OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14541643
HEAD,STAIR,UNCONSCIOUSNESS,HYDROGEN SULFIDE,INHALATION,RUPTURE,CHEMICAL REACTION,FALL,TOXIC FUMES,SULFURIC ACID
Event description
EMPLOYEE EXPOSED TO HYDROGEN SULFIDE; INJURED IN FALL
Investigation abstract
AT APPROXIMATELY 1 PM ON SEPTEMBER 8, 1986, EMPLOYEE #1, A LABORATORY SPECIALIST , RESPONDED TO A CALL FROM THE TALL OIL PLANT TO INVESTIGATE A POSSIBLE HYDROGEN SULFIDE LEAK. THE HYDROGEN SULFIDE LEAK WAS CAUSED BY A RUPTURE IN A 28,000 GAL LON SULFURIC ACID BULK STORAGE TANK. THE ACID LEAKED THROUGH A BROKEN VALVE IN A DIKE AND EMPTIED INTO A U-DRAIN CONTAINING BLACK LIQUOR (A HIGH SULFIDE MATERIA L). THE ENSUING CHEMICAL REACTION RESULTED IN THE FORMATION OF HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS. WHILE CLIMBING A METAL STAIRWAY ENROUTE TO AREA OF THE LEAK, EMPLOYEE #1 WA S OVERCOME BY HYDROGEN SULFIDE, LOST CONSCIOUSNESS AND FELL. HE FELL DOWN ABOUT 20 METAL STEPS, RECEIVING MULTIPLE HEAD INJURIES AND LACERATIONS.
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 56 M
- Nature of injury
- 3
- Part of body
- 13
- Event type
- 5
- Source
- 19
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 19
- Environmental factor
- 7
- Hazardous substance
- 1480
- 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.