OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #779660
CONFINED SPACE,FLAMMABLE VAPORS,WORK RULES,CONSTRUCTION,TORCH,EXPLOSION,PROPANE
Event description
One employee killed, two hospitalized after tank explosion
Investigation abstract
Employee #1, a job foreman, obtained an agricultural-type propane torch to warm n the morning, he saw that the torch was out and attempted to relight it. Meanwh ile, Employees #2 and #4 smelled propane. Employee #2 went to warn Employee #1, but did not reach him before he reinserted the lit torch into the tank, causing an explosion. Employees #1 and #2 were blown approximately 55 ft. Employee #3 wa s blown approximately 75 ft and Employee #4 was blown into an adjacent service t ruck. Employee #1 was killed; Employees #2 and #3 were hospitalized. According t o the employees, Employee #1 had a severe head cold and possibly could not smell the propane. Employee #2 had told Employee #1 the previous evening not to use t he propane torch, but Employee #1 did not have approved space heaters to heat th e tank. a concrete septic tank that had been recently constructed. The tank needed to be protected from freezing temperatures overnight because the inside was going to be tarred the next morning. The nonregulated hand-held type torch was not equipp ed with a pilot safety shut down and was connected to a 100 lb lpg tank. The tan k had three manholes with lids and there was a 4 in. hole at each end. Employee #1 lit the torch and inserted it into one of the holes while the other hole was blocked off to keep in the heat. The torch went out overnight because no replace ment oxygen could be obtained to support combustion. When Employee #1 returned i
Victims (4)
-
#1 Fatality Age 51 M
- Nature of injury
- 21
- Part of body
- 19
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 43
- Occupation code
- 558
- Human factor
- 6
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Hazardous substance
- 1803
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 30 M
- Nature of injury
- 3
- Part of body
- 3
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 43
- Occupation code
- 567
- Human factor
- 6
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Hazardous substance
- 1803
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#3 Hospitalized Age 26 M
- Nature of injury
- 6
- Part of body
- 13
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 43
- Occupation code
- 853
- Human factor
- 6
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Hazardous substance
- 1803
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#4 Non-hospitalized injury Age 26 M
- Nature of injury
- 3
- Part of body
- 2
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 43
- Occupation code
- 853
- Human factor
- 6
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Hazardous substance
- 1803
- Task assigned
- 1
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