104,543Records 70,659Employers 84,666Hospitalizations 27,563Amputations 2015-01-01 2025-09-30
Safety Incidents OSHA Severe Injury Reports · 2015–2025

OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14447452

RESPIRATORY,INHALATION,SULFUR DIOXIDE,CONSTRUCTION

Event
RESPIRATORY,INHALATION,SULFUR DIOXIDE,CONSTRUCTION
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
14447452
Report ID
453710

Event description

EXPOSURE TO SULFUR DIOXIDE GAS

Investigation abstract

ON THURSDAY, MARCH 1ST, 1984, AT APPROXIMATELY 1 PM, SEVERAL EMPLOYEES OF FIVE D THE SULFER DIOXIDE IS STORED UNDER PRESSURE (AS A LIQUID). IT IS REMOVED FROM S TORAGE THROUGH A CLOSED SYSTEM. THE PRESSURE IS REDUCED AND THE SULFER DIOXIDE B ECOMES GASEOUS AND MIXES WITH WATER TO FORM THE RINSE MIX. CORN PRODUCTS OFFICIA LS DISCOVERED THAT AT ONE PM ON MARCH FIRST THE WATER VALVE DID NOT OPEN TO PROV IDE THE WATER FOR THE RINSE MIX. (THIS IS A COMPUTER CONTROLLED OPERATION, SO TH E MALFUNCTION WAS NOT IMMEDIATELY NOTICED.) AS A RESULT, 500 POUNDS OF SULFER DI OXIDE GAS WAS RELEASED THROUGH THE STEEP AND INTO THE ATMOSPHERE. WATER WAS RELE ASED DURING THE THREE O'CLOCK RINSE, BUT GAS AGAIN ESCAPED, PROBABLY BECAUSE SUL FER DIOXIDE LEFT OVER FROM THE ONE PM RINSE WAS PUSHED OUT THE TOP OF THE STEEP BY WATER FROM THE THREE PM RINSE. IFFERENT SUBCONTRACTORS WERE OVERCOME BY A GASEOUS DISCHARGE WHICH WAS LATER IDE NTIFIED AS SULFER DIOXIDE. THE EMPLOYEES WERE OVERCOME WHILE WORKING AT THE CORN PRODUCTS SITE. MOST OF THESE EMPLOYEES WERE WORKING OUTSIDE THE PLANT BUILDING ON THE NORTH SIDE. SEVENTEEN EMPLOYEES WERE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AS A RESULT OF THIS FIRST EPISODE. AT APPROXIMATELY 3 PM ON THE SAME DAY, A SECOND INCIDENT OC CURRED, SIMILAR TO THE FIRST. THIRTEEN EMPLOYEES WERE TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL. AS A NORMAL PART OF THE CORN PRODUCT MANUFACTURING PROCESS, SULFER DIOXIDE IS MIXED WITH WATER TO FORM A RINSE MIX FOR CORN STORED IN STEEPS (100 FOOT TALL SILOS).

Victims (12)

  1. #1 Hospitalized Age 40 M

    Nature of injury
    17
    Part of body
    4
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    597
    Human factor
    12
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2290
    Task assigned
    1

  2. #2 Hospitalized Age 40 M

    Nature of injury
    17
    Part of body
    4
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    597
    Human factor
    12
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2290
    Task assigned
    1

  3. #3 Hospitalized Age 40 M

    Nature of injury
    17
    Part of body
    4
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    585
    Human factor
    12
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2290
    Task assigned
    1

  4. #4 Hospitalized Age 40 M

    Nature of injury
    17
    Part of body
    4
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    585
    Human factor
    12
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2290
    Task assigned
    1

  5. #5 Hospitalized Age 40 M

    Nature of injury
    17
    Part of body
    4
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    585
    Human factor
    12
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2290
    Task assigned
    1

  6. #6 Hospitalized Age 35 M

    Nature of injury
    17
    Part of body
    4
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    563
    Human factor
    12
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2290
    Task assigned
    1

  7. #7 Hospitalized Age 30 M

    Nature of injury
    17
    Part of body
    4
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    563
    Human factor
    12
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2290
    Task assigned
    1

  8. #8 Hospitalized Age 30 M

    Nature of injury
    17
    Part of body
    4
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    563
    Human factor
    12
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2290
    Task assigned
    1

  9. #9 Hospitalized Age 30 M

    Nature of injury
    17
    Part of body
    4
    Event type
    8
    Source
    9
    Occupation code
    563
    Human factor
    12
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    2290
    Task assigned
    1

  10. #981 Degree 0 Age 0

    Nature of injury
    0
    Part of body
    0
    Event type
    0
    Source
    0
    Occupation code
    0
    Human factor
    0
    Environmental factor
    0
    Task assigned
    0

  11. #982 Degree 0 Age 0

    Nature of injury
    0
    Part of body
    0
    Event type
    0
    Source
    0
    Occupation code
    0
    Human factor
    0
    Environmental factor
    0
    Task assigned
    0

  12. #983 Degree 0 Age 0

    Nature of injury
    0
    Part of body
    0
    Event type
    0
    Source
    0
    Occupation code
    0
    Human factor
    0
    Environmental factor
    0
    Task assigned
    0

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.

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