Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 510362 - Employee burned when methanol fumes ignite

Accident Summary Nr: 510362 -- Report ID: 1054111 -- Event Date: 04/17/1997
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
301236980	04/11/1997	2833	0	Lacamas Laboratories Inc

Abstract: Employee #1 was cleaning a reactor used to prepare 1,1-dimethyl-3-pyrodinyl carbonate in which a nickel catalyst was used. He opened the manway to rinse the reactor with methanol, exposing some of the nickel to the air. The nickel sparked and ignited the methanol fumes. Employee #1 sustained second- and third-degree burns in the resulting fire. The employer was cited for numerous violations, including inadequate training and confined space regulations.

Keywords: BURN, METHYL ALCOHOL, REACTOR, FLAMMABLE VAPORS, WORK RULES, CLEANING, FIRE, CHEMICAL REACTION, SPARK, COMBUSTIBLE DUST

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	301236980			Hospitalized injury	Burn/Scald(Heat)	Chemical technicians

Thank You for Visiting Our Website

You are exiting the Department of Labor's Web server.

The Department of Labor does not endorse, takes no responsibility for, and exercises no control over the linked organization or its views, or contents, nor does it vouch for the accuracy or accessibility of the information contained on the destination server. The Department of Labor also cannot authorize the use of copyrighted materials contained in linked Web sites. Users must request such authorization from the sponsor of the linked Web site. Thank you for visiting our site. Please click the button below to continue.