Inspection Detail

Inspection: 103485934 - Tex-Fab, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Houston North Area Office

Investigation Summary

A recently heat treated pressure vessel was being prepared for hydrotesting. The vessel was the property of Western Fabricating, which was paying for the heat treating and testing. The vessel was heated up to 1,150 degrees F for a 7-hour period, then slowly cooled. At approximately 5:00 a.m. on Saturday, December 16, 1989, the vessel was removed from the furnace and set on the floor. At approximately 11:55 a.m., the foreman entered the vessel through the end man-way to measure the vessel for the vent pipe needed to conduct hydrostatic pressure tests. At approximately 2:00 p.m. two employees were sent inside the vessel to install the vent pipe. Within 15 to 20 minutes, the watchers indicated that both employees had "gone down." This precipitated a series of rescue attempts that eventually resulted in one of the men being rescued and eleven or twelve other would-be rescuers being exposed to the unknown substance in the vessel. The first employee to pass out was eventually rescued by the fire department. It was later determined that carbon monoxide was in the vessel, the source being scrap wood that had been left in there during fabrication. The wood had been turned to charcoal in an oxygen-deficient condition and therefore produced carbon monoxide as a by-product of the heat-treating process.

Keywords: CONFINED SPACE, WORK RULES, SHIP, TOXIC FUMES, OVEREXPOSURE, CARBON MONOXIDE, PRESSURE RELEASE