Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 135640.015 - Employees burn upper body when heater treater explodes

Accident Summary Nr: 135640.015 -- Report ID: 0627510 -- Event Date: 05/13/2021
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
1531273.015	05/14/2021		213112	Laredo Petroleum Holdings Inc

Abstract: At 1:00 p.m. on May 13, 2021, an employee working as as truck driver was hired to operate a hot oil truck to provide water to assist a roustabout crew during the cleaning of a heater treater tank. Three coworkers working for a construction group were contracted as a roustabout crew to conduct the cleaning of the tank after replacing fire tubes inside the tank. Five coworkers from a company that provides support services for oil and gas companies were also hired to assist with cleaning the tank after the fire tubes were removed. Another coworker from the same oil and gas support company was contracted to operate the vacuum truck and suck the sludge out of the tank. The coworkers had completed pulling out the old fire tubes and had begun the process of cleaning the inside of the tank when an explosion occurred. The employee was hospitalized to treat 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his upper body including his face and arms.

Keywords: Arm, Back, Blunt force, Blunt force trauma, Burn, Chest, Cleaning, Explosion, Face, Fire, Flammable Liquid, Flammable Vapors, Heater, High Temperature, Lack of Work Procedures, Multi-employer Worksite, Multiemployer, Oil And Gas Support Services, PPE, PPE Hazard Assessment, Replace, Replacing, Skin, Struck By, Tank, Torso, Truck Driver

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	1531273.015	18	M	Hospitalized injury		Truck drivers, heavy

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