Accident Report Detail
Accident Summary Nr: 201771060 - Employee killed in chemical explosion
Inspection Nr | Date Opened | SIC | NAICS | Establishment Name |
---|---|---|---|---|
302717236 | 09/29/2000 | 3399 | 0 | Reade Manufacturing Company |
Abstract: At approximately 8:45 a.m. on September 29, 2000, Employee #1 was inside Building 14 sorting out "tramp" material (paper, plastic, steel, large pieces of magnesium, etc.) from magnesium scrap piled on a steel-sorting table. At the time of the accident, a powerful explosion took place in and around Building 14. The building was demolished with many pieces of magnesium scrap thrown up to approximately 310 feet from the blast area. This scrap pierced other surrounding buildings. The blast caused the sorting table to bow down and rip from the bolts that anchored it to the concrete floor. Employee #1, who was inside Building 14, was critically injured, and died the next morning from complications from the thermal burns. The exploding material was a magnesium, Teflon, viton blend that was inadvertently mixed into the magnesium scrap. The magnesium, Teflon, viton blend is a very reactive and sensitive material. Mechanical impact, friction, electrostatic discharge or electrical sparks and flame easily initiate a reaction. Another employee was directed to dump three drums of material, thought to be magnesium, into a magnesium scrap bin in Building 15. However, this material was not solely magnesium, as the employer believed. An investigation following the accident identified it as the magnesium, Teflon, viton (MTV) blend. Unknowingly, this magnesium, Teflon, viton blend and magnesium scrap mixture was scooped by a bobcat from the bin in Building 15, then driven into Building 14 and dumped onto the sorting table. The exact source of energy that initiated this explosion is unknown.
Employee # | Inspection Nr | Age | Sex | Degree of Injury | Nature of Injury | Occupation |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 302717236 | Fatality | Burn/Scald(Heat) | Misc. metal & plastic processing machine operators |