Injection Mold “Set-Up” Man Electrocuted in Tennessee

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  While simultaneously contacting an injection molding machine which was grounded and a grinding machine with a ground fault, a set up man was electrocuted. The man was employed by a plastics manufacturing company making components for other companies. At the time of the accident, an injection molding machine was producing defective parts. The victim opened the door of the machine to remove and examine one of the products. As he closed the door with one hand, he supported himself with the other by holding the metal handle of a nearby portable grinding machine. Apparently an energized wire to a safety interlock was contacting the metal case of the switch, energizing the metal case of the grinder at 270 volts. No one on the scene was trained in cardiopulmonary resuscitation and it was 16 minutes before emergency help arrived on the scene. While there were no electrical burns on the victim's body, the medical examiner ruled the cause of death to be electrocution as there was no history of heart disease and because a coworker received an electrical shock while attempting to assist the victim. Recommendations arising from this accident were that all electrical systems be inspected periodically and undergo routine preventive maintenance, that safety be a design consideration in all electrical installations, that handles of all metal enclosures housing electrical equipment be nonconductive, and that the company develop a planned response to emergencies.
• Content Notes:
  Publication date provided by the authoring office. There is no publication date indicated on the resource.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Electric Injuries Electricity Maintenance Manufacturing And Industrial Facilities Occupational Health Plastics Safety
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Electrical-hazards FACE-87-21 Machinists Maintenance-workers OSHA Region 4 Plastics-industry Safety-practices
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Electrocution
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  NIOSH (In-House)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFACE8721
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Tennessee ; OSHA Region 4
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  3 pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:00174320
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB88-154462
• Citation:
  Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 87-21, 1987 Feb ; :1-4
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  31-33 - Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1986/11/12
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:d985cad0e5d13ce4c20ff6c57875f2f8f99f55494ba3581c220c9fb856282339ce563d114adff4233677b3a1046eab69226c3455fec7f1cbb023bd30bd36ee88
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164496/cdc_164496_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 243.25 KB ]