Inspection Detail

Inspection: 1649599 - Mobil Chemical Company

Inspection Information - Office: Chicago South Area Office

Inspection Nr: 1649599

Report ID: 0521700

Date Opened: 04/27/1984

Site Address:
Mobil Chemical Company
901 N Greenwood Ave
Kankakee, IL 60901

Mailing Address:
, , 00000

Union Status: Union

SIC:2851

NAICS: 0

Inspection Type: Accident

Scope: Partial

Advanced Notice: N

Ownership: Private

Safety/Health: Safety

Close Conference: 05/01/1984

Emphasis:

Case Closed: 07/10/1984

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Accident	360546402

Violation Summary
Violations/Penalties	Serious	Willful	Repeat	Other	Unclass	Total
Initial Violations				1		1
Current Violations				1		1
Initial Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
Current Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0
FTA Penalty	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0	$0

Violation Items
#	Citation ID	Citaton Type	Standard Cited	Issuance Date	Abatement Due Date	Current Penalty	Initial Penalty	FTA Penalty	Contest	Latest Event	Note
1.	01001	Other	19100145 C03	06/13/1984	07/13/1984	$0	$0	$0		-

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 14376941

Event: 04/23/1984

IGNITION OF FLAMMABLE VAPORS FROM A LACQUER MIXER

ON APRIL 23, 1984, SHORTLY BEFORE NOON, EMPLOYEE #1 WAS MIXING A SMALL BATCH OF LAQUER IN A 55 GALLON DRUM. AFTER PLACING THE REQUIRED AMOUNT OF METHYL ETHYL KETONE (MEK-22F (FP)) INTO THE DRUM (PREPARING FOR A 50-GALLON AMOUNT), HE ADDED A SUFFICIENT AMOUNT OF ACRYLIC PELLETS AND STARTED THE AGITATOR. HE THEN SHUT OFF THE AGITATOR AND LEFT TEMPORARILY. HE RETURNED AT 12 O'CLOCK AND RESTARTED THE AGITATOR. (IT IS SPECULATED THAT HE SET THE AGITATOR AT THE HIGH SPEED - 1750 RPM.) WHEN THE DRUM BEGAN TO "WOBBLE", IT CAUSED THE SHARPLY POINTED AGITATOR DISC TO PENETRATE AND PUNCH HOLES IN THE BOTTOM OF THE DRUM. THE LIQUID IN THE DRUM WAS SIMULTANEOUSLY THROWN UPWARD, STRIKING THE 7-GALLON BUCKET OF MEK HE WAS ADDING TO THE DRUM CONTENTS. HIS CLOTHES WERE SATURATED WITH THE DRUM CONTENTS AND MEK. THE NOW EMPTY DRUM BECAME A SOURCE OF IGNITION, WITH SPARKS IGNITING THE VAPORS FROM THE EMPLOYEE'S CLOTHING. HE SUFFERED FIRST, SECOND AND THIRD DEGREE BURNS OVER 100% OF HIS BODY (THICK MIXTURE - 140 KREBBES).

Keywords: BURN, MEK, FLAMMABLE VAPORS, DRUM, MIXER, SPARK

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	1649599			Fatality	Burn/Scald(Heat)	Occupation not reported

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.