OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14253751
TOWN OF CARY DEPT OF PUBLIC WORKS
CARY, NC·
Event description
EMPLOYEES EXPOSED TO CHLORINE GAS FROM CHEMICAL REACTION
Investigation abstract
SEVERAL EMPLOYEES WERE ADDING CHEMICALS TO A SEWER IN AN EFFORT TO ELIMINATE ODO R PROBLEMS. THE CHEMICALS, TRICHLORO-S-TRIAZINE TRIONE AND CALCIUM HYPOCHLORITE, REACTED TO PRODUCE CHLORINE GAS, NITROGEN TRICHLORIDE, CARBON MONOXIDE AND POSS IBLY PHOSGENE AND OTHER CHLORINE-CONTAINING GASES. THE HEAT OF THE REACTION CAUS ED AUTOIGNITION. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT RESPONDED AND FLOODED THE CONTAINER (A META L 30 GALLON BARREL) WITH LARGE AMOUNTS OF WATER. A PUBLIC WORKS EMPLOYEE AND A P OLICEMAN WERE GIVEN OXYGEN AFTER INHALING SOME OF THE GASES. THEY WERE TREATED O N THE SPOT BY THE RESCUE SQUAD.
Victims (2)
-
#1 Non-hospitalized injury Age 21 M
- Nature of injury
- 21
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 14
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Hazardous substance
- 0640
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Non-hospitalized injury Age 21 M
- Nature of injury
- 21
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 418
- Human factor
- 14
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Hazardous substance
- 0640
- 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.