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 #14491138

MAINTENANCE,HYDROGEN CHLORIDE,FIRE,MILLING MACHINE,ROLLER--MACH/PART,END PLATE,TOXIC FUMES,POLYVINYL ACETATE,POLYVINYL CHLORIDE

Event
MAINTENANCE,HYDROGEN CHLORIDE,FIRE,MILLING MACHINE,ROLLER--MACH/PART,END PLATE,TOXIC FUMES,POLYVINYL ACETATE,POLYVINYL CHLORIDE
Linked inspection
No inspection record linked to this accident's victims.
Summary number
14491138
Report ID
214500

Event description

Employees Inhaled Toxic Fumes

Investigation abstract

An incident occurred in the vinyl department of a plant. The equipment involved s to prevent the batch on the mill from running off the sides. Due to improper m aintenance of these end plates, an inordinate amount of space existed between th e mill roll and the end plate on one side of the mill. An excessive quantity of paste tended to accumulate at this point. Apparently, these accumulations were n ever sufficiently removed after each batch had been completed, and a hard layer of dry dispersion had built up in the end plate. This caused the clearance betwe en the steel roll and the end plate to become greatly diminished. This apparentl y was the condition of the mill at time of the incident. When the batch was runn ing on the mill on the date of the occurrence, the friction, created by the unus ually narrow clearance, caused the material on this side of the mill to overheat was a two-roll plastic mill. The operation involved dispersion of dry pigment po , until some of the resin close to the faulty end plate became hot enough to bur n. These burning pieces dropped into the catch pan below the rolls, causing the dry vinyl resin powder there to smolder, and creating the toxic smoke, which aff ected the employees who came to extinguish the fire. Polyvinyl chloride, when it decomposes at 148 degrees centigrade, emits hydrogen chloride vapors. This caus ed the symptoms experienced by all the involved employees. wder into a liquid binder by mechanically squeezing the mixture between the stee l rolls which were rotating in opposite directions. The binder in this instance was a copolymer of polyvinyl chloride and polyvinyl acetate, which was premixed as a dry powder with the pigment prior to introduction onto the mill. The second steel roller of the mill was steam heated to a temperature high enough to melt the vinyl copolymer powder, so that the liquid resin could wet the dry pigment d uring the dispersion on the mill. There were end plates at the sides of the roll

Victims (11)

  1. #1 Hospitalized Age 32 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  2. #10 Hospitalized Age 46 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  3. #11 Hospitalized Age 26 M

    Nature of injury
    21
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  4. #2 Hospitalized Age 34 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  5. #3 Hospitalized Age 35 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  6. #4 Hospitalized Age 47 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  7. #5 Hospitalized Age 25 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  8. #6 Hospitalized Age 52 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  9. #7 Hospitalized Age 37 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  10. #8 Hospitalized Age 36 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

  11. #9 Hospitalized Age 44 M

    Nature of injury
    12
    Part of body
    31
    Event type
    8
    Source
    16
    Occupation code
    999
    Human factor
    15
    Environmental factor
    7
    Hazardous substance
    1430
    Task assigned
    1

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