Inspection Detail

Inspection: 18111757 - Strachan Shipping Company

Inspection Information - Office: Columbia Area Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:30 a.m. on January 8, 1992, Employees #1 through #42, longshoremen, were discharging material from the MV Santa Clara I, a Panamanian cargo ship. Before they began, a gangway meeting was held by the stevedore to inform the longshoremen that this ship, which stowed hazardous cargo such as arsenic trioxide, had previously sailed through rough seas off the northeast coast of the U.S. and lost a number of containers of the chemical at sea. The stevedore also informed them that following this incident, the ship had been docked in Baltimore where any spilled chemicals had supposedly been cleaned up, and the U.S. Coast Guard and the EPA determined after inspection that the ship was safe for work. While in Baltimore, eight or nine drums of magnesium phosphide were allegedly discharged from the upper deck of hold #1. According to the general cargo manifest, 10 drums of this material had been shipped from South America but were mistakenly not listed on the ship's hazardous cargo manifest at its point of shipment. Employees were told that if spilled materials were found to contact the stevedore and clear the area. Six employees, who were removing strewn lumber from the upper tween deck of hold #1, began experiencing nausea/vomiting, irritation of the eyes, skin, and throat, and shortness of breath. Where the lumber had been removed, longshoremen noticed an underlying gray granular substance on the deck. At approximately 8:50 a.m., the six longshoremen were evacuated and the substance was determined to be magnesium phosphide. The ship was evacuated. Employees #1 through #42 and Employee #43, the safety director, were examined by EMS personnel on the dock and then transported to a local hospital for further examination. Company officials found the top to one of the drums of magnesium phosphide in the hold.

Keywords: LONGSHORING, WORK RULES, NAUSEA, RESPIRATORY TRACT, SHIP, OFF LOADING, SPILL, OVEREXPOSURE, CHEMICAL