Abstract: Employee #1 and his supervisor, both members of a labor union, were working with two members of a boilermakers union. The boilermakers had been assigned to open tank tops and the laborers were to sound the tanks to determine what and how much they contained. Employee #1 was told by his supervisor to sound the lower blister tank, #B-80-1-V, on the port side of the battleship Texas. Because the lower blister tank is shaped like a banana, the tank gauge cannot reach the bottom, so Employee #1 had to enter the compartment to get a sounding. While attempting to secure a reading, Employee #1 died of asphyxia. Employee #1 had been allowed to enter the tank, which had been sealed for approximately 40 years, without the atmosphere having been tested to ensure that the space contained at least 16.5 percent oxygen.