OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14464291

U.S. STEEL GARY WORKS

GARY, IN· 1986-03-31T17:30:00

Event: FURNACE, OXYGEN DEFICIENCY, RESPIRATORY, MAINTENANCE, ASPHYXIATED, CONFINED SPACE, AIR MONITORING, ARGON
NAICS: 000000
Inspection type: Accident-driven
Activity number: #2699551
Employer profile: U.S. STEEL GARY WORKS
Summary number: 14464291
Report ID: 551800

Event description

ASPHYXIATED IN CONFINED SPACE (FURNACE)

Investigation abstract

ON MARCH 31, 1986, AT APPROXIMATELY 5:30 PM, EMPLOYEES #1 AND #2 ENTERED A BASIC ACE TO GET OUT. EMPLOYEES #1 AND #2 WERE PRONOUNCED DEAD AT 6:10 PM. EMPLOYEE #3 WAS HOSPITALIZED FOR OXYGEN DEPRIVATION. OXYGEN PROCESS (BOP) FURNACE, LOCATED IN THE #1 BOP SHOP, TO REMOVE A "RELINE T OWER. THE RELINE TOWER HAD BEEN PLACED IN THE FURNACE 5 DAYS EARLIER, FOR USE BY THE MASON WHO WAS RELINING THE FURNACE. EMPLOYEES. #1 AND #2 WERE IMMEDIATELY O VERCOME. AN OXYGEN DEFICIENCY HAD DEVELOPED AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FURNACE BECAUSE ARGON GAS HAD BEEN LEAKING INTO THE FURNACE, DISPLACING THE ATMOSPHERE AT THE B OTTOM OF THE FURNACE AT THE RATE OF 1,300 CUBIC FEET PER HOUR. AT 5:30 PM, EMPLO YEES #3 AND #4 DESCENDED INTO THE FURNACE BY LADDER. EMPLOYEE #3 REACHED THE BOT TOM AND PASSED OUT. EMPLOYEE #4 WAS WARNED BY AN EMPLOYEE AT THE TOP OF THE FURN

Victims (4)

#1 Fatality Age 52 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
25

Event type
8

Source
19

Occupation code
717

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
7

Hazardous substance
0240

Task assigned
1
#2 Fatality Age 28 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
25

Event type
8

Source
19

Occupation code
717

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
7

Hazardous substance
0240

Task assigned
1
#3 Hospitalized Age 25 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
25

Event type
8

Source
19

Occupation code
717

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
7

Hazardous substance
0240

Task assigned
2
#4 Non-hospitalized injury Age 28 M

Nature of injury
2

Part of body
25

Event type
8

Source
19

Occupation code
717

Human factor
1

Environmental factor
7

Hazardous substance
0240

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.