OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #674010
SUFFOLK CHEMICAL CO. DIV OF UNITED CHEMICALS, INC.
CHAPIN, SC·
Event description
ELECTRIC SHOCK - STRUCK BY LIGHTNING
Investigation abstract
A TANK FARM WAS BEING SHUT DOWN BECAUSE OF AN APPROACHING THUNDERSTORM. THE THRE E EMPLOYEES INVOLVED WERE FOLLOWING ESTABLISHED EMERGENCY PROCEDURES FOR THIS OP ERATION. ONE OF THE EMPLOYEES CLOSED A VALVE ON A CAUSTIC TANK THAT WAS LOCATED ABOUT 60 FEET FROM A MURIATIC ACID TANK. THIS ACTION RESULTED IN A SHOCK WAVE FE LT THROUGHOUT THE TANK FARM, AND A CLOUD OF HYDROCHLORIC ACID VAPOR WAS RELEASED . ALL THREE EMPLOYEES WERE EVACUATING THE FARM WHEN THE EMPLOYEE WHO HAD CLOSED THE VALVE COLLAPSED. THE EMPLOYEE HAD BEEN STRUCK BY LIGHTNING. HE WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL AND WAS ADMITTED WITH WEAKNESS IN HIS LEFT SIDE AND WITH TWITCHING ON HIS RIGHT SIDE.
Victim
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 43 M
- Nature of injury
- 10
- Part of body
- 29
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 32
- Occupation code
- 547
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 17
- 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.