Inspection Detail

Inspection: 302558200 - Intercall, Inc.

Inspection Information - Office: Atlanta West Area Office

Investigation Summary

Between 12:30 p.m. and 12:45 p.m. on June 18, 1999, Baston-Cook, a contractor for Intercall, Inc., sprayed approximately 1 pint of Kure-N-Seal 0800 concrete floor sealant on the 12 ft by 14 ft floor of a mechanical room that was being expanded into an adjacent office. The area sprayed was serviced by its own air handling system and was separated from the rest of the building by walls. The spray job lasted between 5 and 15 minutes, and the contractor's workers left shortly after they finished. Intercall's employees in the call execution area started noticing an odor after lunch. Just before 1:50 p.m., Employee #1 walked up to the pod section of the call execution area and passed out. Employee #2 passed out shortly thereafter. Emergency Services responded and transported both workers to the hospital. Intercall management did not immediately evacuate the area, even after the two employees passed out. Instead, workers were told to stay with their calls unless they felt sick. The fire chief and the police chief had to plead and/or threaten a manager to finally get the building evacuated. In all, 85 workers were taken to two hospitals. Employees #1 through #13 and six coworkers were admitted with symptoms that included headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, numbness, difficulty breathing, chest pains, and unconsciousness. The company had just established a written emergency action plan in response to two bomb threats and a tornado. Employees were not aware of the plan, however, and had not received training or participated in any practice drills.

Keywords: UNCONSCIOUSNESS, VAPOR, VENTILATION, EMERGENCY RESPONSE, WORK RULES, INHALATION, SPRAY PAINTING, AIR CONTAMINATION, CHEMICAL VAPOR, UNTRAINED