OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14529895
PROCESS ENGINEERING
PLAISTOW, NH·
Event description
EMPLOYEE DIED FROM OXYGEN DEPRIVATION IN CONFINED SPACE
Investigation abstract
AT APPROXIMATELY 6 PM ON MARCH 23, 1987, EMPLOYEE #1 ENTERED AN ULTRA PURE STAIN VE TO GET HIM OUT". AS THE THIRD EMPLOYEE TURNED AWAY FOR A FEW SECONDS THE SECO ND EMPLOYEE (EMPLOYEE #2) ENTERED THE TANK. HE COLLAPSED IN ONLY A FEW MOMENTS. THE THIRD EMPLOYEE AND A HELPER WERE ABLE TO PULL EMPLOYEE #2 OUT OF THE TANK BY PULLING HIM BY HIS HAIR FROM OUTSIDE THE TANK. THE FOURTH EMPLOYEE DONNED A SCB A AND RESCUED EMPLOYEE #1 FROM THE TANK. EMPLOYEE #1 DIED. EMPLOYEE #2 RECOVERED COMPLETELY. THERE WERE NO RESPIRATORS AT THE TANK PRIOR TO ENTRY. EMPLOYEES #1 AND #2 WERE UNTRAINED IN THE HAZARDS OF WORKING WITH NITROGEN GAS (OXYGEN DISPLA CEMENT). EMPLOYEE #1 HAD DONE SIMILAR WORK ON ONE PREVIOUS OCCASION. AT THAT TIM E HE HAD WORN APPROPRIATE RESPIRATORY GEAR. LESS STEEL TANK, STILL UNDER CONSTRUCTION, INTENDING TO USE A HAND-HELD NITROGEN -SUPPLIED AIR HOSE TO DRY THE INTERIOR SUFACES OF THE TANK. ANOTHER EMPLOYEE, NE WLY HIRED, WATCHED EMPLOYEE #1 FROM OUTSIDE THE TANK. THE TANK WAS APPROXIMATELY 12.2 FEET LONG AND 5.5 FEET IN DIAMETER, WITH A 1.5 FOOT CYLINDRICAL ENTRANCE/E XIT. AFTER SEVERAL MINUTES, EMPLOYEE #1 LAY DOWN INSIDE THE TANK WITH THE NITROG EN STILL COMING OUT THE HOSE. A THIRD EMPLOYEE HAPPENED TO PASS BY AND ASKED THE SECOND EMPLOYEE WHERE EMPLOYEE #1 WAS AND WHAT HE WAS DOING. THE THIRD EMPLOYEE THEN SAW EMPLOYEE #1 LYING DOWN IN THE TANK. HE TOLD THE SECOND EMPLOYEE "WE HA
Victims (2)
-
#1 Fatality Age 23 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 12
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 1900
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Non-hospitalized injury Age 38 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 12
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 19
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 1900
- 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.