OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #705145
ESSEX INDUSTRIAL CHEMICALS, INC.
BALTIMORE, MD·
Event description
EXPOSURE TO HYDROGEN SULFIDE GAS
Investigation abstract
EMPLOYEE #3, A CHEMICAL PLANT OPERATOR, ADDED EXCESSIVE ACID TO A SODIUM ISOPROP YL XANTHATE SOLUTION, RESULTING IN A RELEASE OF ABOUT 3 POUNDS OF HYDROGEN SULFI DE GAS. EMPLOYEE #3 WAS OVERCOME BY THE GAS, WHILE THE 6 OTHER EMPLOYEES WERE IN JURED DURING THE RESCUE PROCEDURE. CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO THE ACCIDENT INCLUDE: 1. INAPPROPRIATE REACTOR VESSEL PREPARATION (CRITICAL VALVES WERE IN THE WRONG POSTION), 2. OPERATOR FAILURE TO INSPECT VESSEL SETUP AND, 3. USE OF AN INAPPROP RIATE VESSEL (NO HYDROGEN SULFIDE SCRUBBER).
Victims (7)
-
#1 Hospitalized Age 26 M
- Nature of injury
- 4
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 4
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Hazardous substance
- 1480
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 29 M
- Nature of injury
- 4
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 4
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Hazardous substance
- 1480
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#3 Hospitalized Age 35 M
- Nature of injury
- 4
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 4
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Hazardous substance
- 1480
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#4 Hospitalized Age 30 M
- Nature of injury
- 4
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 4
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Hazardous substance
- 1480
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#5 Hospitalized Age 57 M
- Nature of injury
- 4
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 4
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Hazardous substance
- 1480
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#6 Hospitalized Age 28 M
- Nature of injury
- 4
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 4
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Hazardous substance
- 1480
- Task assigned
- 2
-
#7 Hospitalized Age 35 M
- Nature of injury
- 4
- Part of body
- 28
- Event type
- 8
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 999
- Human factor
- 4
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Hazardous substance
- 1480
- Task assigned
- 2
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.