Worker Dies After Lifting Access Cover on Acid Reclaim Storage Tank in Virginia

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Description:
  A shift supervisor employed at a synthetic fiber manufacturing facility died after lifting the access cover on a 6100 gallon acid reclaim storage tank. He and another worker were attempting to thaw out a frozen pipe which ran from the acid sump tank to the storage tank. The tank contained a mixture of water and acids from spinning operations in the manufacture of synthetic fibers, and hydrogen- sulfide (7783064) and carbon-disulfide (75150) gases. The victim opened the tank access cover and stuck his head inside the tank, and was pulled back by another worker. Some time later he was found lying on top of the tank with his head inside the opening. The cause of death was listed on the autopsy report as hydrogen-sulfide and carbon-disulfide poisoning. After the accident an atmospheric test of the acid storage tank revealed levels of hydrogen-sulfide greater than 1000 parts per million (ppm) and carbon-disulfide greater than 600ppm. The firm employed about 1200 individuals, and had a safety program. Workers had been told earlier that day not to go on top of the tank without safety harnesses and respirators, but had not taken these precautions. Recommendations arising from this accident include the initiation of comprehensive policies and procedures for confined space entry by the employer, ensuring that all employees are trained to recognize hazards in their jobs, implementation and enforcement of the safety program, and implementation of an improved housekeeping program.
• Content Notes:
  Publication date provided by the authoring office. There is no publication date indicated on the resource.
• Subjects:
  Accidents, Occupational Confined Spaces Hazardous Substances Occupational Health Personal Protective Equipment Safety Solvents Textile Industry
• Keywords:
  Accident-analysis Confined-spaces FACE-87-26 OSHA Region 3 Personal-protective-equipment Safety-practices Synthetic-fibers-industry Toxic-gases Vapors
• FACE - NIOSH and State:
  FACE ; Confined Space
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Subseries:
  NIOSH (In-House)
• DOI:
  https://doi.org/10.26616/NIOSHFACE8726
• Publisher:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Field Study
• Place as Subject:
  Virginia ; OSHA Region 3
• 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:00174315
• NTIS Accession Number:
  PB88-154786
• 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 87-26, 1987 Mar ; :1-5
• CAS Registry Number:
  Hydrogen sulfide (CAS RN 7783-06-4) ; Carbon disulfide (CAS RN 75-15-0)
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  1987
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• NAICS and SIC Codes:
  31-33 - Manufacturing - (NAICS)
• Start Date:
  1986/12/14
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:ac7e0b8c7848d59b9d17e5a1b3998ba31e7a31c166ae0b5ff7a1a9ed5dd2760709f1fefa0947011375096ea87a5ab7469945c7e0cc76859a5477eb3bad292194
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/164516/cdc_164516_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 265.63 KB ]