OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14503452
VENTILATION,CONFINED SPACE,WORK RULES,INHALATION,PIT,POISONING,HOUSEKEEPING,OVEREXPOSURE,UNTRAINED,CARBON MONOXIDE
Event description
One employee killed, nine injured by carbon monoxide
Investigation abstract
Employees #1 and #2, both mechanics, were assigned to repair a bucket elevator b source of the carbon monoxide. Causal factors contributing to this accident inc lude: significant carbon black accumulation in the pit; lack of preparation for entering a confined space, including failure to conduct atmospheric testing, poo r or no employee training, and lack of rescue equipment; and lack of ventilation in the pit. earing in an underground, 14 ft deep carbon pit. The pit had two access openings , but was otherwise enclosed. Employee #2 left the pit to get some tools. When h e returned, he saw Employee #1 lying unconscious at the bottom of the pit near o ne of the openings. During the rescue effort, Employees #2 through #10 entered t he pit, became dizzy, and experienced headaches. After a long period, they were able to retrieve Employee #1 from the pit using a rope and sling. Employee #1 di ed, and Employees #2 through #10 were hospitalized for carbon monoxide poisoning . Later, a smoldering fire in the carbon black spillage was discovered to be the
Victims (10)
-
#1 Fatality Age 41 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#10 Hospitalized Age 39 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 35 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#3 Hospitalized Age 32 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#4 Hospitalized Age 42 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#5 Hospitalized Age 43 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#6 Hospitalized Age 48 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#7 Hospitalized Age 44 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#8 Hospitalized Age 35 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#9 Hospitalized Age 32 M
- Nature of injury
- 17
- Part of body
- 25
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 0560
- 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.