Incident #1 – At 11:30 a.m. on February 19, 2021, an employee was cleaning a fermented yogurt tanker with a hot water pressure washer. The employee entered the tanker to access the front and back of the tank. A coworker reported hearing a noise and then the sound of the wash water stopping. The employee fell and hit his head while trying to exit the tanker. He had been asphyxiated due to oxygen deficiency and was killed. CLICK HERE
Incident #2 – At 2:00 p.m. on April 19, 2021, two employees were directed to clean the exterior and interior of a 2500 gallon tank of a water truck. The water truck was a used truck that had been bought at an auction. The company had sandblasted it to prepare it to be painted and they were going to put it in use controlling dust at the company worksite. The employees used the 24 inch opening on top of the truck to enter the tank. The employees were wiping the inside with gasoline saturated rags. The employees did not have any type of personal protective equipment and there were no confined space procedures in place. A coworker came into the area and did not hear any noises and asked how it was going. There was no response so he climbed to the top of the truck and looked in and saw the two employees collapsed. The coworker ran to get help and other coworkers came to get the employees out of the tank. One employee was revived with CPR but the other employee died. CLICK HERE
