105,313Records 71,083Employers 85,290Hospitalizations 27,770Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-10-31
Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14215743

VENTILATION,HEADACHE,INHALATION,DRY CLEANING,NAUSEA,PERCHLOROETHYLENE,FAINTED,TOXIC FUMES,OVEREXPOSURE,VOMIT

Event
VENTILATION,HEADACHE,INHALATION,DRY CLEANING,NAUSEA,PERCHLOROETHYLENE,FAINTED,TOXIC FUMES,OVEREXPOSURE,VOMIT
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
14215743
Report ID
454510

Event description

27 employees overexposed to perchloroethylene fumes

Investigation abstract

On April 12, 1988, the drycleaners in a plant that manufactures hi-tech sweaters hes. On April 13, the employees noticed the same odor and symptoms. One employee fainted due to a heart condition. On April 14, the drycleaners were started at 7:30 a.m. By 7:45 a.m. the odor was very strong in various parts of the finishin g room. At 8:15 a.m., the doors in the room were opened, which helped control th e odor. At 10:00 a.m., numerous employees started experiencing nausea, headaches , vomiting, breathing problems, fainting, muscle weakness, and eye and throat ir ritation. At approximately 1:00 p.m., the plant was evacuated due to employees e xperiencing fainting and severe reactions. Employee #3 was vomiting blood and wa s transported to the hospital. EMTs transported 40 to 50 employees to the hospit al. Employees #1 through #27 were hospitalized and treated for inhalation of per from synthetic and cotton yarns were used for the first time with perchloroethy chloroethylene. Employee #10 was placed in intensive care due to a pre-existing condition. The Donini units have their own solvents recovery unit with charcoal absorbent; are exhausted through a recovery system; and have numeric controls. T he machines are located in a 54,289 square ft room with 14 ft ceilings. This sam e room contains sewing operations, steaming, inspection, and packaging; 75 emplo yees work on each shift. There are three HVAC units in the room, all with return air vents on the same side of the room as the drycleaning units. No fresh air i s brought in; all air is 100 percent recycled through the HVAC systems. The inci dent was caused by poor design of the finishing room; placement of the HVAC; and lack of makeup air. The building is less than one year old and is very tight. T lene. The cotton sweaters are water washed and the synthetic sweaters are drycle he employer plans to separate the drycleaning area from the finishing room and p lace it on a separate ventilation system, which should alleviate the problem. aned; the Donini washing/drycleaning machines are single units with both capabil ities. Although the plant had been in operation since January 1988, and the wash ing/drycleaning machines had been in place since February 1988, the actual drycl eaning operation was not run until April 11, 1988. On April 12, 1988, a Donini t echnician was on site to insure proper functioning of the machines. Some of the employees noticed a strong odor from the drycleaners and some experienced headac

Victims (22)

  1. #1 Hospitalized Age 38 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  2. #10 Hospitalized Age 24 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  3. #11 Hospitalized Age 30 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  4. #12 Hospitalized Age 30 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  5. #13 Hospitalized Age 53 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  6. #14 Hospitalized Age 38 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  7. #15 Hospitalized Age 34 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  8. #16 Hospitalized Age 40 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  9. #17 Hospitalized Age 19 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  10. #18 Hospitalized Age 36 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  11. #19 Hospitalized Age 24 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  12. #20 Hospitalized Age 43 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  13. #21 Hospitalized Age 26 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  14. #22 Hospitalized Age 33 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  15. #23 Hospitalized Age 25 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  16. #3 Hospitalized Age 42 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  17. #4 Hospitalized Age 29 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  18. #5 Hospitalized Age 37 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  19. #6 Hospitalized Age 30 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  20. #7 Hospitalized Age 26 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  21. #8 Hospitalized Age 23 F

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

  22. #9 Hospitalized Age 30 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    29
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    17
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2020
    Task assigned
    1

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