OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14499727
SEWER,CONFINED SPACE,COMPRESSED AIR,CONSTRUCTION,EXPLOSION,HIGH PRESSURE
Event description
EMPLOYEE INJURED WHEN BAG OF COMPRESSED AIR EXPLODED
Investigation abstract
AT APPROXIMATELY 10 AM ON OCTOBER 2, 1986, EMPLOYEE #1 PLACED AN INFLATABLE AIR HORSHAM, PA. NO CAPACITY OR OTHER IDENTIFICATION WAS MARKED ON IT. BAG INTO A WATER-FILLED SEWER PIPE, ABOUT 5 FEET UNDER GROUND. HE STARTED THE CO MPRESSOR TO FILL THE BAG, AND WATCHED IT UNTIL HE WAS SURE IT WAS PROPERLY SEATE D. AS HE WAS ABOUT TO LEAVE THE MANHOLE, THE BAG BURST. HE WAS THROWN INTO THE A IR, AND LANDED ON THE ASPHALT A FEW FEET AWAY. THE CAPACITY OF THE AIR BAG WAS R EPORTED TO BE ABOUT 25 PSIG. THE COMPRESSOR WAS EQUIPPED WITH AN UNLOADING VALVE SET FOR 120 PSIG. BOTH THE BAG AND COMPRESSOR WERE PROVIDED BY THE PROJECT OWNE R, A MUNICIPALITY. THE EMPLOYEE WAS ATTEMPTING TO BLOCK THE 21 INCH SEWER PIPE S O THAT IT COULD BE PUMPED OUT. THE AIR BAG WAS MANUFACTURED BY N.B. PRODUCTS OF
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 43 M
- Nature of injury
- 3
- Part of body
- 19
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 42
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 6
- Environmental factor
- 18
- 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.