Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1575438.015 - Macpherson Oil Company Llc

Inspection Information - Office: Process Safety Management - North Non-Refinery

Investigation Summary

At 8:25 a.m. on January 26, 2022, an employee was responding to a notification of a potential leak in one of his assigned areas near an oil well. The employee arrived at the location and reported back to his supervisor that there was a significant flow line leak that would require a backhoe for clean-up. The employee proceeded to shut down the well according to the employer's shut down procedures and tagged out the drive cabinet. The employee rerouted the casing vapor and production lines from the leaking well to another well in order to protect the equipment from damage. The employee noticed the leak was migrating towards a storm drain so he grabbed a shovel from the truck and began to poke around the leaking pipes to verify that he had shut down the correct well. The employee was stepping over the top of one of the lines when he lost his footing and stepped right into the pooled production fluids. The pooled production fluids were scalding hot and resulted in severe burns to the employee's legs. The employee was wearing all the required PPE including boots, FR clothing, hard hat, safety glasses, gloves, and H2S monitor. The employee was hospitalized for over three weeks and underwent three surgeries including skin grafting.

Keywords: Backhoe, Burn, Hot Water, Leak, Leg, Lockout/Tagout, Lost Balance, Oil Well Servicing, PPE, Pipe, Pool, Shovel, Skin, Step