OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #1004779

BURN,CLOTHING,ELECTRIC ARC,METAL RAIL,RAILWAY CIRCUIT,E GI IV,ELECTRICAL,FIRE,ELECTRICAL FAULT,SPRAIN

1989-05-17T02:16:00

Event: BURN,CLOTHING,ELECTRIC ARC,METAL RAIL,RAILWAY CIRCUIT,E GI IV,ELECTRICAL,FIRE,ELECTRICAL FAULT,SPRAIN
Linked inspection: No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number: 1004779
Report ID: 253650

Event description

BURN - ELECTRICAL FAULT ON RAILWAY CIRCUIT

Investigation abstract

A CREW OF 12 EMPLOYEES WAS WORKING IN PAIRS TO REMOVE A 29-FOOT "SPERRY" RAIL TH EMPLOYEE (#3) WAS HOSPITALIZED WITH THIRD DEGREE BURNS OVER FIVE PERCENT OF HIS BODY. THE REMAINING INJURED EMPLOYEES WERE TREATED AND RELEASED. THEIR INJURIES INCLUDED BRUISES, SPRAINED WRISTS AND LEG, SCRAPS, CUTS, AND BURNS. AT RAN WITH AN ENERGIZED 700-VOLT THIRD RAIL. THE SPERRY RAIL WAS REMOVED BUT A TRAIN WAS COMING TOWARD THE TRACK. THE OLD RAIL WAS THEN REINSTALLED AND TIED DO WN, AND THE TRAIN WAS ALLOWED TO PASS. ON THE SECOND ATTEMPT TO REMOVE THE SPERR Y RAIL, IT WAS FOUND TO BE WEDGED IN PLACE, AND IT HAD TO BE PRIED LOOSE. THE EN ERGIZED THIRD RAIL WAS COVERED WITH RUBBER MATS. WHEN THE EMPLOYEES PRIED LOOSE THE SPERRY RAIL, IT POPPED UP AND STRUCK THE MAT COVERING THE ENERGIZED RAIL. AN ELECTRICAL EXPLOSION AND FLASH FIRE RESULTED. TWO EMPLOYEES (#1 AND #2) WERE HO SPITALIZED WITH THIRD DEGREE BURNS COVERING 35 PERCENT OF THEIR BODIES. A THIRD

Victims (12)

#1 Hospitalized Age 27 M

Nature of injury
5

Part of body
19

Event type
14

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
18

Task assigned
1
#10 Non-hospitalized injury Age 54 M

Nature of injury
20

Part of body
12

Event type
6

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1
#11 Non-hospitalized injury Age 25 M

Nature of injury
5

Part of body
9

Event type
14

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
18

Task assigned
1
#12 Non-hospitalized injury Age 29 M

Nature of injury
3

Part of body
9

Event type
6

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1
#2 Hospitalized Age 48 M

Nature of injury
5

Part of body
19

Event type
14

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
18

Task assigned
1
#3 Hospitalized Age 25 M

Nature of injury
5

Part of body
19

Event type
14

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
18

Task assigned
1
#4 Non-hospitalized injury Age 37 M

Nature of injury
3

Part of body
24

Event type
6

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1
#5 Non-hospitalized injury Age 65 M

Nature of injury
3

Part of body
19

Event type
6

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1
#6 Non-hospitalized injury Age 30 M

Nature of injury
20

Part of body
18

Event type
6

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1
#7 Non-hospitalized injury Age 32 M

Nature of injury
3

Part of body
15

Event type
6

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1
#8 Non-hospitalized injury Age 48 M

Nature of injury
3

Part of body
16

Event type
6

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1
#9 Non-hospitalized injury Age 53 M

Nature of injury
3

Part of body
18

Event type
6

Source
38

Occupation code
863

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
13

Task assigned
1

Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.