Inspection Detail

Inspection: 103992855 - Uss Usx Gary Works

Inspection Information - Office: Indiana Department Of Labor

Investigation Summary

At approximately 7:45 p.m. on June 4, 1988, Employee #4 was moving a ladle of molten iron that weighed approximately 166 tons with an Alliance 275 ton capacity hot metal crane. Employee #4 was lowering and tilting the ladle to position it in front of the slag skimmer when the crane's south hook slipped out from under the ladle's south trunnion. The entire contents of the ladle emptied onto the dirt/slag floor. Employees #1, #2, and #3 were working in the reladle pulpit, located approximately 20 feet away and 20 feet above the hot metal spill. Employee #5 was sitting in a track crawler front end loader, which was parked approximately 105 feet northeast of the hot metal spill. Employees #1, #2, and #3 incurred 1st- and 2nd-degree burns of the face and hands. Employee #4 complained of neck strain incurred by a wrenching motion. Employee #5 incurred 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns over approximately 82 percent of the body, and died on June 28, 1988. Point loading of the crane's south hook is the most supported cause of this accident.

Keywords: CRANE HOOK, LADLE, SLIP, MOLTEN METAL, HAND, BURN, NECK, SPILL, FACE, SPRAIN