Inspection Detail

Inspection: 18859702 - Westvaco Corporation Fine Papers Division

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Inspection Nr: 18859702

Report ID: 0352420

Date Opened: 01/31/1987

Site Address:
Westvaco Corporation Fine Papers Division
300 Pratt Street
Luke, MD 21562

Mailing Address:
, , 00000

Union Status: Union

SIC:2621

NAICS: 0

Inspection Type: Accident

Scope: Partial

Advanced Notice: N

Ownership: Private

Safety/Health: Safety

Close Conference: 05/12/1987

Planning Guide: Safety-Manufacturing

Emphasis:

Case Closed: 06/10/1987

Related Activity
Type	Activity Nr	Safety	Health
Accident	360752547

Investigation Summary

Investigation Nr: 825109

Event: 01/30/1987

Employee killed as pulp storage tank collapses

At approximately 3:00 p.m. on January 30, 1987, Employee #1, an assistant pulp mill superintendent, and a paper mill engineer calculated that the Nucel tank was just about full of pulp slurry. The engineer tried several times to start the pump underneath the tank without success. He noticed that the tank had begun to overflow and ran to the hydropulper unit to shut off the pumps that were pumping the pulp slurry into the tank. Shortly after 3:00 p.m., a pulp mill tour foreman, in the alley adjacent to the Nucel tank, heard a rumble and saw steam come out around the tank. The engineer ran back to the tank and saw that it had collapsed. The tank had come down approximately 7 ft and was resting on its cone-shaped bottom, leaning against two other tanks known as silos #2 and #3. Employee #1 has been in the compartment in the base of the tank when it collapsed. The engineer, the pulp mill tour foreman, and a staffer were able to see his head and hand. Employee #1 was lying face down, pinned under the tank and covered with debris. A crane was used to lift the tank and Employee #1 was removed and pronounced dead at the scene by a plant physician. Compression from the weight had buckled the metal tank like an accordion around the base, which was weak because the bottom six inches of it were corroded. The tank was coated with an epoxy type finish and looked as though it were in good condition. It contained 125,000 gallon of pulp slurry weighing 1,100,000 lb. The tank was designed and constructed by Chicago Bridge and Iron, Hinsdale, IL, to carry between three and four times that much weight. The 25 ft diameter and 60 ft 15/32 in. high and originally 3/8 in. thick tank had been in use since 1960.

Keywords: COLLAPSE, INADEQUATE MAINT, PINNED, WORK RULES, STORAGE TANK, CORROSION, BURIED

Investigated Inspection
#	Inspection	Age	Sex	Degree of Injury	Nature of Injury	Occupation
1	18859702			Fatality	Other	Mixing and blending machine operators

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