Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1097193.015 - Southeast Recycling Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Madison Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 11:00 am on September 28, 2015, an employee was working for a firm of recyclable material merchant wholesalers. He was using a cutting torch outdoors on a truck flatbed and other miscellaneous metals at a salvage yard. The weather was clear and dry with a temperature of 18 to 20 degrees Celsius (65 to 70 degrees Fahrenheit). The truck flatbed had been removed from the truck frame. It was lying flat on the ground. The employee was using LP Gas and oxygen with a 1.2-meter (4-foot) torch cutter to cut the truck bed into transferable sections. He working outdoors within view of coworkers. He had been torch cutting for a couple hours that day, when he experienced a seizure. He fell onto the torch cutter. The employee laid on the torch cutter for a couple minutes before rescue assistance arrived. He received third-degree burns to the upper torso. and he later died due to those injuries. The employee had worked for the company for five days prior to the incident. He had performed torch cutting for 25 years prior to the incident. He was knowledgeable with the use of the torch cutting equipment in use at the worksite.

Keywords: Burn, Emergency Response, LP Gas, Oxygen, Scrap Metal, Scrap Yard, Torch, Unconsciousness, Welder, Welding