OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221367774

STOLLER USA, INC.

HOUSTON, TX· 2021-05-08T00:00:00

Event: Breathing, Carbon Monoxide, Chemical, Chemical Exposure, Chemical Reaction, Chemical Vapor, Engineering Controls, Inhalation, Lack of Engineering Controls, Lack of Work Procedures, Loss of consciousness, Lost consciousness, Lung, Misjudgment, Misjudgment of Hazardous Situation, Pesticide, Respirator, Respiratory, Respiratory Tract, Sulfuric Acid, Tote Box, Unconsciousness, Ventilation
NAICS: 325320
Inspection type: Referral
Activity number: #345299333
Employer profile: STOLLER USA, INC.
Summary number: 221367774
Report ID: 0626600

Event description

Two employees sustain CO poisoning while mixing strong chemi

Investigation abstract

At 1:10 p.m. on May 8, 2021, two employees working for a chemical manufacturer medical treatment without hospitalization for carbon monoxide poisoning. were mixing chemicals to make an agricultural growth stimulator. The employees has added granular urea to the blend tank before adding in formic acid. The employees mixed 445.9 pounds of 98% sulfuric acid with 1645.5 pounds of 99% formic acid in a chemical tote. Mixing highly concentrated sulfuric acid with highly concentrated formic acid is known to cause the formic acid to degrade into carbon monoxide and water. Employee #1 lost consciousness twelve minutes after mixing the chemicals. Employee #2 lost consciousness two minutes later while helping Employee #1. Employee #1 was hospitalized and Employee #2 received

Victims (2)

#1 Hospitalized Age 53 M

Event type
8
#2 Non-hospitalized injury Age 22 M

Event type
8

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.