OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14225163

CAMAC CORPORATION

BRISTOL, VA· 1987-05-22T19:00:00

Event: RESPIRATORY, FLAMMABLE VAPORS, FIRE, SMOKE, SMOKE INHALATION
NAICS: 000000
Inspection type: Accident-driven
Activity number: #17374885
Employer profile: CAMAC CORPORATION
Summary number: 14225163
Report ID: 355110

Event description

EMPLOYEES INHALED SMOKE FROM PETROLEUM ETHER FIRE

Investigation abstract

EMPLOYEE #6 WAS PERFORMING FINISH EXTRACTIONS ON YARN. THIS OPERATION CONSISTS O E TO THE LABORATORY IMMEDIATELY TO DEAL WITH THE EMERGENCY. MEANWHILE, EMPLOYEE #8 FOUND A FIRE EXTINGUISHER. EMPLOYEE #4 TOOK THE FIRE EXTINGUISHER FROM EMPLOY EE #8 AND EXTINGUISHED THE FUME HOOD FIRE. THE FIRE MELTED THE PLEXIGLASS OF THE FUME HOOD, AND THE FAN MOTOR WOULD NOT OPERATE AFTER THE FIRE. THE LAMP IN THE FUME HOOD WAS BROKEN. THERE WAS A BEAKER CONTAINING APPROXMATELY 50 MILLILITERS OF UNBURNED PETROLUEM ETHER SITTING BESIDE THE HOT PLATE. THE HEAT APPARENTLY CA USED THE PLEXIGLASS DOOR TO BULGE OUTWARD IN THE AREA ABOVE THE HOT PLATE. THE P ROTECTIVE COVER FOR THE LAMP INSIDE THE FUME HOOD WAS MISSING. ALL 8 EMPLOYEES W ERE HOSPITALIZED FOR SMOKE INHALATION. F DIPPING THE YARN INTO A WARM SOLUTION OF PETROLEUM ETHER, THEN EVAPORATING THE ETHER FROM THE YARN. A CORNING PC-100RC SERIES LABORATORY HOT PLATE WAS USED. A T APPROXIMATELY 7 PM ON MAY 22, 1987, EMPLOYEE #6 WAS EVAPORATING THE SECOND SET OF FOUR SIMULTANEOUS EXTRACTIONS, AND WAS STANDING NEAR THE SINK BESIDE THE FUM E HOOD. THE HOOD FAN AND FUME HOOD LIGHTS WERE ON. THE FUME HOOD DOOR WAS PULLED DOWN ABOUT HALFWAY. THERE APPEARS TO HAVE BEEN A POP, AND THE MATERIAL INSIDE T HE FUME HOOD CAUGHT FIRE. EMPLOYEE #6 AND EMPLOYEE #3 LEFT THE LABORATORY IMMEDI ATELY AND INFORMED EMPLOYEE #8 OF THE FIRE. EMPLOYEE #3 PAGED EMPLOYEE #5 TO COM

Victims (8)

#1 Hospitalized Age 32 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
28

Event type
9

Source
16

Occupation code
37

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
10

Task assigned
1
#2 Hospitalized Age 39 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
28

Event type
9

Source
16

Occupation code
37

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
10

Task assigned
1
#3 Hospitalized Age 42 F

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
28

Event type
9

Source
16

Occupation code
37

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
10

Task assigned
1
#4 Hospitalized Age 35 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
28

Event type
9

Source
16

Occupation code
37

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
10

Task assigned
1
#5 Hospitalized Age 35 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
28

Event type
9

Source
16

Occupation code
738

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
10

Task assigned
1
#6 Hospitalized Age 48 F

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
28

Event type
9

Source
16

Occupation code
738

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
10

Task assigned
1
#7 Hospitalized Age 59 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
28

Event type
9

Source
16

Occupation code
999

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
10

Task assigned
1
#8 Hospitalized Age 27 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
28

Event type
9

Source
16

Occupation code
999

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
10

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.