OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14489959
RESPIRATORY,SEWER,COAL TAR PITCH,AIR LINE RESPIRATOR,CONFINED SPACE,INHALATION,PIPELINE,TOXIC FUMES,CARBON MONOXIDE
Event description
EXPOSED TO TOXIC FUMES IN SEWER PIPELINE
Investigation abstract
EMPLOYEE #1 WAS APPLYING A COAL TAR PITCH WATERPROOF COATING TO A SEWER PIPE. HE THE COAL TAR PITCH FUMES. THEY WERE NOT PREPARED TO HANDLE THE EMERGENCY. EMPLOY EE #2 WAS HOSPITALIZED AND EMPLOYEE #3 WAS SENT HOME. WAS WEARING A FULL FACE AIR LINE RESPIRATOR, WORKING INSIDE THE SEWER PIPE. HE WAS 20 FEET BELOW THE SURFACE AND 100 FEET INTO THE PIPELINE. EMPLOYEES #2 AND # 3 WERE OUTSIDE THE PIPE HELPING EMPLOYEE #1 WITH THE AIR LINE AND THE SPRAYING E QUIPMENT. BREATHING AIR WAS PROVIDED BY AN INGERSOLL RAND OIL-LUBRICATED COMPRES SOR. THE COMPRESSOR HAD NO AIR RECEIVER, NO CARBON MONOXIDE ALARM AND NO HIGH TE MPERATURE ALARM. EMPLOYEE #1 DIED OF CARBON MONOXIDE POISONING. THE CARBON MONOX IDE HAD BEEN GENERATED BY THE COMPRESSOR AND SUPPLIED TO EMPLOYEE #1 THROUGH THE AIR LINE. EMPLOYEES #2 AND #3 TRIED TO RESCUE EMPLOYEE #1 BUT WERE OVERCOME BY
Victims (3)
-
#1 Fatality Age 36 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 6
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 34 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 45
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 18
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0700
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#3 Non-hospitalized injury Age 19 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 45
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 18
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0700
- 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.