OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14339824
RESPIRATORY,CONFINED SPACE,METHYLENE CHLORIDE,WORK RULES,CLEANING,TANK
Event description
POISONED BY METHYLENE CHLORIDE IN TANKER COMPARTMENT
Investigation abstract
EMPLOYEES #1 AND #2 WERE ASSIGNED THE TASK OF CLEANING THE INSIDE OF A TANKER TR SED BEFORE HE COULD MAKE IT. WITH THE BOTTOM VALVE AND TOP HATCH OPEN, THE METHY LENE CHLORIDE VAPORS RAPIDLY LEFT THE TANK. BY THE TIME EMPLOYEES #1 AND #2 WERE FOUND BY OTHER EMPLOYEES, THE METHYLENE CHLORIDE VAPOR LEVEL HAD DECREASED TO B ELOW THE ODOR THRESHOLD (100 PPM). EMPLOYEES #1 AND #2 WERE KILLED. AILER COMPARTMENT ON JUNE 4, 1986. THEY ATTACHED A "SPINNER", WHICH AUTOMATICALL Y CLEANS THE TANK INTERIOR WITH CAUSTIC, THEN SPRAYED METHYLENE CHLORIDE "PRESOL VE" INTO THE TANK TO SOFTEN THE PVA LATEX WHICH HAD ACCUMULATED ON THE TANK'S IN TERIOR WALLS. AFTER "SPINNING" AND RINSING WITH HOT WATER, THE TANK WAS CLOSED U P AND LEFT TO COOL. AT ABOUT 1 AM, THE TWO EMPLOYEES OPENED THE TOP LATCH AND TH E BOTTOM VALVE. WITHOUT WAITING FOR THE VAPORS TO DISSIPATE, EMPLOYEE #1 CLIMBED IN TO INSPECT THE CLEANING JOB. HE COLLAPSED AS HE WAS MOVING AWAY FROM THE ENT RY LADDER. EMPLOYEE #2 THEN WENT IN TO HELP. HE TRIED TO GET BACK OUT BUT COLLAP
Victims (2)
-
#1 Fatality Age 23 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 4
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 863
- Human factor
- 19
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 1730
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Fatality Age 18 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 4
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 863
- Human factor
- 19
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 1730
- 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.