OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #809350
REPAIR,INADEQUATE MAINT,SUFFOCATED,STRUCK AGAINST,RUPTURE,CORROSION,TANK
Event description
One employee killed, others injured by tank rupture
Investigation abstract
Employees #1 through #9 were performing repairs on a pump in the vicinity of a 9 0 ft high by 16 ft in diameter above-ground atmospheric tank that contained appr oximately 450 tons of wood pulp and water. The tank, which was constructed of mi ld steel plate, ruptured, and the employees were enveloped and suffocated. They underwent physical trauma from being violently forced into stationary objects in the work area. Employee #1 was killed and Employees #2 through #5 were hospital ized. The cause of the failure (rupture) was a reduction in the wall plate thick ness of the tank as a result of long term corrosion on its exterior.
Victims (9)
-
#1 Fatality Age 37 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 31
- Event type
- 12
- Source
- 41
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#2 Hospitalized Age 45 M
- Nature of injury
- 2
- Part of body
- 31
- Event type
- 12
- Source
- 41
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#3 Hospitalized Age 34 M
- Nature of injury
- 3
- Part of body
- 5
- Event type
- 6
- Source
- 42
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#4 Hospitalized Age 48 M
- Nature of injury
- 12
- Part of body
- 13
- Event type
- 6
- Source
- 26
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#5 Hospitalized Age 46 M
- Nature of injury
- 4
- Part of body
- 8
- Event type
- 4
- Source
- 9
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 9
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#6 Non-hospitalized injury Age 29 M
- Nature of injury
- 21
- Part of body
- 31
- Event type
- 13
- Source
- 5
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#7 Non-hospitalized injury Age 61 M
- Nature of injury
- 9
- Part of body
- 3
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 5
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#8 Non-hospitalized injury Age 32 M
- Nature of injury
- 7
- Part of body
- 15
- Event type
- 1
- Source
- 22
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- Task assigned
- 1
-
#9 Non-hospitalized injury Age 46 M
- Nature of injury
- 20
- Part of body
- 15
- Event type
- 14
- Source
- 42
- Occupation code
- 519
- Human factor
- 1
- Environmental factor
- 18
- 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.