OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14464242
SMI INDUSTRIES CORP
INDPLS, IN·
Event description
EMPLOYEES BREATHED OXYGEN DEFICIENT ATMOSPHERE
Investigation abstract
ON NOVEMBER 4, 1985, EMPLOYEES #1 AND #2 WERE TRYING TO DISLODGE APS PLASTIC CHI PS INSIDE A CLOSED CRYOGENIC HOPPER. WHEN THE UPPER HATCH OPENED, NITROGEN GAS E SCAPED, ENVELOPING THE EMPLOYEES. EMPLOYEE #1 LOST CONSCIOUSNESS AND FELL ABOUT 4 FEET INTO THE HOPPER. EMPLOYEE #2, DAZED, FELL FROM THE LADDER ABOUT 10 FEET T O THE CONCRETE FLOOR. EMPLOYEE #1 WAS DIAGNOZED AS SUFFERING FROM HYPOXIC ENCEPH ALOPATHY, BRIEF REACTIVE PSYCOSIS AND A CRYOGENIC BURN ON HIS RIGHT HIP. EMPLOYE E #2 SUFFERED A FRACTURED RIGHT SCAPULA, CUTS AND ABRASIONS. THE EMPLOYEES WERE INADEQUATELY TRAINED IN THE NATURE AND HAZARDS OF THE PROCESS.
Victims (2)
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 25 M
- Nature of injury
- 21
- Part of body
- 31
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 11
- Occupation code
- 889
- Human factor
- 18
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 1900
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Non-hospitalized injury Age 32 M
- Nature of injury
- 12
- Part of body
- 21
- Event type
- 5
- Source
- 42
- Occupation code
- 633
- Human factor
- 18
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 1900
- Task assigned
- 2
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.