OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14500268
S. A. HEALY CO., INC.
MILWAUKEE, WI·
Event description
METHANE EXPLOSION LEADING TO CARBON MONOXIDE OVEREXPOSURE
Investigation abstract
Methane gas was detected in a 40-foot-deep tunnel that was under construction. T he mining machine was automatically shut down, and all the employees were evacua ted. Ten minutes later, three employees entered the area to determine if the atm osphere in the tunnel was safe for reentry. An explosive mixture of methane gas had developed in the air. Apparently, the grout pump ignited the gas and caused an explosion. The three employees were badly burned, and they died of asphyxiati on due to overexposure to carbon monoxide.
Victims (3)
-
#1 Fatality Age 26 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 18
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Fatality Age 30 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 18
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#3 Fatality Age 50 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 18
- Environmental factor
- 7
- 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.