OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #954628
RIVERSIDE ANTIQUES
NEWPORT NEWS, VA·
Event description
Employee dies when overcome by solvent vapors
Investigation abstract
Between 4:00 and 5:35 p.m. on May 5, 1989, Employee #1 was using a wire brush to strip away paint from metal registers in a large vat containing a stripping sol ution. He was working alone in a room that was approximately 34 ft long by 14 1/ 2 ft wide by 8 ft high with no forced ventilation. The stripping solution was GB 150 (trade name) and contained about 80 percent methylene chloride, which is kno wn to break down and emit phosgene and hydrogen chloride. Employee #1 was not we aring respiratory protection. He was overcome by solvent vapors resulting in acu te toxicity and cardiac dysrhythmia from halogenated hydrocarbons in the solvent . He died.
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 21 Male
- Nature of injury
- Asphyxia (2)
- Part of body
- LUNG (28)
- Accident type
- INHALATION (8)
- Source of injury
- CHEM LIQUIDS/VAPORS (9)
- Occupation
- Furniture and wood finishers (658)
- Human factor
- INSUFF/LACK/RESPIRATORY PROCTECT (19)
- Environmental factor
- GAS/VAPOR/MIST/FUME/SMOKE/DUST (7)
- Hazardous substance
- 1730
- Task assigned
- Task regularly assigned (1)
Labels are OSHA's own, from the code dictionary published with the accident-investigation file. The raw code is shown beside each one so this page can be reconciled against OSHA's bulk data. OSHA notes that nature of injury, part of body, source of injury and accident type in this file are not coded to the Occupational Injury and Illness Classification System, and that the occupation titles are not standardised — so these values are not directly comparable with the OIICS-coded severe injury reports.