OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14198972
BETHLEHEM STEEL CORPORATION
SPARROWS POINT, MD·
Event description
EMPLOYEE INJURED AFTER INHALING METHYL CHLOROFORM IN PIT
Investigation abstract
On November 27, 1985, two employees were assigned to clean a coil upender pit. T ter Employee #1 was removed from the site, a management official inspected the p it and did not notice an odor. The manager asked another employee to finish clea ning out the pit. Once inside the pit, a confined space, the other employee beca me dizzy after 30 minutes. After curtailing the operation, this second employee developed a severe headache. Neither employee used personal protective equipment or forced ventilation. Although the second entry of the pit was conducted after management was aware of the first incident, the pit's atmosphere was not tested before the second employee entered the pit. Employee #1 was experienced with th e use of methyl chloroform in a confined space and had received instruction. The other employee stated that he entered the pit without receiving training. he pit measured 11 feet by 8 feet, with depths ranging from 50 to 52 inches and contained hardened oil and debris and nuts and bolts left in the drive mechanism s by maintenance. Employee #1 entered the pit before beginning the cleaning and found boards and corrugated paper adhering to residue in the pit. Employee #1 po ured five gallons of methyl chloroform into the pit to loosen debris and came ba ck later to remove it. The employee entered the pit, removed some debris, bent o ver to pick up nuts and bolts, and collapsed. Other employees observed his colla pse and assisted with his removal from the pit. Employee #1 was hospitalized. Af
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 58 M
- Nature of injury
- 21
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 889
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 1720
- Task assigned
- 2
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.