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 #14401657

LUNG,PPE,WORK RULES,INHALATION,EQUIPMENT FAILURE,CHEMICAL BURN,SPILL,TOXIC FUMES,SULFURIC ACID,UNTRAINED

Event
LUNG,PPE,WORK RULES,INHALATION,EQUIPMENT FAILURE,CHEMICAL BURN,SPILL,TOXIC FUMES,SULFURIC ACID,UNTRAINED
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
14401657
Report ID
626300

Event description

One injured, seven exposed in sulfuric acid spill

Investigation abstract

Employee #1 bumped the fill nozzle on a sulfuric acid storage tank, causing the nozzle to break and spray acid on him. About 1,500 gallons of the acid ran out o f the tank and was contained in the diked area around the tanks. Employee #1 esc aped with little exposure and was hospitalized with minor injuries. Employees #2 through #8, who worked near the area, were sent to the hospital for observation for possible inhalation exposure to acidic fumes and/or mist. Employee #1 had n o personal protective equipment, and no emergency shower or eye wash was availab le. Employee #1 had not been trained sufficiently to know to water flush exposed body areas as per the available material safety data sheet.

Victims (8)

  1. #1 Hospitalized Age 27 M

    Nature of injury
    4
    Part of body
    19
    Event type
    14
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    20
    Environmental factor
    9
    Hazardous substance
    2310
    Task assigned
    1
  2. #2 Hospitalized Age 35 M

    Nature of injury
    4
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2310
    Task assigned
    1
  3. #3 Hospitalized Age 37 M

    Nature of injury
    4
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2310
    Task assigned
    1
  4. #4 Hospitalized Age 24 M

    Nature of injury
    4
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2310
    Task assigned
    1
  5. #5 Hospitalized Age 21 M

    Nature of injury
    4
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2310
    Task assigned
    1
  6. #6 Hospitalized Age 22 M

    Nature of injury
    4
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2310
    Task assigned
    1
  7. #7 Hospitalized Age 21 M

    Nature of injury
    4
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2310
    Task assigned
    1
  8. #8 Hospitalized Age 50 M

    Nature of injury
    4
    Part of body
    28
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    1
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2310
    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.