OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221415573
USS-UPI, LLC
PITTSBURG, CA·
Event description
Employee is killed from arc flash
Investigation abstract
At 11:15 a.m. on November 26, 2021, Employee #1 was repairing a Power Corp Type Electrical and Crane Crew Supervisor - Reliability Division, was notified. At 11:15am on November 26, 2021, the smoke alarm actuated in the PLTCM area and the employer's on-site emergency personnel responded to investigate. Upon entering the 13.8kV Switchgear Room, they observed smoke in the room and found Employee #1 on the floor in front of Section 103 of 13.8kV Switchgear #1. His clothing was on fire, and he was suffering from burns and other trauma resulting from an arc flash inside the switchgear cubical. Employee #1 had apparently reached into the enclosure and contacted the live line-side terminals of the switch resulting in an arc flash that resulted in burns and other trauma. He died on November 29, 2021. Employee #1 was not wearing the proper PPE for work on live PIF Load Break Interrupter Switch (employer's designation: disconnect switch 103 electrical equipment. Employee#1 was working alone, without an observer or standby person present. The required steps for deenergizing and grounding the equipment for employee protection, when working in high voltage equipment, had not been performed. in 13.8kV Switchgear #1) located in the 13.8kV Switchgear Room that serves Stand 5 of the Pickle Line Tandem Cold Mill (PLTCM). A problem with disconnect switch 103 was reported when it was closed on November 21, 2021 to provide power to Stand 5 of the PLTCM during start up preparations for the week's production run. A metallic noise, indicating loose parts inside the switch, was heard by the electrician who closed the switch. An entry was made in the computer log of the PLTCM, documenting the mechanical issue, and Employee #1, the Field Service
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 57 M
- Event type
- 13
- Occupation code
- 555
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.