Fatality Narrative: Foreman Performing Maintenance Work on Fuel Storage Tank Killed in Explosion

Details

• Corporate Authors:
  Washington (State). Department of Labor and Industries
• Description:
  On March 28, 2007, a foreman died when a fuel tank exploded. The 60-year-old victim, a foreman, was an 18-year employee of a specialty trade contractor that installs linings and coatings for storage tanks. The contractor was hired by a bulk petroleum distributor to apply an epoxy coating to the inside of four 15,000 gallon above ground fuel (gasoline) storage tanks. Prior to the incident, two of the 20' x 11' tanks had been drained of fuel and their interiors, vented with a blower, abrasively blasted, cleaned, and coated with a two-part epoxy. A third tank was being prepared for a permit-required confined space entry by five workers, including the victim, a co-worker, a temporary help agency contracted worker, and two oil company employees. A worker placed an electric blower outside the tank near its base by an open hatch in order to ventilate the tank by sucking air out. The vents at the top of the tank were not opened to allow fresh air to circulate through the tank. The blower was not rated for use in areas where flammable gases or vapors may present. The victim approached the tank to move the blower to do air testing to determine whether it was safe for workers to enter the tank. When the victim moved the still operating blower, a flame shot into the tank where flammable vapors were ignited and an explosion occurred. The victim was killed and a co-worker and two oil company employees received extensive burn injuries. An investigation determined that the probable cause of the explosion was 1) the blower and its extension cord were not rated for use in flammable atmospheres and 2) there may have been a static discharge when the victim touced the plastic housing on the blower. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Accident Prevention
  • Accidents
  • Accidents, Occupational
  • Confined Spaces
  • Education
  • Explosions
  • Mortality
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • Solvents
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Workers
  • Work environment
  • Work zone
  • Confined spaces
  • Volatiles
  • Flammable gases
  • Flammable liquids
  • Vapors
  • Gasoline
  • Ventilation
  More +
• Series:
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation Reports (FACE)
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Report
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 10 ; Washington
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  1
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20051712
• Citation:
  Olympia, WA: Washington State Department of Labor and Industries, 71-69-2008, 2008 Mar; :1
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2008
• NORA Priority Area:
  Agriculture, Forestry and Fishing
• Performing Organization:
  Washington State Department of Labor and Industries
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Fatality narrative: foreman performing maintenance work on fuel storage tank killed in explosion
• End Date:
  20260630
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/228804/cdc_228804_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 37.68 KB]
• Collection(s):
  Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation (FACE) Program ; National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:434bf318b622bea2a2bea1a8270b988614ac2ce8a71a5521ccd0226ce64f5cfc724cec2b1224431392ff2deb1e9c2e7620667df1e7fab76cee3e9830676150c5