OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #999813
SANBORN FLUID POWER
MT LAKE, MN·
Event description
Employee using cutting torch killed in drum explosion
Investigation abstract
Employee #1 had been instructed by his supervisor to cut off the tops of used 55 , which matched contents on the drum bottom, was splattered in the immediate are a. gallon drums. The supervisor had been cutting off drum tops earlier in the day using an acetylene torch. The site was approximately 50 ft south of the building . The drum, which had contained Trim Sol or Trim Reg by Master Chemical Corp., p ossibly had paint mixed in it as a result of a paint sprayer purging operation. This was a common practice. The drum exploded as Employee #1 cut through its top . The bottom was blown out of the drum, causing the barrel to fly up, strike, an d kill Employee #1. Employee #1 was apparently blown 21 ft. The wooden pallet un der the drum was ignited as result of the explosion. Paint residue from the drum
Victim
-
#1 Fatality Age 21 Male
- Nature of injury
- Concussion (6)
- Part of body
- HEAD (13)
- Accident type
- STRUCK BY (1)
- Source of injury
- CHEM LIQUIDS/VAPORS (9)
- Occupation
- Welders and cutters (783)
- Human factor
- INSUFF/LACK/WRITN WRK PRAC PROG. (18)
- Environmental factor
- CHEMICAL ACTION/REACTION EXPOS (9)
- Hazardous substance
- 2460
- 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.