Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 170727382 - Employee using torch near flammable liquid burns body
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
119721702 | 08/05/1993 | 3499 | 0 | Nova Group, Inc. |
Abstract: At approximately 9:00 a.m. on August 2, 1993, Employee #1, a mechanic, was burned in an acetone flash fire. Resin had coagulated inside the resin pump on the filament winding unit due to nonuse and it would not pump. Employee #1 removed the pump and took it to the drum storage area to disassemble it. He tried to remove the pump's cylinder, but it was stuck. He tried dissolving the resin with acetone, but he was unsuccessful. So he moved the quart container of acetone with its lid approximately 5 feet away from the pump (which was leaning against two full 55-gallon drums of flammable styrene monomer) but did not replace the lid on the quart can. Employee #1 then attempted to free the cylinder by heating it with a propane torch. The resin and the acetone residue caught fire in the pump top. Employee #1 went to get a fire extinguisher and as he passed the acetone container it "flashed." Employee #1 suffered burns on his right arm, shoulder, and face. The accident was caused by the combination of an open flame torch in use on the same site as an uncovered container of flammable liquid.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 119721702 | Hospitalized injury | Burn/Scald(Heat) | Machinery maintenance occupations |