. However, the company had agreed to the $10,000 settlement, and Brown was awaiting the signed agreement Tuesday. Brown said the agency requires employees to turn off a power source when doing maintenance, and lock it off so another employee cannot turn it back on inadvertently. Had the company chosen to appeal, the issue would have gone before an administrative law judge. Because the company has agreed to the settlement and has taken measures to avoid the problem in the future, the agency is satisfied, Brown said. Company representatives could not be reached for comment.

 

Man Dies After Getting Caught In Concrete Machine; Authorities Investigating Cause Of Accident
ORLANDO, Fla. — A 53-year-old man was killed Wednesday after getting caught in a machine that makes concrete blocks, according to Local 6 News. Local 6 News reported that the co-owner of A-1 Block Manufacturing was performing some overnight repairs in the building located Division Street when the accident happened. The worker was dead when paramedics arrived at the scene, Local 6 News reported. Local 6 News reported that a police chaplain is at the company consoling workers and family members. Authorities are investigating the cause of the accident. Watch Local 6 News for more on this story.

 

Police identify man killed while operating rock crusher in N.B.
SUSSEX, N.B. (CP) — RCMP have released the name of a man killed in an industrial accident last Friday. Police say Micheal Allan McCrea, 21, of Sussex, was killed while operating a rock crusher at a gravel pit on Route 10. The man was attending to a mechanical breakdown when the crusher exploded. The Workplace Health, Safety and Compensation Commission is investigating the incident.

 

TRAPPED WORKER DIES IN HORROR ACCIDENT Sep 21 2002
A FARM worker died yesterday after getting his arm trapped in a potato harvester. The 30-year-old man had been working with the machine in a field when the horrific accident happened. Emergency crews raced to Balkaithly Farm at Dunino, near St Andrews in Fife, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. The Health and Safety Executive will launch an inquiry into the tragedy. Farm owner Stewart Ballantyne described the incident as “tragic”. However, he said that he could not comment further while the investigation was continuing. Don Cameron, of the Scottish Ambulance Service, said it was only when the paramedics arrived at the farm that the seriousness of the man’s condition emerged. He said: “When the crew arrived and assessed the situation, they required a trauma team from Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. “The trauma team were then dispatched to the job. Unfortunately, they pronounced the man dead at the scene.” A police spokesman said no details about the dead man, who was understood to live locally, would be released until his family had been informed.

 

Firm fined $45,000 for worker’s death; Teen’s mother calls sentence a `slap on the wrist’
Kate Harries Ontario reporter
A plastics recycling firm and its owner have been fined $45,000 for an accident in which a 19-year-old man was pulled into a conveyor and crushed to death. The fine is like “a slap on the wrist,” Jared Dietrich’s mother Brenda said yesterday in an interview from her home in Tilbury, a town of 8,000 between Windsor and Chatham. “There’s no deterrent there.” Jan. 7, 1999 was just the second day on the job for Jared at the Tilbury Plastics plant. He was working alone when the machine, which did not have a proper guard on it, snagged him. The only other employee was outside the building directing a truck. In provincial court on Wednesday, Mr. Justice Bruce Thomas imposed a fine of $35,000 against the plant’s corporate owner Adomako and Associates, and $10,000 against owner Kofi Adomako in his capacity as supervisor, for failing to exercise due diligence in protecting a worker. The court was told the company has fallen on hard times, in part due to the prosecution under the Occupational Health and Safety Act. “He’s pleading poverty, but I’m thinking about Jared pleading to get out of that machine,” said Brenda Dietrich, adding she believes jail time and a more substantial fine would have been appropriate. “I’m very disappointed,” she said, suggesting employers may now be tempted to take a chance on faulty equipment because it would cost more than $45,000 to fix or replace it. Adomako could not be reached for comment, but his lawyer Michael Gordner said the judge followed the law. “We’re very sad that there was a loss of life, and no money can make up for that,” he said, adding the fine is substantial considering Adomako’s circumstances.

 

PORK PIE WORKER LOSES FINGERTIPS 
BY JAMES KAY
Pork Farms was fined £3,000 after an employee’s finger tips were sliced off in machinery. Michael Loscalzo was making pork pies when he reached into a machine at the company’s factory in Queen’s Drive, Nottingham. A metal plate cut off the ends of the middle and ring fingers on his right hand. Mr Loscalzo, 38, of Hemingway Close, Carlton, was taken to hospital but surgeons could not re-attach the tips. This week, magistrates heard the machine Mr Loscalzo was working on did not have adequate safety guards. FW Farnsworth Ltd, which trades as Pork Farms as part of the Northern Foods group, pleading guilty to breaking the Provision and Use of Work Regulations 1998. Frances Bailey, prosecuting for the Health and Safety Executive, said Mr Loscalzo, a line leader who has worked for Pork Farms since 1981, had been under pressure on the day of the accident last November because he was working alongside inexperienced agency staff. He reached into the machine to grab some of the meat mixture used to make a 1lb 14oz ‘celbration pie’, but his fingers were caught by a sliding plate. Mrs Bailey said: “He was taken to hospital but they were unable to save his fingertips and he was off work for three months. He is still having problems and may need a further operation for tendon damage.” She told Nottingham Magistrates Court that the machine – a Medimat – had been omitted from a risk assessment because it had been in storage at the time. Steven Edmonds, defending, said the company, which employs about 650 people in Nottingham, did not contest that the machine had inadequate guarding. “Had it been in the risk assessment, a tunnel guard would have been fitted,” he said. The day after the accident a tunnel guard was fitted. All the machines have since undergone new risk assessments. Mr Edmonds said the company had a good safety record and prided itself on keeping its employees safe. “It’s a pity this incident has blemished what has been a trend toward absolute safety,” he said. Magistrate Freda Wallwork fined the company £3,000 plus £1,778 costs. She said: “This accident should never have happened. However, the company has demonstrated its good record concerning health and safety.” Speaking after the hearing, Mr Loscalzo said he had been well treated by Pork Farms and was happy to continue working there. Describing the accident, he said: “I put my hand in to collect the meat. I heard a crunching noise and realised I had lost my fingertips. I just held my arm up and a mate of mine got my fingertips out. “They were put in a plastic bag and taken to the QMC with me. I couldn’t feel anything because of the shock.”

 

State investigating death at fabric mill; Maintenance worker was electrocuted while working on machine
GREG LACOUR, Staff Writer
MORGANTON – The N.C. Labor Department is investigating the electrocution of a maintenance worker Monday at Viscotec Automotive Products LLC, a 2-month-old textile mill. Douglas Hoover, 46, of Rutherford College was electrocuted around 11:30 a.m. while he replaced a gear inside a machine used to make fabrics for car interiors, said Department of Public Safety Sgt. Gary Massey. Three of Hoover’s co-workers performed CPR, and officers and emergency workers arrived within minutes; paramedics tried to revive him with a defibrillator, Massey said. But Hoover was pronounced dead at Grace Hospital at 12:19 p.m. “It’s terrible,” said Bill Mason, a product director at the plant. “I tell you, it’s like a member of your family passed away.” Public Safety closed its investigation Tuesday without filing charges and ruled the death accidental, Massey said. But the Department of Labor sent investigators Tuesday to Viscotec to examine “what maintenance procedures they have to ensure equipment is safe before workers begin working on it,” said department spokesman Juan Santos. Such investigations are standard when a worker dies in an industrial accident and usually take about two weeks, Santos said. If it finds the company used improper procedures, the department could issue a citation, which carries a maximum $7,000 fine, and force the company to fix the problem. Mason wouldn’t specify Tuesday what piece of equipment Hoover was working on or how it works, saying that information is exclusive to Viscotec. He did say Hoover was part of a three-worker staff responsible for the upkeep of equipment. “Mr. Hoover was a very unique individual, a very helpful person. I don’t know if I could say enough good things about this gentleman,” Mason said. “He was friendly, easygoing, willing to do anything for anybody. … He performed his job duties above expectations. “We’re grieving over it, too,” he said, choking up. “Our hearts go out to his family.” Funeral arrangements were incomplete Tuesday. Viscotec management will shut the plant down temporarily to allow employees to attend services, Mason said. Viscotec, owned by Seiren Co. Ltd. of Fukui, Japan, manufactures car-seat fabric, particularly for Japanese car companies with plants in the South. Viscotec is Seiren’s only automotive-fabric plant in the United States. Morganton officials, hit several times in recent months by closings and layoffs at textile mills, were thrilled at Viscotec’s grand opening in late July. The plant, which occupies a former soft-drink distribution center on East Union Street, employs about 65 and eventually will employ about 250, Mason said.

 

Worker died cleaning machine which should have been switched off
Eternit UK, a concrete manufacturing company from Royston, Hertfordshire, pleaded guilty and was fined £40,000 with costs of £21,000, at Cambridge Crown Court for failing to meet the requirements of health and safety law in respect of the accidental death of one its workers in March last year. Ciro Dario, 35, was cleaning a machine during a night shift when he accessed dangerous moving parts of it and was drawn in and killed almost instantly, sustaining horrific head injuries. Eternit did not operate down time on the concrete machines and its management was unaware of the particular system of work employed by the cleaners, and the opportunity for prevention was therefore lost.
Pascal Bates for the prosecution said: “The deceased was able to gain access in an area which he should have been prevented from having access to. Had there been a down time, the job of cleaning under the machine, while it was running, would not have been necessary.”

 

UPDATE, Company fined for crush death
A Hertfordshire company has been fined £40,000 after a worker was dragged into a 400-tonne machine and killed. The machine, used in the manufacture of concrete, was still operating when father-of-two Ciro Dario, 35, was pulled into it. The prosecution claimed that Royston-based concrete roofing company, Eternit UK, did not employ sufficient staff to allow the machines to be switched off. The firm, which admitted breaching safety regulations, was also ordered to pay costs of £21,000. Mr Dario was working the night shift on 30 March, 2001, when he started cleaning the machine. Cambridge Crown Court was told a colleague suddenly heard him scream as he was pulled under the machine. A post mortem examination showed he suffered multiple fractures to his skull and that he had clearly died “very rapidly”. Pascal Bates, prosecuting, told the court: “Mr Dario suffered horrific injuries. “He must have been badly trapped between moving parts of the machine. “The deceased was able to gain access in an area which he should have been prevented from having access to.” Mr Bates said the company, which was founded in 1926 and has 350 employees, kept machinery running all day but did not have the staff to maintain them. “Had there been a down time, the job of cleaning under the machine, while it was running, would not have been necessary,” he said. James Ageros, for Eternit, said that if managers had been aware of their staff’s cleaning practices, the accident would not have happened. He described the death of Mr Dario, who was regarded as a conscientious worker, as senseless. Judge Isobell Plumsted fined the company after hearing safety procedures had been changed and there was no risk of the accident happening again. 

UPDATE, Tulsa Manufacturing Firm’s Failure to Implement Safety and Health Standards Brings OSHA Citations, Penalties
OKLAHOMA CITY — Failure to place guards on power transmission shafts and other machines has prompted the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to issue citations and fine Sage Well Services, Inc. in Encinal, Texas, $86,100. An oil and gas exploration company headquartered in Encinal, Sage Well Services, which employs about 205 workers, was cited with one willful and 11 serious safety violations following an OSHA inspection that began March 14 in response to a complaint an employee was injured while lubricating an unguarded shaft. Safe Well Services was cited for one alleged willful violation for failing to guard power transmission shafts and other machines. A willful violation is one in which there is evidence of an intentional violation of the OSHA Act or plain indifference to its requirements. The 11 alleged serious violations were for failing to properly install emergency escape lines, uncovered floor holes, lack of guardrails on platforms, damaged electrical cords, ungrounded portable equipment and failure to train employees properly. A serious violation involves a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew or should have known of the hazard. Employers or workers who have questions concerning safety and health may contact the OSHA Corpus Christi area office at (361) 888-3420 or contact OSHA’s toll free hotline number at 1-800-321-6742 to report workplace accidents, fatalities or situations posing imminent danger to workers. Sage Well Services has 15 working days from receipt of the citations to either comply, request an informal conference with the Corpus Christi OSHA area director, or contest the citations and penalties before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

 

U.S. Gauge worker is electrocuted
By Patrick Lester, Staff Writer
After the accident, the plant’s emergency response team began performing CPR on the victim. He died at Grand View Hospital. SELLERSVILLE – A longtime U.S. Gauge employee was electrocuted while working inside the Clymer Avenue plant Thursday afternoon, a company official said. E. LeRoy Kulp, was doing maintenance work inside the plant when he was accidentally shocked, according to spokesman Jim McKinley. Medics rushed Kulp to Grand View Hospital in West Rockhill where he was pronounced dead about an hour after the 3 p.m. accident. It was the first fatal accident at the Clymer Avenue plant, a fixture in the borough for decades, according to McKinley. “The company is saddened by the loss of a colleague and extends its deepest sympathy to the Kulp family,” he said, reading from a statement issued by the firm. Kulp, who had been working as a millright in the plant’s tube mill, was a U.S. Gauge employee since at least 1963, McKinley said. U.S. Gauge, a local division of Ametek, produces components for gauges and aerospace equipment. The local plant employs about 146 people. Kulp was doing work on a maintenance belt when the accident happened. The plant’s emergency response team immediately began performing CPR on him until medical personnel arrived, McKinley said. Pennridge Regional police said Kulp was alive when medics arrived, but released few other details on the accident Thursday. McKinley said members of the company’s employee assistance program would be made available to Kulp’s family today. “They will be on site at Sellersville (today) to help other colleagues deal with the after effects of this tragic accident,” he said. The cause of the accident is under investigation. Pennridge Regional police are investigating. “There will be an investigation, certainly, by us,” McKinley said.

 

Fertilizer plant workers burned in acid spill
PASCAGOULA (AP) — Three workers at the Mississippi Phosphates plant in Pascagoula were burned Friday by a release of sulfuric acid, company officials said. The workers, whose names were not released, were trying to repair a pump in the company’s sulfuric acid plant when the acid was released through pressure, said Melinda Hood, company spokeswoman. “There was only a small amount (of acid) released and there was no environmental impact,” Hood said. The three workers were taken by ambulance to the South Alabama Burn Center in Mobile, Ala., and treated for first and second degree burns. Hood said the injuries were not life-threatening. She said a safety investigation is under way. “We hope to have more details at a later time,” she said. Mississippi Phosphates manufactures DAP fertilizer, a phosphorus nutrient used in plant growth. The sulfuric acid is used in an intermediary step that eventually produces the fertilizer.

 

UPDATE, Trapped dad died of crush injury
AN inquest into the death of a father who died after being trapped in machinery at his work has been opened and adjourned. David Lord, 36, had been working at Janesville Products, Spring Gardens Mill, Spring Gardens Mill, Colne, when he became trapped in rollers at 4.50pm on Tuesday. He died an hour later in Burnley General Hospital. It is not clear if he was cleaning or repairing the machinery when the accident happened. An inquest into the death was opened by Acting East Lancashire Coroner Richard Taylor yesterday and adjourned so that an investigation by the Health and Safety Executive and Lancashire Police could be concluded. A post mortem examination has been carried out by a Home Office pathologist who gave the cause of death as compression of the chest. David lived with his second wife Amanda in North Valley Road, Colne, and their four-year-old daughter Caitlin. He also has a stepson Ian, 18, and a son Paul, 14, from his previous marriage to Sue. They are currently on holiday in Sri Lanka. He also has a brother Philip, 34. Earlier this week, his devastated parents Joyce and Ian Lord, of Queensway, Newchurch, Rossendale, told how David was about to leave the factory for a new office job. David attended Newchurch CE School and Fearns High School, Stacksteads. Before moving to Colne he lived in Hall Carr, Rawtenstall. They described David as a quiet man who enjoyed fishing. The Health and Safety Executive is investigating the incident and police scenes of crime officers have also been at the mill and compiled a report.

 

UPDATE, Company fined after machine fall
By Simon Dudman
A Coventry telecommunications company has been fined £7,500 and ordered to pay £2,000 compensation after a worker climbed inside a punch press machine to free a sheet of metal and fell. The man suffered “serious” bruising to his head, ribs and legs and had to take six weeks off work to recover from his injuries. The incident happened on February 19 of this year at the premises of Viasystems EMSUK Ltd, in Uxbridge Avenue, Copsewood, Coventry. The company, formerly part of the Marconi group and bought by Viasystems in 2000, was charged under the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 with failing to ensure, so far as is reasonably practicable, the safety of its employees. The company, which employs about 200 people, pleaded guilty. It was also ordered to pay £3,140 court costs. Munera Sidat, prosecuting for the HSE, told the court how the worker had at first tried to free the sheet by climbing up a set of mobile ladders, reaching in with a pole. When this attempt failed, he climbed over a 6ft 5 in safety fence and into the machine. Miss Sidat said: “He was in the machine and was kicking the sheet of metal which was jammed. He had one foot on the sheet and was kicking it with the other when the machine suddenly moved and he fell. “The machine was never designed for people to climb into, yet this had become common practice by the operators and the ladders and pole were next to the machine for such incidents. “No risk assessment was carried out for this practice, which shows a major flaw in the management process.” David Egar, in mitigation for Viasystems, told the court that the company was currently in financial difficulty following a downturn in the market and asked magistrates to consider this when determining a fine. He also told the court the machine had not been used since the incident and full health and safety training had been carried out by all employees following the accident. He said Viasystems put health and safety at the top of its business agenda but did not fully appreciate the risk of the action described in court. “They are guilty of simply not being aware, rather than ignoring a dangerous practice”, he said.

 

Screven plant worker injured plant worker injured
By:, Special to the Herald August 30, 2002
A King America employee went to the hospital Thursday after he was seriously hurt when he apparently was caught in machinery at the plant. A King America employee went to the hospital Thursday after he was seriously hurt when he apparently was caught in machinery at the plant. A Screven County Emergency Management Service spokesman said Roderick Robbins was taken to East Georgia Emergency Medical Center after the accident, which occurred at about 9 a.m. The spokesman said Robbins’ shoulder apparently became caught in heavy machinery at the textile plant and it appeared his hand was injured when he tried to free the shoulder from the machine. No further details were available.

 

Area man dies in work-related accident
A long-time employee of McKenzie Forest Products and its predecessor companies was fatally injured Wednesday in the mill at 1651 S. F St. Michael S. Dodson, 61, of Creswell, the head lay-up line tender at the plant, died. Dodson was tending to a plywood assembly line that wasn’t working properly, McKenzie Vice President Steve Killgore said. Dodson had told other workers it was time to leave the machinery so it could be worked on, Killgore said. Dodson had worked for Georgia-Pacific Corp., then Springfield Forest Products, then McKenzie Forest Products when it was formed four years ago. He started at the plant site at age 18 in 1959. The Oregon State Police, the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the company itself are investigating to determine the cause of the accident, Killgore said.

 

Tecumseh man’s arm injured in accident at paper plant
from staff reports
A Tecumseh man was in fair condition today following a workplace accident Thursday. A Lenawee County Sheriff’s Department report said Anthony Michael Sisty, 24, was at work at 5:26 p.m. at Sorensen Paperboard, 6240 E. U.S. 223, working with a 33-year-old Blissfield man, Scott Billington, who was on his first day there. They were operating a machine that has many moving rollers and cuts large spools of paper into specific sizes. Billington told a deputy the machine was running, but a piece of paper was sticking out from it. Sisty tried to grab the paper, but his arm got caught in the rollers. He was pulled in up to his shoulder before his co-workers were able to shut down the machine and remove him from the rollers. His arm was possibly broken. Sisty was flown by LifeFlight air ambulance to the Medical College of Ohio in Toledo, the report said. He was in fair condition today. While talking with another worker, 24-year-old Hudson resident Robin Dean Giddings, the deputy learned a safety gate that is supposed to keep workers from accessing the rollers while the machine is running was not in place, the report said. He said Sisty kept it up and out of the way to save time. Sisty’s foreman, a 39-year-old Clayton man, said he had told Sisty to use the gate in the past. Billington was unaware of the gate, the report said.

UPDATE, Worker’s Death Brings $47,000 in Proposed OSHA Penalties for Pompano Beach Wire Manufacturer
POMPANO BEACH, Fla. — Failing to protect employees from machine guarding hazards may cost the Ivy Steel and Wire Company $47,000 in penalties according to citations issued today by the Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration. On April 1, a worker at the company’s plant was operating two machines that spun wire onto rotating spools. As one spool reached capacity the operator attempted to stop the machine but was caught around the neck by a loop of wire and killed. “Employees must be protected from the power, speed and relentless motion of moving machine parts,” said Luis Santiago, OSHA’s Ft. Lauderdale area director. “Failing to employ proper machine guarding can result in amputations and death.” The company received two serious citations with proposed penalties totaling $12,000 for failing to properly guard rotating machine parts. The agency also issued two repeat citations with proposed penalties totaling $35,000 for failing to properly guard machine pulleys and to implement lockout-tagout procedures, making the machine inoperable during wire threading, welding or maintenance. OSHA issues a serious citation when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and that the employer knew or should have known of the hazard. A repeat citation is issued when OSHA has cited a company within the past three years for similar violations and the citations have become a final order of the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The company, a division of MMI Products, Inc., has 15 working days to contest the citations and proposed penalties before the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Ft. Lauderdale office located at Jacaranda Executive Court, Bldg H-100, 8040 Peters Rd; phone: (954) 424-0242.

 

UPDATE, Worker’s finger amputated in chocolate machine
A Waikato company has been sentenced to pay a fine of $4,800 after part of a worker’s finger was amputated in a chocolate making machine. Waikato Valley Chocolates Ltd pleaded guilty in the Hamilton District Court after being prosecuted by the Occupational Safety and Health Service. “The accident happened when a worker was cleaning one of the machines. He was trying to clear a blockage when part of his finger was amputated,” said Kevin Webby, OSH Service Manager, Waikato-Thames. “The worker, who was also a architectural student, had been working at the plant for just three weeks. “While he had been told how to operate the machine for a production run, he had not been trained in the cleaning/flushing operation. “The company should have instructed him on a safe cleaning process and advised him of the hazards associated with this particular machine. “New Zealanders being harmed and killed at work is simply unacceptable. “Everyone has the right to go to work and be safe. Companies must ensure that workplace hazards are identified and controlled correctly, and that their safety systems are constantly reviewed and updated.” Further information: Kevin Webby, OSH Service Manager, Waikato-Thames Region Tel: 07 838 1381 Mobile: 025 531 717

 

UPDATE, Workers burned in blast still in critical condition 
By NICK FALSONE, The Express-Times 
NORTHAMPTON — Two workers remained in critical condition Tuesday with serious injuries suffered in an industrial blast Sunday afternoon at a newspaper recycling plant. Edward Kavcak, 47, of Forks Township and Joe Yost, 47, of Kunkletown, Pa., were taken to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township following the 4:15 p.m. blast at the Newstech PA plant on Horwith Drive, authorities said. The plant remained closed Tuesday. The two workers were trying to repair a pump unit when the unit ruptured, sending out a barrage of steam that reached temperatures of up to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, authorities said. The blast killed 56-year-old John Thomas Stefano of Pohatcong Township. He died of massive blunt injuries. His death was ruled an accident, authorities said. Yost was the only one of the three employed by Newstech. Kavcak and Stefano were employed by subcontractor FMSC of Bethlehem. They were hired by Newstech to repair the pump unit prior to the time it ruptured. FMSC management and employees issued a prepared statement Tuesday that offered condolences. “We wish to express our deepest sympathy to the family of our co-worker, John Stefano, who died Sunday following an accident at the Newstech PA plant located in Northampton,” the statement says. “The thoughts and prayers of our management and employees are also with the two other workers who were injured Sunday, and with their families,” the statement says. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is investigating. OSHA officials said it could take several weeks to several months before the probe is complete. FMSC and Newstech officials said they plan to fully cooperate with OSHA. Plant officials have not yet decided when to reopen, said Newstech spokesman Ken Robinson. “Their concern right now is making sure employees are being helped,” he said. “They’ve really tried to go out of their way to make sure everyone affected is offered some sort of support.” Newstech Vice President Mark Roseborough issued a prepared statement Monday offering condolences to the family of the three men.

 

Man Dies in Freak Pea Drop
STOCKHOLM, Sweden (Reuters) – A Swedish man died Tuesday when he was buried alive under a 13-ton pile of peas in a storage silo, local media reported. The man, who was around 30 years old, was working on an electrical installation on a farm near the town of Mjolby in southeastern Sweden when the peas were dumped on him. Rescue workers pulled the man from the silo but were unable to revive him, a radio station reported.

 

Recycling plant blast kills man working on pump
Accident at Northampton facility also sends 2 to hospital.
By Joe McDonald and Nick Politi, Of The Morning Call
One man was killed and two others were injured when a pressurized pump they were trying to repair burst at a paper recyling plant in Northampton on Sunday afternoon, authorities said. John Thomas Stefano, 56, of the 400 block of Ohio Avenue, Phillipsburg, was killed instantly, Northampton County Coroner Scott Lysek said. The two others were flown by helicopter to Lehigh Valley Hospital, Salisbury Township. Their conditions were not available. The accident, initially reported as an explosion, happened at 4:15 p.m. at Newstech Pa. L.P. on Horwith Drive off Route 329 near the Northampton border with East Allen Township. It was the first fatal accident at a Lehigh Valley plant since August 1999. Lysek said Stefano was not an employee of Newstech but an employee of FMSC of Bethlehem, a subcontractor that was called in to repair a pump that was ”not functioning properly.” The plant had recently undergone a $10 million upgrade by its new owner, a Canadian company that bought the former Ponderosa Fibres after it went bankrupt and was ordered closed by the state Department of Environmental Protection because of odors. The blast happened in a 2-foot by 4-foot unit known as a mixer pump. The men reportedly had been working on it for a short time. When the pump ruptured, it sent a steam blast consisting mostly of water at temperatures between 125 and 140 degrees into the area where the men were working, Lysek said at a news conference outside the plant Sunday night. A worker who did not want to be identified said he was moving bundles of paper with a forklift and felt the blast. ”It rattled the place,” he said. The worker said a concrete block wall separated his work area from the scene. He said he ran toward a door and saw a worker on the floor apparently dead from a severe head wound. He saw another man down and badly hurt. He got a large piece of cardboard to cover the badly injured man and tried to put cardboard over the broken pipe. He said he did not know the injured workers ”because they were unrecognizable.” While he was helping the badly injured man, a third worker who was not hurt as badly got himself up off the floor. The accident closed the plant. Workers who arrived for the second shift were sent home. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration, the DEP and Northampton County emergency management workers were investigating Sunday night. Juan Raymond said he and another worker were on the other side of the plant when the accident happened. ”It’s a big mess in there,” he said. Ryan Villone, 31, of Pen Argyl was to begin his first day of work Sunday, a 12-hour shift to start at 7 p.m. at $8 an hour. He got to the plant early because he wasn’t sure where it was. He was told to go home about 6:30 p.m. When he learned of the accident, he said, ”I was shaking like a leaf.” He said he doesn’t expect to be called to Newstech soon and will look for work at the Job Connection in Bangor. Neighbors were unaware there had been an accident until they noticed television news crews from Philadelphia circling the plant in helicopters. Willard Druckenmiller, who lives nearby, used to be most concerned about the smell that came from the plant. On Sunday, though, his thoughts turned to the killed and injured. ”I feel sorry for those people,” he said. Last month, a fire broke out at the plant in a pile of recycled paper. At first it was thought the fire was caused by spontaneous combustion, but later officials determined that a spark from a forklift was the cause, said Borough Manager Gene Zarayko. The plant, on the site of the former Atlas Cement, employs about 90 people. It is across the street from Northampton Generating Co. Newstech gets its steam from the power plant, Zarayko said. Newstech, a subsidiary of Belkorp Industries in Vancouver, British Columbia, fitted the plant with noise suppression units and a new vent stack to reduce odors. The plant separates ink from paper by placing the paper in a large tub called a pulper, then cleans the paper with soap. The paper goes through a series of screens, using hydrogen peroxide to whiten it. The paper is dried in sheets, and the water is recycled. State police from Bethlehem, including a fire marshal, were at the plant. Northampton Fire Department, Northampton police, Northampton Regional EMS, East Allen EMS and Northampton fire police also responded. On Aug. 2, 1999, an explosion at the Tirenergy tire recycling facility at the J.H. Beers Construction complex off Male Road in Plainfield Township killed Joseph Vincent Jr., 42, of Garfield, N.J. Reporters Dan Shope, Christian Millman, Keith Herbert, and news assistant Pat DeFrancisco contributed to this report.

Man’s hand severed in accident at mulch yard
By Jeffrey Sykes / The News & Advance
A 42-year-old Gladys man had his right hand severed above the wrist Monday after it became snagged in a machine he was working on at a Lynchburg mulch yard. Cliff “Sonny” Smullen, an employee of Nash Wood and Timber, was alone at the company’s mulch yard on McConville Road when the accident occurred. Smullen told medics he was working on a machine that grinds wood into mulch when his hand became caught in a radiator fan, according to Capt. Dennis Duff of the Lynchburg Fire Department. “Somehow he got his hand in there,” Duff said. “It pretty much cut it off above the wrist.” The accident occurred about 8:25 a.m. Smullen remained calm and used a phone to call for help, Duff said, and had wrapped his arm in towels before medics arrived. “He was at the end of the driveway waiting on us,” Duff said. “He was real calm.” Damage to nerve endings may have subdued the pain at first, but Smullen experienced great pain by the time he arrived at the hospital. “All of us thought it was unusual for him to be so calm,” Duff said. “He may have been in minor shock. Due to the damaged nerve endings, you just don’t realize (the pain). It takes a while for the pain to set in.” Medics took Smullen to Lynchburg General Hospital and gave him morphine for pain during transport. A hospital spokesperson said Smullen was in fair condition in the orthopedics unit Monday afternoon. It was unclear if doctors were able to reattach the hand. Tim Nash said Smullen has worked for his company for about 13 years, and described his reaction to news of the accident as a “gut-wrenching feeling.” “Words can’t describe it,” Nash said. “He’s one of our key employees and a good friend.” Nash said he didn’t know how the accident happened, but was grateful Smullen never passed out. “We just thank the Lord he was able to remain calm and call 911.”

 

UPDATE, CRUSH DEATH ‘ACCIDENTAL’
A maintenance man was crushed to death in the jaws of heavy machinery at a Derby firm just a week before Christmas, an inquest heard. Steven Phillips (48) died when he got his head trapped between a steel joist and a moving part of the moulding machine at the QDF factory in Victory Road, Sinfin, at 4pm on December 18 last year. Despite the efforts of his friend to switch off the machine, Mr Phillips was killed instantly. Yesterday (24) a jury at Derby Coroner’s Court returned a verdict of accidental death on Mr Phillips, of Vincent Street, Derby. The inquest heard that Mr Phillips, a maintenance worker at the car parts firm since 1977, had spotted a fault in the machine. Colleague Anthony Biddle said maintenance staff were “fed up” with the machine repeatedly breaking down over the previous few weeks and they had not been taking as much care for their safety. Mr Biddle told the inquest that on the day of the accident the maintenance team had found a 2ft-wide pool of oil beneath the machine. He opened a wire-mesh gate next to the machine but he and Mr Phillips decided to shut down the machine before getting any closer. “I turned around to go to the control panel over the bridge and was about half way over when I glanced over my shoulder and saw that Mr Phillips had entered the gate and was leaning into the machine while it was still moving,” said Mr Biddle. “I called out to him, but he didn’t appear to respond. “I went to the control panel as quickly as I could but by the time I got there he was already trapped.” Mr Phillips was released from the machine but was pronounced dead at the scene after suffering massive head injuries. The inquest was told that a system of work permits, where staff were required to get written permission before gaining access to dangerous machinery, was not strictly adhered to at the time of the accident. But Richard O’Sullivan, QDF’s health and safety advisor, said instructions were now issued to staff telling them what steps were needed to carry out maintenance work. Health and Safety Executive officer Sarah Jardine said: “I am satisfied that system in place now is as good as can be in the circumstances, provided that it is adhered to.” After the hearing Mr Phillips’s widow, Sue, said she was “satisfied” with the verdict. His mother, Thelma Phillips, from Littleover, added: “He was a good son. My only son.”

 

UPDATE, Isomedix cited for safety violations, might face fines

By Diane Norman
A state inspector has cited a Spartanburg company for six serious safety violations and recommended fines of $16,500 in connection with a June 7 fatality. A maintenance worker, Robert Earl Conyers, 41, of Woodruff, died when a 12-foot-tall metal bin crushed his neck and arm at Isomedix Operations Inc. on Southport Road. The company sterilizes medical products inside 300-pound metal carriers that move along a monorail system. According to a South Carolina Department of Labor, Licensing and Regulation report, the June incident occurred when the conveyor jammed, and Conyers climbed a ladder to see what was causing the problem. “The pneumatic system that powered the cylinder in the monorail system had not been locked out before the employee placed his upper torso in the monorail area,” the report states. “The carrier moved towards the maintenance technician while he was trying to free the carrier, and he was struck in the head, throat and arm by the monorail transfer.” The company did not provide written lock-out, tag-out procedures for its four maintenance technicians to explain how to control hazardous energy, the LLR report states. Isomedix also failed to conduct periodic inspection of energy control procedures and training in the safe application of energy controls, the report says. Kevin Marsh, director of communications for Isomedix’s parent company, Steris Corp. of Mentor, Ohio, said the company is reviewing the LLR report. “I can’t comment at this point,” Marsh said. The company has the option to appeal the citations. Conyers’ widow, Sandy Conyers, said a bin broke the back of a worker in the plant in May, and she thinks Isomedix should have taken action at that time to make the environment safer. “I think the place should have been shut down,” Conyers said. LLR spokeswoman Lesia Kudelka said there is no record of an investigation of a May accident at the plant, but employers are not required to report incidents unless they involve a fatality or injuries requiring overnight hospitalization for three or more workers. The report on the June fatality alludes to a prior incident, but it is not specific. The document states: “On or about May 7, 2002, employer knew or should have known that employees attempting to access ladder blocked by fallen carrier were exposed to the hazard of being crushed by carrier.” South Carolina is one of 23 states and territories that administers its own occupational health and safety program in accordance with the U.S. Department of Labor. On average, a state OSHA inspection results in citations for three serious violations, said Jim Knight, LLR public information director. Serious violations reflect conditions in which there is a potential for serious injury or death but about which the employer had no knowledge, Knight said. If an employer knows about a hazard and deliberately ignores it, he can be cited for a willful violation. South Carolina issued six citations for willful violations in the fiscal year 2000-2001, compared with 3,225 serious violations, Knight said. Fines are based on a number of factors: the number of employees, the employer’s cooperation and willingness to correct deficiencies, and the previous safety history, Knight said. “The maximum penalty we can fine an employer for a serious violation is $7,000,” he said. The fines recommended for Isomedix are about 40 percent of the possible maximum of $42,000. According to records on the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration Web site, Isomedix previously was cited for one serious violation at a planned inspection in January 1994 and for two serious violations in connection with a fatality in July 1984. In the 1984 incident, a forklift operator was killed when the machine he was driving overturned, the records state.

 

Man killed in concrete mixer
by Anthony France
A London man was crushed to death early today as the concrete lorry he was cleaning accidentally switched on.  The 33-year-old victim was working with his head and shoulders inside an access hatch when the motor started.  The mechanism dragged him inside and the top half of his body was crushed by the huge drum. He was trying to remove a load of concrete at a firm based at Baldwins Farm, in Dennises-Lane, Upminster, shortly after 1am.  A colleague with him was not hurt but was being treated for shock.  Essex police, who are investigating, said they had not formally identified the victim, who was from Elm Park, but his girlfriend and father had been informed.

 

SURGEONS BATTLE IN VAIN TO SAVE WORKER’S SEVERED ARM
JOHN THOMSON
Surgeons were unsuccessful in their attempt to re-attach a mill worker’s arm – severed yesterday in an accident at a North-east animal feed plant. An Aberdeen Royal Infirmary spokesman confirmed last night that surgeons were unable to reinstate Steven Neish’s arm during a painstaking operation which lasted around five hours. Mr Neish, 31, of 33 Thomson Road, Banff, was injured at the Grampian Country Feeds plant at Mill of Brydock on the Banff-Aberchirder road. His condition was said to be satisfactory last night. Mr Neish, who is single, is believed to have been working with machinery when his arm was severed between the elbow and shoulder. Shocked workmates quickly raised the alarm and he was attended at the scene by paramedics. His arm was placed in a bag packed with frozen foodstuffs and taken by the police to Chalmers Hospital, Banff, where it was repacked in ice. While Mr Neish was being taken to hospital in Aberdeen by ambulance, his severed limb was taken to Aberdeen Royal Infirmary in a police convoy. Later, his family told how they heard the horrifying news. His mother Cathy, a care worker, also of 33 Thomson Road, Banff, said the news had been broken to her by her son’s employers after she received a message to phone his work. She said: “As far as I know, he had been working with some machinery and he must have got his arm caught. “The doctor told me it had been severed up near the shoulder but there wasn’t damage to the rest of the arm.” “Apparently he was conscious all the way to Aberdeen in the ambulance.” Mrs Neish said Steven, who is known by his nickname Bap, had worked at Mill of Brydock for seven years. “He’s just a popular Banff loon and very conscientious about his work,” she added. Part of his duties at the mill include monitoring the intake of materials and operating the weighbridge. One of Mr Neish’s brothers, Alan, who works as a lorry driver, was in the Edinburgh area when he was contacted by his wife, Brenda. He returned to Banff and said: “She said first it was his hand and then phoned again to say it was his arm. “None of us know what happened and there’s no point in speculating at the moment.” He said his brother had worked as a tyrefitter at a Banff garage and then as a milkman before joining the mill. An immediate investigation was mounted by the Health and Safety Executive into the cause of the accident, which happened at about 9am. Mill operators Grampian Country Feeds are part of the Grampian Country Food Group. Marketing manager Alasdair Cox declined to give details of the accident but said: “We are conducting a full investigation in conjunction with the Health and Safety Executive.” He said the company’s thoughts were with the injured man and his family. The HSE declined to detail the areas of its investigation. Mill workers refused to speak publicly about the accident.

 

UPDATE, Compounce Sued In Man’s Death
By LORETTA WALDMAN, Courant Staff Writer

A lawsuit has been filed on behalf of Wilfredo Martinez, a maintenance worker killed during a roller coaster test run in June 2001 at Lake Compounce Theme Park. The suit, filed Friday in state Superior Court in Waterbury, seeks damages in excess of $15,000. It accuses managers at the amusement park on the Bristol-Southington line of failing to comply with industry and federal safety guidelines – a breach the attorney representing Martinez’s estate called “shameful” in light of two previous deaths at Lake Compounce in each of the two preceding years. “When you have a situation where you have a death in your park, then another death, you would hope somebody would conduct a generalized inquiry into all safety procedures and make sure employees are well trained,” attorney Michael D’Amico of Watertown said Monday. “The thing that is most difficult to understand is why it was there were still safety violations going on” even after the first two accidents, he said. A 16-year-old ride attendant, Matthew Henne, was crushed beneath a spinning ride at the park in 1999, and a 6-year-old Hartford boy, Deven Alexander, drowned in July 2000 after tumbling from an inner tube into a lake at the bottom of a water slide. Managers at Lake Compounce tightened safety procedures in the wake of each of the previous fatal accidents. But those changes, D’Amico contends, did not extend to other areas of park operation, and if they had, Martinez’s death could have been prevented. Martinez, 23, was cutting weeds with a noisy, gas-powered trimmer beneath a section of roller-coaster track before the park opened on June 13, 2001. During a test run, one of the Boulder Dash cars struck Martinez, killing him instantly. The suit says a lock that would have stopped mechanic John Fitch from operating the Boulder Dash roller coaster with Martinez beneath the tracks was not in use, a violation of federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration regulations. OSHA rules were again violated when Bernard Jaworski, a maintenance supervisor, ordered Martinez and two other workers to trim weeds beneath the tracks, the suit says. Nor, the suit contends, did park managers train mechanics not to conduct tests with workers under the tracks or to communicate with each other by two-way radio before running a test, both of which run counter to prevailing industry standards spelled out in guidelines published by the International Association of Amusement Parks and Attractions. Joel Fain, a Hartford attorney representing Lake Compounce, declined to comment on specific allegations because he said he had not seen the suit. He called Martinez’s death a tragic accident, “but there is no blame to be laid at the feet of Lake Compounce,” he said, “based on all the investigations conducted internally and by outside authorities.” Park officials reached Monday said the lawsuit had no merit. “It is our intention to vigorously defend our position,” said Richard Bisi, a park spokesman. An investigation by Southington police concluded that Martinez’s death was an accident that could have been avoided if employees had followed the park’s safety procedures. In his deposition, however, Fitch, the mechanic at the controls of the Boulder Dash, said no protocol existed to check for the presence of groundskeepers along the mountainside coaster’s 4,600 feet of track. The police report also cited gaps in training. A review of documents and handbooks found no mention of the high-risk areas known as “red zones” where the groundskeepers had been ordered to trim grass. Within 24 hours of the accident, Lake Compounce officials expanded the use of lock-out devices to include groundskeepers. They also appointed a full-time director of safety and training, Jim Lenois, last July. The park paid a $14,000 fine to OSHA in connection with Martinez’s death, a penalty lower than it might have been because of what the agency called management’s “commitment to go above and beyond the agency’s standards.” OSHA imposed a separate $7,000 fine against the park in Matthew Henne’s death.

 

Accident kills man at WCI

Tribune Chronicle

WARREN -A 62-year-old man was killed Saturday morning in an industrial accident at WCI Steel. A news release from the company said the man, who was not named, was pinned and crushed by a piece of equipment around 9:30 a.m. in the plant’s hot strip mill. The worker was a mechanical technician, according to the news release, and had worked at the plant since 1987 and in the steel industry since 1969. The release also said no one else was injured in the accident. The plant’s safety department is conducting an investigation, the news release said. The Trumbull County Coroner’s office was on the scene as well as the Howland Fire and Police departments. On April 14, 1996, 64-year-old Naamon D. ”Red” Bare was crushed to death by a clamp on the mill’s galvanizing line. Bare was performing maintenance work inside an automatic welder at the time. WCI spokesman Tim Roberts could not be reached for comment. United Steelworkers of America head Michael Rubicz did not return a message seeking comment.

 

Area man has nearly amputated thumb repaired at Lake Butler Hospital

By:Jennifer Thomas, special to UCT

A Macclenny man was transferred to Lake Butler Hospital/Hand Surgery Center (LBH/HSC) after nearly amputating his thumb at work last week.

Bradley Dopson, 35, was working on a machine that braids thick electrical wire together, when the wire accidentally wrapped around his right forearm and hand, throwing him on the ground. “The wire was springy and poppy and it was tangled around my hand,” said Dopson. “I looked down and there were six or seven knots of wire around my thumb.” Dopson works for Florida Wire and Cable in Sanderson. His co-workers helped save Dopson’s hand. “They had to unravel the strands of wire,” said Dopson. “They risked their own safety to untangle me.” While waiting for rescue, Dopson’s co-workers continued to help him by cutting his glove off, bandaging the hand, putting it on ice and holding it up to control bleeding. “At work we may fuss and argue sometimes, but when it comes down to it they pull together and are there for you,” said Dopson. “My supervisor, Timmy Anderson, hurt his own hand trying to help me.” Dopson was taken to Fraser Memorial Hospital in Macclenny, where Dr. William Ernoehazy assessed him. Upon assessing and stabilizing the injury. Dr. Ernoehazy suggested Dopson be transferred to LBH/HSC, said Dopson. “The wire twisted and burnt my hand,” said Dopson. “You could take the skin and pull it off like you pull a glove on and off.” Dopson was transferred to LBH/HSC by a Trauma One helicopter. Dr. Owen Osborne assessed Dopson when he arrived at LBH/HSC. Dopson underwent a five-hour surgery, performed by Osborne, to repair the damaged hand. “The thumb was nearly amputated. The tendons and arteries were completely severed and the bone was broken,” said Dr. Osborne. “The tendon was completely pulled away from the muscle, so I had to go up in the forearm to pull the tendon back down.” Dopson remained in the hospital for a few days, to receive post-surgical treatment. “The treatment was excellent, they did everything and more,” said Cathy Dopson, Dopson’s wife. “They were very considerate and helped take care of his needs. They brought him anything he needed throughout the night.” Once the bone, muscle and blood vessels in Dopson’s hand heal, he will begin rehabilitation to try to regain the use of his thumb. Dopson has a very good chance of keeping his thumb. The early care he received at Fraser was quite appropriate, said Osborne. “His co-workers really handled the accident efficiently, otherwise he would have lost his thumb,” said Osborne. Quick thinking saves hands… Not just hands, but all extremities can be microsurgically replanted – and successfully. Completing the following steps can make the difference. *Control bleeding by applying a pressure dressing of gauze, a clean cloth or towel. Elevate the injured area above the level of the heart to minimize bleeding. Use a tourniquet only as a last resort. *Wrap each amputated part separately in a clean, moist cloth. *Place the wrapped part(s) in a sealed plastic bag or container. *Place the plastic bag into a container of ice. Be sure the amputated part never comes into direct contact with the ice, because it will cause frostbite. *Contact the microsurgeon immediately and arrange for transport. Be ready to provide the surgeon with details of the amputation and the medical condition of the patient.

 

UPDATE, Paper company fined after worker’s death

The Associated Press
OREGON CITY, Ore. (AP) — The Blue Heron Paper Co. has been fined $5,000 by the Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Division for safety violations after an employee was crushed to death between bales of paper in February. Alvin Sheller, 34, of Canby was moving the bales from a truck to a conveyor belt at the mill on Feb. 26 when he got onto the conveyor belt and tried to cut wire from a bale, according to the state’s investigation. One of the bales rolled back on the conveyor belt and crushed Sheller against another bale. He was pronounced dead at the scene. Blue Heron was cited for three violations after investigators found that the company did not provide enough training for employees to recognize the danger posed by the moving equipment. The state also said the company did not take adequate steps to make sure employees followed safety requirements, and did not ensure that the conveyor belt would not start while an employee was on top of it.

 

Update, Firm is fined after worker crushed

by Emily Flanagan

A TEENAGER was crushed when a quarrying machine he was maintaining was switched on while he was inside, a court heard yesterday. Anthony Hodgson, from Weardale, County Durham, suffered a fractured vertebrae when he became trapped in a crusher used to break up rocks, in February last year. Yesterday, Ward Brothers, a plant hire firm in Langley Moor, County Durham, were prosecuted by the Health and Safety Executive at Derwentside Magistrates’ Court, Consett, for failing to ensure Mr Hodgson’s safety. The company was also prosecuted for allowing Mr Hodgson, from Westgate, to operate a forklift truck without the correct training. Jonathan Pickering, on behalf of the Health and Safety Executive, said Mr Hodgson had been working on the crusher under supervision, but his supervisor had gone to take a phone call. In the meantime, the firm’s managing director told him the machinery needed greasing. Mr Hodgson climbed inside to carry out the work and his supervisor returned and – not knowing Mr Hodgson was inside – switched the machinery back on. Mr Pickering told the court: “Clearly, he shouted and the supervisor switched the machine off quickly, but it was sufficient time to cause a back injury.” Mr Pickering said there was some dispute over whether the managing director was suggesting he carried the work out immediately, or at a later date. But he said some form of safety device could have prevented the accident. Mr Hodgson, who was 18 at the time of the accident, needed surgery to correct the injury and is now believed to be unemployed. Charles McKane, defending, said the company took health and safety very seriously, and the supervisor would have prevented the accident if he had not been called to the telephone. The company was fined #2,000 for failing to ensure its employees’ safety and #500 for allowing him to operate a forklift truck without training between April 1999, when he started work, and March last year. The firm was ordered to pay #1,088 costs.

 

Company faces $15,0000 in fines over refinery death

By Paul Cocke, News Editor

A company faces more than $15,000 in fines from the state Department of Labor and Industries following the death of a 37-year-old man in an accident at the Tesoro refinery in January. Johnny Rogers of Baker, La. , worked for the company that was doing contract maintenance as part of a turnaround at the Anacortes refinery. Rogers was fatally injured Jan. 26 while performing maintenance on a temporary construction elevator, officials have said. No one else was hurt in the incident. The elevator had been installed to transport employees and materials for work on the refinery’s catalytic cracking, or cat cracker, unit, which is used in the refining process, officials have said.  L & I levied a total of $15,750 in fines against CBI Services Inc., of Plainfield , Ill , according to a citation listing the violations and penalties. CBI Services has appealed the penalties, said Bill Ripple, L & I spokesman. Ripple said when L & I inspectors investigated possible workplace safety violations soon after the fatality, they did not find any violations on behalf of Tesoro in the area of the accident that resulted in Rogers ‘ death. The L & I citation alleges that the employer, CBI Services:

– Did not ensure that the power source to the “material/personnel hoist was locked out” when the fatally injured worker who was providing preventative maintenance procedures was exposed to moving parts of the elevator car and mast system that resulted in fatal crushing injuries, according to the citation. Fine: $6,300.

– Did not ensure that employees performing service on the elevator performed the service according to manufacturer’s specifications. Specifically, the citation alleges that although a person was “servicing from the top of the elevator car” that the portable operator’s control box was operated from within the car cage. It also alleges that two of the employees servicing on the elevator had been trained on a different model of elevator. Fine: $4,050.

– Did not ensure “that elevator maintenance duties were supervised and enforced in a manner which was effective” because the employees performing maintenance on the elevator “had not received training on the type (model) of elevator being serviced and the methods necessary to perform the work in a safe manner.” Fine: $2,700.

– Did not “ensure that the company’s formal accident prevention program was tailored to the particular needs of operating and/or servicing a job site elevator and the type of hazards involved.”

The citation alleges that “a lack of information could and did expose employees to hazards that could and did result in fatal injuries.” Fine: $2,700. A total of four violations were alleged, all listed as “serious” by L & I. Ripple said that violations are categorized as: general, or of a lower thresold: serious, or a violation likely to result in serious injury or death: and willful, or knowingly or intentionally violating safety regulations. A maximum fine for a serious violation can be $7,000. Under the Washington Industrial Safety and Health Act, L & I is required to investigate all occupational fatalities. CBI Services’ appeal next moves to the state Board of Industrial Insurance Appeals, Ripple said. That board has granted the appeal, meaning it has been determined the agency has jurisdiction to hear the appeal, said Jay Raish, confidential secretary to the board. The next step in that process, Raish said, will be to enter into a mediation conference, before an industrial appeals judge, to determine whether the case can be handled through mediation. That would include both the employer and the state Attorney General’s Office, which represents L & I. If the appeal isn’t resolved at that level, the case goes before another industrial appeals judge, who will oversee a formal trial process on the appeal, she said. CBI Services is a subsidiary of Chicago Bridge and Iron, Inc., a global specialty engineering and construction company, according to the corporate web site. A spokesman for the company contacted last week said if they were going to respond they would do so by Monday, but had not contacted the American by presstime. Tom Hanich, manager of human resources at Tesoro, said the refinery declined to comment.

UPDATE, Mansfield , Ohio Firm’s Failure to Protect Workers Against Unsafe
Working Conditions Results in $176,250 in OSHA Penalties

TOLEDO , Ohio — Failure to safely de-energize machinery during set-up operations may have contributed to an accidental amputation in October at Ohio Valley Manufacturing of 500 Newman St., Mansfield, Ohio, according to citations issued to the company by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). OSHA is proposing a total fine of $176,250 for a variety of workplace safety hazards at the metal stamping plant, as a result of an inspection the Labor Department agency opened on Oct. 9, 2001 following the accident. OSHA cited the automotive supplier for willful violations of worker safety and health regulations covering lockout and de-energizing machinery during set-up operations, failing to train workers in those procedures and for machine-guard failures.  OSHA also issued serious citations involving fire exit issues, safety problems with gas cylinders, protective eye equipment, forklift operations and power press operations. Jule A. Jones, area director of the Toledo OSHA office, said that the company has 15 working days from receipt of the citations to contest OSHA’s action before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, to request an informal conference with the OSHA area director, or accept the citations and penalties.

 

Rising Sun man rescued from grain bin now in fair condition

By Chandra L. Mattingly, Staff Reporter, April 24, 2002

Shawn Horstman, 28, Rising Sun, was in fair condition Tuesday morning, April 23, at University of Cincinnati Hospital, according to hospital public relations senior consultant Patty Holiday. University Air Care transported the Rising Sun man to the hospital after he spent over two hours trapped in a grain bin at Consolidated Grain and Barge, 210 George St. , Aurora , Monday afternoon, April 22. Horstman, a panel operator employed about 1 1/2 years at the grain storage and barge terminal business, got his foot caught in a conveyor inside a 25,000 bushel storage bin, said manager Scott Perkins. “We were just cleaning a bin. He just stepped off into one of the discharge holes,” said Perkins.  Employees always work in pairs or small groups when inside the grain bins. Two employees with Horstman immediately called for help after the 4:15 p.m. (DST, fast time) accident, said Perkins. Horstman, who was not covered with grain, was conscious throughout the two hours it took Aurora police, fire department and emergency rescue personnel to free him, said Aurora Fire Department Public Information Office Kevin Turner. Taken to Taylor Field on the north side of U.S. 50 by Aurora Emergency Rescue, Horstman was transported in “non-life-threatening condition, stable condition” to University Hospital , Cincinnati , said Turner.  AirCare took off at 6:40 p.m. , according to Aurora Police Department records. Aurora patrolman Dana Cotton, one of the first on the scene, said Horstman’s foot was wedged tightly in the channel containing the conveyor belt. Rescuers were most concerned not to further injure the trapped man. “We had to basically dismantle the whole system to get him out,” said Cotton.  Rescuers used handtools, pry bars acetylene torches and other tools to free Horstman. Firefighters stood by with a water hose attached to a pumper because rescuers were concerned about producing “a lot of sparks around that dust,” said Cotton. Most of the tools used are carried by the fire department and Aurora Emergency Rescue, said Turner, including air chisels, pry bars, breathing apparatus.  Cotton said breathing apparatus was provided for Horstman throughout the rescue, and he was given pain medicine in the final stages. About 20 to 25 people were involved. Dearborn County Sheriff’s Department provided assistance at Taylor Field, where AirCare landed on blacktop recently installed in the Waterways Park expansion there. Perkins said employee injuries are not common at Consolidated Grain’s Aurora facility, where employees had gone about 1,200 days, well over three years, without an injury. “We work hard at our safety program,” he said.

 

Worker at landfill, pinned by trash compactor, dies

By RICHARD ESPINOZA, The Kansas City Star

A man died early Friday in Shawnee when he was pinned by a garbage truck compactor on which he was working. Brian T. Jones, 24, of Belton was working on the compactor blade at the Deffenbaugh landfill, investigators said. The Johnson County Sheriff’s Department said Jones died because of an equipment malfunction and passed the investigation to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. Jones and another man had been installing grease fittings in the part of the truck that compacts trash, said sheriff’s Lt. Steve Quigg. Jones’ co-worker went into the truck cab about 2:20 a.m. to lower the front arms that lift trash bins, and the compactor started opening. Jones, who was standing behind the blade, died when it pinned him against a screen in the truck. Rescuers had to cut through the screen to reach his body because the compactor would not close, Quigg said. Deffenbaugh Disposal Service employees told investigators the blade had recently been removed for maintenance and reinstalled Thursday night. Jones was the third worker to die at the landfill at 18181 W. 53rd St. since December 1999, when a man died after a tractor-trailer dump truck hit the trash truck he was in. In March 2001, a man was maneuvering a crane on a slope when he lost control, crashed down an embankment and died.

 

UPDATE, Suit Filed in Fatal Power Plant Accident

Three men who were injured by steam and hot ash while setting up scaffolding at Ebensburg Power Plant last year are suing the company for damages. The three men were injured and one was killed in the Feb. 5, 2001 incident while they were setting up scaffolding over a large boiler furnace at a cogeneration electric station owned by Ebensburg Power Co. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the station $15,000 after determining that the plant failed to establish a control plan to ensure that all energy sources were shut off. The power station later agreed to pay $11,250 in fines without admitting to any violations.

 

Machine traps foundry worker

Atlantic States employee cracks four ribs.

03/09/02, By PETER HALL, The Express-Times

PHILLIPSBURG – A maintenance worker suffered four cracked ribs when he stepped in between parts of a pipe-painting machine at Atlantic States Cast Iron Pipe Co. early Friday morning, according to a federal officials. Phillipsburg police said Wilfredo Villaba of the 900 block of Fifth Street in Bethlehem was flown to Lehigh Valley Hospital in Salisbury Township following the incident. He was listed in satisfactory condition Friday afternoon, a hospital official said. The federal Occupation Safety and Health Administration will send investigators to the Sitgreaves Street site on Monday, said federal OSHA spokesman Mike Yarnell. Phillipsburg rescue squad and police were called to the foundry about 4:20 a.m. Phillipsburg Detective James Faulborn said Villaba was not trapped for very long. “The personnel in the plant were able to tend to him right away and called the emergency squad,” Faulborn said. The incident occurred as Villaba was between parts of a machine used to paint pipes while he was cleaning it, Atlantic States General Manager Dennis Charko said. Charko said Villaba should not have been working near the equipment while it was still running. He said the incident occurred toward the end of a shift. The paint shop is a restricted area that is closed to workers while machinery is running. The painting machine is remotely operated, Charko said. The equipment should have been turned off, Yarnell said. Atlantic States requires the equipment be turned off and can not be turned on when someone is working nearby, he said. Charko said Atlantic States is also investigating the incident. The company has not determined if anyone is to blame. “We want to understand what happened before we determine what to do,” Charko said. In August 2001, an employee of a construction company was critically injured when he fell about 20 feet through the roof of a building at the foundry. The foundry is Phillipsburg’s oldest industry and employs about 300 people. Since 1999, the plant has been the site of two deaths and a spate of less serious incidents.

 

UPDATE, OSHA issues fines in wake of lumber death

David Bruser, Staff Writer, Published Friday, March 01, 2002 1:12 PM CST

Just months after a part-owner of Byrd Lumber Co. was killed in a workplace accident, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration fined the company more than $140,000. Failure to shut off power to a conveyor assembly, which reportedly contributed to the death of James W. Byrd, 63, of McCall Creek, was one of 43 safety and health citations issued Thursday to Byrd Lumber Co. of Magnolia. The penalty for the alleged violations is $143,150.The company has 15 working days to contest the citations and fines before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. Part-owner Keith Byrd said the company will appeal, starting with a request for an informal conference with OSHA in Jackson, where fines for problems already corrected may be rescinded. “Most of the violations have already been corrected, especially everything they pointed out to us,” he said. “We really thought we were going to have a conference before we got issued these citations. They led us to believe that everything that was repaired would be taken off, and maybe it will at this informal conference.” On Aug. 28, 2001, James Byrd was crushed to death in an accident at the company on Highway 51 north of Magnolia. Byrd got pinned between two pieces of machinery, and workers were unable to turn the machinery off before his head and arm were crushed, according to Pike County Coroner Percy Pittman. “This tragic accident could have been avoided if company officials had followed OSHA regulations,” said OSHA’s Jackson area director Clyde Payne in a press release. Payne’s office conducted the inspection. Failing to render a machine inoperable before repair work began, operating defective equipment throughout the plant and failing to properly guard machinery were some of the 37 alleged safety hazards totaling $128,800 in fines. OSHA also cited six alleged health hazards with fines totaling $14,350. About two months after Byrd died, a fire damaged tin buildings and destroyed an estimated $100,000 of lumber at the Byrd family’s Magnolia Lumber Co., which was located less than a mile south of Byrd Lumber Co. on Highway 51.

 

Workplace accident leaves 1 dead

2002-02-15

An industrial worker died Thursday after getting tangled in machinery. Authorities have not released the identity of the 65-year-old man who was killed at Sasco Rental Tools and Machinery Shop, 2101 S Eastern Ave. Shop Manager Marvin Sasnett said workers were threading a 30-foot piece of pipe when the man got tangled in the end of it about 2 p.m. “This pipe grabbed his clothing and just started winding him up,” Sasnett said. The worker running the machine noticed something was wrong and shut it off, but the man was already injured. He was pronounced dead at 2:46 p.m. at OU Medical Center.

 

Worker’s Death Brings OSHA Citations for Haleyville Manufacturer

HALEYVILLE, Ala. — Repeated failures of a Haleyville, Ala., door manufacturing plant to protect its workers from machine hazards contributed to the death of an employee in August, 2001 and may cost the company $102,000 in proposed penalties, the U.S. Labor Department’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration announced today. The Aug. 4, 2001, fatality occurred in the lay-up department where door parts and wooden stiles are fed through a glue machine and placed on a hydraulic scissor lift. The lift is lowered into a pit as more door parts are added until about 50 doors are completed, at which time the scissor lift ascends and the doors are sent to the next operation. While clearing parts and debris from the pit, a Premdor, Inc. employee was crushed when the scissor lift slowly descended on him. “This employer knew about ‘lockout/tagout’ procedures that render machinery inoperable during service and repair but neglected to enforce them,” said Roberto Sanchez, OSHA’s Birmingham area director. “In fact, a full inspection of the Haleyville facility in 1999 resulted in citations for similar violations and Premdor, Inc. had been cited previously in connection with a similar fatality at its Tampa plant.” OSHA’s investigation of the accident resulted in four repeat citations for: not posting appropriate confined space warning signs at the scissor lift pit; not enforcing the use of lockout/tagout procedures when employees enter the pit for service work and maintenance purposes; failing to conduct periodic inspections of energy control procedures, and unguarded pinch points at the floor level of scissor lifts. The repeat violations resulted in penalties totaling $95,000. The remaining $7,000 fine was assessed for one serious violation — failure to provide individual locks, tags, and blocking devices, and to train employees in their use, to prevent release of stored energy or the unexpected start-up of the scissor lift. OSHA defines a serious violation as one in which there is a substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result and the employer knew, or should have known, of the hazard. A repeat violation occurs when an employer has been cited previously for a substantially similar condition and the citation has become a final order of the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The company has 15 working days to contest OSHA’s most recent citations before the Commission. Internationally-owned Premdor, Inc. employs approximately 4,150 workers in the U.S., about 208 of whom are located at the Haleyville plant. The inspection was conducted by OSHA’s Birmingham area office located at 2047 Canyon Rd.; telephone: (205) 731-1534.

 

UPDATE, Training probed at milk plant after death of worker

BY LISA FERNANDEZ, Mercury News Published Thursday, Jan. 24, 2002, in the San Jose Mercury News

As a Fremont family made funeral arrangements for a man who died during a workplace accident, state inspectors said Wednesday they are examining the San Leandro Safeway milk plant’s training, which was previously not up to code. Dean Fryer, a spokesman for the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (Cal-OSHA), said the same milk-processing plant was fined more than $10,000 in 1999 for failing to train employees in proper safety procedures, such as how to turn off equipment. Anthony Fraga, a 41-year-old husband and father of three, was killed Monday while working an overnight shift when a large machine trapped him. He was an engineer doing routine maintenance on a machine that moves large pallets of milk. His funeral is scheduled for Friday. Fryer said Cal-OSHA will zero in on whether Fraga received the proper “lockout-tagout” training, which often means turning the machine off. “We’re going to look at it because it’s an issue that’s come up before,” Fryer said. “And past history is important.” Safeway spokeswoman Debra Lambert said Fraga, who was two days shy of completing his three-month probationary period, had received “hands-on” training with supervisors on the “lockout” procedure. The October 1999 accident, in which an employee received second-degree burns while fixing a similar machine without turning it off or putting a tarp over the hot areas he was welding, prompted one of two Cal-OSHA investigations of the San Leandro plant. During the inspection, 26 violations — three serious — were found, reports show. Safeway corrected all the problems, including the lockout training problem, in one month. Cal-OSHA fined the Safeway plant $19,000. On appeal, the company paid $12,000. State fines generally range from $200 to $25,000 and can soar to $70,000 in extreme cases in which a company intends to harm an employee. Lambert said that after the 1999 fines, Safeway “enhanced” and “improved” its employee training, but she declined to provide additional details. “Safety is truly our first concern,” she said. Safeway, she said, is paying for Fraga’s funeral services and providing his family with other benefits. Fraga’s family remains in mourning. “They’re having a real hard time,” said Fraga’s mother-in-law, Joetta Duncan. “It’s real hard on the kids.” Fraga leaves behind his wife of 17 years, Lori, and three children, Noel, 7, Josh, 12, and A.J., 14. He worked at Nortel Networks for 17 years before being laid off and landing the Safeway job. “He was a loving, giving person,” Duncan said. Fraga’s funeral is scheduled for 11 a.m. Friday at Fremont Memorial Chapel Mortuary, 3723 Peralta Blvd.

 

UPDATE, Fremont man killed

BY LISA FERNANDEZ , Published Tuesday, Jan. 22, 2002, in the San Jose Mercury News

SAFEWAY ENGINEER CRUSHED BY MACHINE AT SAN LEANDRO PLANT

A father of three dies after being pinned by a milk-moving machine. He had been employed at the processing plant for about three months. It was the first fatal accident at the plant, officials said. A Fremont man was crushed to death early Monday by a milk-moving machine at a Safeway processing plant in San Leandro. Anthony Fraga, 41, an engineer, was doing routine maintenance on a container-loading machine about 12:30 a.m., when somehow it activated and pinned him inside, said San Leandro police Lt. Marc Decouloude. The plant, at 2000 Adams Ave., processes and distributes milk for Safeway’s Northern California stores. A Safeway spokesman said it was the plant’s first fatality. “This was just a tragic accident, and our sympathy and condolences go out to the family,” said David Bowlby, Safeway’s director of public relations. Safeway shut down all milk processing, but officials expect to resume operation today. Any Northern California stores that needed milk could get some from Southern California. Fraga was working the graveyard shift with four other employees, police said. A co-worker witnessed the accident and called 911. Firefighters extracted Fraga from the machine with a hydraulic cutting tool, but he was pronounced dead at the scene. With Monday being a holiday, Martin Luther King Day, police were scrambling to locate representatives from the California Division of Occupational Safety and Health to aid in the investigation. Fraga had started working at Safeway about three months ago. “His probation was almost up. He was so excited. He was going to be permanent in two days,” said family friend Debbie Capas. “I’m speechless. We were very good friends.” Fraga worked as a Nortel Networks engineer for 15 years, Capas said. But he was laid off in September and found the Safeway job to provide for his wife, Lori, and his three children, AJ, 14, Josh, 12, and Noel, 7. Asked to remember their father, Josh said: “He’d never give up.” AJ added, “He was a workaholic.” Capas said Fraga was a “wonderful, kind person” who loved his children, who attend Centerville Junior High and Parkmont Elementary schools. In addition to his job with Safeway, Fraga did landscaping work. Funeral arrangements are pending.

 

Accident Kills Safeway Worker

Monday January 21 04:41 PM EST, By KPIX – Simon Perez

A Fremont man was killed this morning at the Safeway distribution plant in San Leandro. Rescue workers say Anthony Fraga was crushed by a piece of warehouse machinery. Fraga had only been working at the warehouse for a few months, but whether his inexperience had anything to do with his death, is for California’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration to figure out. The plant processes and packages milk for all the Safeway stores in Northern California. The Alameda County coroner’s office is calling Fraga’s death accidental, which means foul play has been ruled out. It was either machine or operator error. The machine 41-year old Fraga was working on, moved heavy stacks containing cartons of milk onto pallets. Safeway Spokesman David Bowlby: “He was a maintenance engineer at our plant. He was performing regular maintenance on an automated loading system.” San Leandro police say Fraga was crushed between the pusher and a guide. The issue is, did someone forget to turn off the machine while Fraga was working on it, or did it malfunction and turn on by mistake? Either way, Cal-OSHA is in charge of deciding whether to impose any penalties on the company. The plant is shut down while the investigation continues. Safeway says its Southern California plant will make up the production difference, if the Northern California plant stays down for long. Safeway says the plant has a good record, with no similar accidents before. For more Bay Area news and information, visit the PIX Page at kpix.com

 

UPDATE, Repairman killed by elevator in Riverwoods is identified

Published January 10, 2002

A repairman who died when he was crushed while fixing an elevator at the Discover Card building in Riverwoods has been identified as Raymond A. Zytnowski, 57, of Woodridge, officials said. Lake County Coroner Barbara Richardson said Wednesday that Zytnowski had not locked the elevator or turned off the power while working on it Tuesday afternoon. He was crushed when the elevator descended on him, Richardson said. Zytnowski worked for the Schindler Elevator Co. for 35 years and had serviced the elevators at the Discover Card building at 2500 Lake Cook Rd. for 10 years, Richardson said. Zytnowski was found trapped between a wall and the elevator shaft, between the basement and the first floor, about 1 p.m. Tuesday, said Fred Kruger, chief of the Lincolnshire/Riverwoods Fire Protection District.

 

Repairman crushed fixing elevator

Published January 9, 2002

A repairman died Tuesday afternoon when he apparently was crushed while fixing an elevator at the Discover Card building in Riverwoods, officials said. The Fire Department was called to the office building at 2500 Lake Cook Road around 1 p.m., said Fred Kruger, chief of the Lincolnshire/Riverwoods Fire Protection District. The man was found trapped between a wall and the elevator shaft, between the basement and the first floor, Kruger said. The department’s special-response unit rigged a pulley system to remove the elevator car and lift the body to the first floor, he said. Officials from the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration were called in to interview representatives of the elevator repair company and Discover Card to determine why the repairman was there and how the accident happened, Kruger said. The Lake County coroner’s office removed the body, he said.