Tag Archives: injured

Water Facility Cited for Fall Injury

PEWAUKEE, WI – A water facility has been cited for a fall injury in the Milwaukee area. A worker was injured in 2020. A guardrail was loosened. The worker then fell and struck his head on a support beam. The accident occurred in a nearly 30-foot deep water test pit.

The water facility cited for the fall injury is Xylem Inc. In OSHA’s press release they explain the company is being cited for nine violations. Eight of the violations are serious, and one willful. The penalties for these violations total $234,054. Over half that amount is due to the willful violation. That violation is for failure to provide fall protection.

A water treatment facility similar to the water facility cited for a fall injury.

Most the remainder of the penalties are made up by confined space safety violations. Xylem is being cited as failing to follow permit-required procedures before entering the water test pits.

The OSHA Area Director stated, “This worker’s injury could have been prevented if appropriate fall protection was provided.”

Xylem Inc. is a water company specializing in wastewater and energy. Xylem employs over 1,600 workers in the US. 57 of these are at their Pewaukee water facility that is cited for the fall injury.

The company has 15 business days from receipt to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director, or contest the findings.

Martin Technical provides training in both fall protection and confined spaces safety. These trainings prevent accidents such as this one, and the citations that can follow.

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Nitrogen Leak Kills Six, Injures 11 in Poultry Plant Accident

Gainesville, FL – On January 28th a deadly nitrogen leak took the livesAn example photo of industrial liquid nitrogen cannisters of six workers at Foundation Food Group poultry plant located in Gainesville, Florida. The leak occurred during unplanned maintenance on a processing and freezing line. The line was installed about a month prior, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s report on January 30th.

In addition to the six dead in the nitrogen leak, there were 11 injuries, one more individual was sent to the hospital, and 130 other workers were forced to evacuate. Katherine A. Lemos, CEO & chairwoman of the CSB stated the investigation “…may take up to several years.” New information is still coming forward, and will continue to do so as Lemos suggests.

What We Know Currently

In the CSB’s report from January 30th, it was detailed that there was a release of liquid nitrogen. This rapidly converted to a gas. Because the gas form of liquid nitrogen is heavier than air, it forced the oxygen out the room.

How the liquid nitrogen was released was not detailed. The CSB is currently working to isolate the exact location of release inside the plant. Additional damage to the plant was avoided when a manger turned off an external isolation valve after the leak began.

Other details noted in the report included: Tools were found on the ground near the equipment. The plant receives 2-3 18-wheel truckloads per day of liquid nitrogen. Manufacturers of interior equipment are being looked into, and the supplier of liquid nitrogen was noted in the report.

Going Forward

The CSB lacks the authority to issue fines or criminal charges. However, The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is also investigating the leak. The CSB has noted its investigations will include examinations and evaluations of multiple factors. The will include training as well as operations and procedures. Martin Technical encourages all industries and professionals to keep all employees up to date on training, as well as safety procedures and operations such as Lockout Tagout. Keep your team informed on all regulations and industry standards to prevent accidents such as these.

Read more coverage from NPR, New York Times, and USA Today

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Three Story Fall Kills Plant Worker, Injures One More

Commerce, GA- A construction worker at the SK Battery plant in Jackson County, Georgia was declared dead after he sustained injuries from a three story fall.

The accident itself took place November 4, 2020 at the plant’s Formation Building. Reportedly the worker fell through a hole in an air vent 46 feet above the ground, later landing on top of a female worker standing below who also sustained injuries.

Jackson County deputy coroner, Jeff Rogers, said the 34-year-old Augusta man suffered brain injuries and was kept on life support until this weekend. The female worker remains in critical condition but is ultimately expected to survive.

Some workers have told reporters at FOX 5 they worry sub-contractors are sacrificing safety for speed. “You take chances in our trade and you wind up dead,” warned Randy Gregory when FOX 5 Atlanta talked to him in September.

This month’s accident follows other recent injuries at the site. Recently, one worker was hospitalized after he fell through a ceiling, while another allegedly fell through a roof. Fall Protection Training actively addresses the factors that lead to such incidents like these three occurring.

Deputy coroner Rogers said the investigation by OSHA will determine whether the man who died followed safety procedures and at what fault the subcontractors and company will be held at.

“They’re going back out to the site,” explained the deputy coroner. “They’re interviewing witnesses, employees that were there that saw the accident.”

Originally sourced from Fox 5 Atlanta.

Image from claycorp.com

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Explosion at Sugar Factory Injures 4 Workers

Nampa, ID- The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) is currently investigating an explosion that occurred last month at Amalgamated Sugar as an open case. 

Jessica Anderson, an Amalgamated Sugar spokeswoman, stated that the explosion occurred in the morning in a sugar beet pulp steam dryer. The cause of the explosion remains unidentified, and the damage reported to the factory is regarded as minimal. 

Anderson said that none of the injuries were life-threatening; four were treated with first aid, one worker, William McMilian, was taken to a local hospital for injuries and further examination. McMillian suffered second degree burns on his head and on his back, as well as third degree burns on his arm that possibly will require a skin graft. 

The employees were wearing appropriate fire protection gear, according to Anderson, though McMillian said that the protective gear did not stop the injuries from occurring.

“We are still investigating the situation, and will release more details as they become available,” Anderson told the Idaho Press.

This is not the first accident occurring at Amalgamated Sugar’s Nampa facility; over the past 35 years, four people have died at the factory. The most recent death happened in 2009 with the death of worker Mario Munoz, 45, whose body was discovered in an auger. The company ultimately paid $18,900 in fines in an OSHA settlement in the case of this 2009 death. 

Sourced from KTVB and IdahoPress

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Explosion leaves one dead, one injured in Lincoln, CA

Lincoln, CA- One man was killed and another worker was injured at the Sierra Pacific Industries location in downtown Lincoln on the afternoon of Sept. 18, 2020. Sierra Pacific Industries is the second-largest lumber producer in the United States.

The two were working on an commercial-sized air compressor at the industrial plant when it allegedly exploded.

This accident is currently under a California Division of Occupational Safety and Health (CAL/OSHA) investigation, and it is believed that the company will have a better understanding of what took place which caused the accident and death once the investigation is finished.

“Lincoln Police personnel interviewed witnesses and documented the scene, and will turn everything over to Cal OSHA investigators,” Public Safety Chief Doug Lee was quoted saying.

Milo Fryer Jr., 34, of Lincoln,  was named as the man who lost his life because of this accident. The other worker was not identified in the local news reports but was released from the hospital.

Mechanical and machine safety and training is essential to prevent accidents like these.

Read more details from our source, NewsOpi.

Image credit to Core Materials Distribution.

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Massachusetts Industrial Accident Injures Employee

Amesbury, MA- Firefighters responded to a concrete plant in Amesbury, Massachusetts last Monday afternoon after receiving a report that one of the workers was critically hurt in an industrial accident, according to Amesbury Fire. The plant, E.F. Shea, has been in operation for 75 years and is a manufacturer of precast concrete products.

At about 2 pm, fire personnel arrived at the scene and worked to extricate the injured man from a walkway that was 15-20 ft high.The fire department said removing the worker from the height was difficult because firefighters firstly needed to stabilize him.

The man sustained life-threatening injuries and was transported by helicopter to an area hospital to receive treatment. Amesbury Fire said an investigation has been opened by the US Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA). No other details are available from OSHA nor local reporting at press time.

As many workers over the last weeks have begun to return to work in the time of COVID-19, Martin Technical encourages all forms of safety and prevention to be taken seriously, whether it is an injury or an illness.

Read more from original source.

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MO Contractor Fined $224K after Trench Collapse, Employee Injury

Creve Coeur, MO- OSHA cited a Missouri contractor for violations of trenching and excavation standards after an employee suffered severe injuries when a 20-foot trench collapsed during an excavation at Creve Coeur Sanitary Sewer Trunk.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited Unnerstall Contracting Company LLC, based in Pacific, Missouri, for three willful and four serious violations. The penalties amounted to $224,459.

The company was cited for failing to use adequate trench protective systems, permitting employees to ride in the bucket of hydraulic excavators, allowing water to accumulate in the floor of the trench, failing to provide a safe means of egress from the trench, failing to protect workers from struck-by hazards, and failing to place excavated soil piles an adequate distance from trench edges.

OSHA has since placed the company in the agency’s Severe Violator Enforcement Program.

The company has 15 business days from receipt of the OSHA citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA’s area director or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.

These penalties and citations embody a number of safety topics and issues, some of which could be prevented and resolved by proper management training.

Read more from original source.

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OSHA Fines over 500k in Texas Explosion

Port Neches, TX- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has fined the TPC group $514,692 for willful violations linked to the explosions and fire November 27 at the Port Neches, Texas plant.

An investigation found that the cause of explosions and fires was from the formation of a vapor at the base of a butadiene finishing tower which then ignited. The initial blast and then fires injured three workers and caused widespread damage to the surrounding community and civilians. The blast prompted evacuations that impacted near 50,000 people in the surrounding communities.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said in a statement that it cited TPC for three willful violations by not developing and implementing procedures for emergency shutdown and not inspecting and testing process vessel and piping components. Because of these willful violations, TPC faces $514,692 in civil OSHA fines.

Read more from original source.

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Seven Years Later: The Rana Plaza Factory Collapse

Savar Upazila, Bangladesh- In 2013 of this week, the Rana Plaza factory complex in Bangladesh collapsed, killing more than 1,100 garment workers, primarily young women, and injuring 2,500 others.

It was the largest industrial accident since 1984, when a gas leak at a factory in Bhopal, India, killed more than 3,500 people and exposed thousands more to toxic fumes. 

Images of the Rana Plaza collapse caught the world’s attention and became a catalyst for corporate action on factory safety.  

This led over 220 international brands to sign the Accord on Fire and Building Safety in Bangladesh, a unique binding agreement that set up a monitoring and remediation system in the factories where the mostly European brands sourced from. Other brands, primarily from North America, joined the Alliance for Bangladesh Worker Safety.

Today, more of those buyers recognize that factory safety is important and that they will be held to account, and are being more transparent about publicly listing where they source their products. 

Factories covered by the Accord and the Alliance are safer in part because they underwent a series of inspections, had plans to fix the problems identified, and those that didn’t comply were not allowed to work with member companies.

During those inspections, a litany of problems were identified. These included structural flaws, blocked fire exits, and a lack of fire doors and proper fire alarm and sprinkler systems. About 84 percent of those problems at Accord factories have been addressed, and 90 percent of issues at Alliance factories have been remediated. The Accord terminated 96 of its roughly 800 suppliers, and the Alliance 168 of its roughly 2,000. Millions of workers have been trained on safety procedures and safety committees have been formed at many factories.

We do our part in furthering training, education, and prevention of such tragedies.

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Construction Accident Leaves One Dead, One Injured

Oklahoma City, OK- Officials say one person is dead following an construction accident in Oklahoma City.construction death

Around 10:30 a.m. on Thursday, emergency crews were called to an industrial accident in the 8300 block of N. I-35 Service Rd. in Oklahoma City.

Initial reports indicated that two people were trapped after a scissor lift tipped over inside a nearby building.

Once emergency crews arrived on the scene, they realized that one person was dead and another was seriously injured after the scissor lift fell while approximately 40 feet in the air.

“Terrible incident. We see industrial accidents from time to time in our city,” Battalion Chief Benny Fulkerson with the Oklahoma City Fire Department said. “Construction workers, they have dangerous jobs. Sometimes things happen, unfortunately.”

Proper worker training, OSHA compliance, and management training reduce industrial accidents on sites such as construction. The construction company in charge of the project is AC Owen Construction. The two people involved in the accident were subcontractors that work for Frazier Fire LLC.

“It’s just a big metal building. I’m not sure what it is, or what it’s going to be when it’s done,” Fulkerson said. “They were working inside the building when it occurred.” It’s not clear at this time what caused the lift to fall, or what the workers were doing at the time of the accident.

At this point, no other information is being released. Read more from original source.

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