Accident Report Detail

Accident Summary Nr: 53210.015 - Employee is overcome by Freon release and is killed

Accident Summary Nr: 53210.015 -- Report ID: 0316100 -- Event Date: 10/06/2013
Inspection Nr	Date Opened	SIC	NAICS	Establishment Name
943092.015	10/07/2013		622110	Medstar Health Washington Hospital Center

Abstract: At 2:45 p.m. on October 6, 2013, Employee #1 was troubleshooting a problem with the Freon cooling system in the hospital auditorium. The employee proceeded to the mechanical room that housed the compressor associated with the Freon cooling system to check the control panel located on the wall above the oil separator. When Employee #1 walked into the area where the controls were held, he stepped on and caused a crack in a 0.125 inch copper Freon line. This caused a release of 150 to 200 pounds of Freon into the mechanical room. The employee bent down to examine the crack and was overcome by the Freon in the atmosphere and collapsed. Employee #1 was found several hours later by the coworker who was taking over his shift. Employee #1 was pronounced dead at the scene.

Keywords: Air Conditioner, Asphyxiated, Chemical, Freon, Gas Leak, Overexposure, Oxygen Deficiency

Employee Details
Employee #	Inspection Nr	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	943092.015	46	M	Fatality		Engineering technicians, n.e.c.

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.