Document a6Dz5LKgNKQenND3Rwgr1jLy

1957 National Safety Congress bottom of a condenser to check for and re move any unconverted by-products. In per forming this operation it was necessary to discharge some vapors to insure complete withdrawal of the condensate. The injured had been doing this during his shift without using the air-line respi rator which was prescribed protection equip ment for this operation. In addition to this exposure, he had entered the barricade during the early pan of the shift to make minor repairs to a leaky blower. The injured worked for several days with no apparent ill effects. While at home he developed a fever and shortness ui breath which was subsequently diagnosed as acute bronchia! asthma. He was home for three days. In this case, the injured failed to obey written and verbal instructions to wear an air-line respirator, and the injured's shift leader failed to enforce this rule. Since then, all operators in this group have been reinstructed in the necessity for observing regulations regarding barricade entry, and have been informed that repeated violation of safety regulations may constitute grounds for dismissal WRONG TYPE MASK An employee washing out a chlorine tank car passed out doe to insufficient oxygen. A fellow employee pm on a Type X uni versal canister gas mask and entered the car for rescue purposes. He, too, passed out and it was necessary to use self-con tained breathing apparatus to rescue both. Fortunately, both men recovered. mm9 built up enough to activate a sprinkler head, which transmitted an A. D. T. alarm. Since very little smoke was visible external to the drying room (which was held at approx. 150F) the first firemen went in without any protection. They were quickly over come. Members of the rescue company followed closely behind using Type X universal can ister masks. These functioned wall on the sixth floor outside the drying rcom, but in side. one of these five men was overcome. The other four heeded the warning sign of "overbreathing** and retreated to fresh air before being overcome. These same men returned to the room after doiming selfcontained breathing apparatus. In all, 30 men were overcome in this multiple alarm fire--multiple only because all men from the first companies were overcome. All the firemen recovered. SO RESPIRATORY PROTECTION A chemist was preparing to use hydrogen sulfide for a determination and when the valve was opened, a leak developed !>ecause a washer did not seat properly. Before the employee could dose the valve, the hydrogen sulfide was ignited by the flame from a tnmscn burner located in the same hood. In an attempt to dose valve, the employee re-entered the room, without wearing protective equipment, was overcome, and struck his head on the edge of a bench as he fell to the floor. He was res cued by another employee who was wearing a demand self-contained breathing appara tus. He was hospitalized for three months and as a result of this incident lost his sense of smell Fire was located in a drying-storage room of steel construction, measuring 6 feet x 50 feet x 30 feet dosed by an ablestos curtain at one end. There was no possibility of ventilating. The room was located on the sixth floor of a factory* and contained a large quantity oi ''wood flour** (pulverized saw dust), used in casting ornaments, con tained in 100# bags. Fire was started by an electric motor in the rear-most portion of the room. The fire had smoldered for some time and this room was heavily loaded with smoke, and obviously a high CO and CO* content Alarm was sounded what the heat finally ANOTHER SOLVENT INCIDENT Two electricians, journeyman and appren tice, were working in a concrete pit-- four by six foot top opening and standing on the bottom, the ground levd was in the proximity of their eyes, nose and mouth. Repair of the small motor involved using a solvent an inhibited grade of 1,1.1 -trichloroethane. Approximately 10 minutes after en tering the pit, the one electrician appeared to be swaying, somewhat in a stupor and somewhat incoherent. A combination of lifting and pushing forced the man out of the pit. The other electrician used the lad der in leaving the pit 26 Chemical Industries 1 A few minutes exposure to fresh air and His helper returned a few minutes later, i the "overcome" electrician stood up and shouted for help, then went into the tank i walked to the dispensary*. Examination re- to aid the first man who was unconscious. j vealed him to be coherent and no signs Before help arrived, the helper was also 1 of narcosis. He rested for about half an overcome, but both men were promptly re 1 hour and returned to his job--by this time moved to fresh air. The helper was suc j the job in the pit was completed. cessfully revived, but the mechanic could ] A few' pertinent facts are in order: sol- not !>e brought hack to life. j vent was not spilled on the floor of the pit, Failure to follow established tank-entry I the "overcome** electrician had returned to procedures was the reason given for this \ work that morning after being off for sev- fatality. * eral days due to a bronchial inflammation, INERT GAS 1 and the other electrician never demonstrated Two mot altered a kettle to repair an i or mentioned any ill effects. agitator, which is normally a two day job. INERT CAS IN TANK CAR On the first day nothing unusual happened. On the second day the men went into the j A tank cleaner entered a tank car (which kettle, worked for an hour, and came up ! had previously contained caustic soda) and tor a coffee break. When they re-entered j started to wash it down with a hose with kettle, they began to feel weak. They were i the bottom outlet open. After failing to actually too weak to climb out of the man J reappear in a normal time, investigation re- hole after 15 minutes, but finally crawled ] vealed the man lying in the bottom of the out. They came to as they stepped out into ` car. Upon removal and attempts at resus the air. citation, it was determined that he had died After investigation, it was discovered that as a result of weak alkali solution having one of the men had opened an inert gas been taken into the respiratory tract line instead of an air line. Qosc to the This is strong evidence that the inert gas top of the kettle was a section for a hose used to unload the car was a byproduct of line to be piped to outside the building. chemical operations, low* in oxygen and The hose was only half-way down into the could have contained carbon dioxide, carbon kettle. The inert gas was heavier than air, monoxide, nitrogen and other constituents. what they bent over to pick up tools, they Upon checking the air oxygen and 2000 ppm would get inert gas until they eventually of reducing gases which would commonly be were made ilL reported as carbon monoxide. * * * Inasmuch as the official coroner's report stated that the man tell to the bottom of the car apparently due to heat exhaustion, there was no significant publicity concerning this incident. Corrective measures have been takei to avoid any recurrence. An engineer went down to inspect a kettle. He began to feel sick and came out. Upon investigation later they found the kettle had beat "blown-out** with enert gas and did not follow through by removing the gas with proper air vertflation. (The engi TANK JOB CLAIMS UFE neer recovered immediately upon leaving the kettle) A maintenance mechanic lost his life, and his assistant narrowly escaped in tank inci dent. Repair work had been scheduled inside the tank to begin after lunch, and two men as signed to the job. The mechanic derided to look over the job about 12 30 slot, and went into the tank after sending his helper for certain supplies. The inert gas (which con tained essentially nitrogen with small per centages of CO and COj) stipply to the tank had not been shut off, since the me chanic had not informed anyone of his entry. The mechanic was quickly overcome. A man went into a non-enameled kettle. The complete kettle was blanked off with exception of entrance. The kettle had been `"blown-ouT with inert gas. He was over come. It was necessary to resuscitate the man quite a while before he recovered. illuminating gas in trench Two men were working in a series of three by seven by seven foot trenches dug along a 75-toot length of a street While tapping a high pressure illuminating gas main to install a jumper line into a low 27