OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #14571129
BURN,FRACTURE,PRESSURE VESSEL,RUPTURE,STEAM,HIGH PRESSURE,STRUCK BY,FLYING OBJECT,HOT WATER
Event description
PRESSURE VESSEL RUPTURED, INJURING CLOSEBY EMPLOYEES
Investigation abstract
ON NOVEMBER 12, 1985, AT APPROXIMATELY 2 PM, EMPLOYEE #1, A REFINING PLANT OPERA FACE MONTHS OF RECOVERY AND REHABILITATION. THE CAUSE OF THE OVERPRESSURE AND RE LEASE IS NOT POSITIVELY KNOWN AND MAY NOT SOON BE DISCOVERED. NO EVIDENCE OF A V IOLATION HAS BEEN FOUND. TOR, AND EMPLOYEE #2, AN APPRENTICE, WERE ATTEMPTING TO LOCATE THE CAUSE OF OVER PRESSURE AND LEAKING IN A HYDROGEN SULFIDE STRIPPING TOWER. THEY WERE WORKING VE RY NEAR AN ENCLOSED 3 FOOT BY 3 FOOT BY 3 FOOT SIZE SEWER VAULT. THE VAULT WAS E QUIPPED WITH A 6 INCH DRAIN. HOT WATER AND STEAM WERE DISCHARGED INTO THE VAULT, CAUSING IT TO FILL BEYOND CAPACITY AND CAUSE AN OVERPRESSURE. THE SEWER VAULT R UPTURED, CAUSING THE VIOLENT DISCHARGE OF HOT WATER, STEAM AND CHUNKS OF OVERBUR DEN. BOTH EMPLOYEES WERE STRUCK BY THE DISCHARGING MATERIAL. THEY SUFFERED EXTEN SIVE SEVERE BURNS AND FRACTURES. BOTH EMPLOYEES SPENT WEEKS IN THE HOSPITAL AND
Victims (2)
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 40 M
- Nature of injury
- 5
- Part of body
- 19
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 41
- Occupation code
- 699
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 15
- Hazardous substance
- 8880
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 41 F
- Nature of injury
- 5
- Part of body
- 19
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 41
- Occupation code
- 699
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 15
- Hazardous substance
- 8880
- 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.