Inspection Detail

Inspection: 108243429 - Cascade Steel Rolling Mills Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Or-E-Salem 1054100

Investigation Summary

Employee #1, a ladleman at Cascade Steel Rolling Mills, Inc., had just directed the crane to move a ladle off from the caster and to the pit for dumping. Employee #1 was positioned on an overhead catwalk, picking up a ladle rake. The crane began to dump the contents of the ladle into the pit and there was a violent reaction as molten steel and slag contacted the slag lining of the pit. A wall of flame shot upward approximately 40 feet, engulfing Employee #1, and lasting 15 to 30 seconds. Employee #1 ran from the flames and received immediate first aid from his coworkers. Emergency medical personnel were summoned and soon arrived. The employee was stabilized and then transported by helicopter to the Emanuel Hospital Burn Center in Portland. He suffered 1st-, 2nd-, and possibly some 3rd-degree burns on 23 percent of his body. His injuries were not fatal. Through investigation it was determined that the dumping of the ladle is a routine procedure, and that at the time of the accident all operations and practices were standard and routine. The cause of the violent reaction between the molten metal and slag and the slag lining of the pit has not been determined and probably never will be. Whatever was present in the pit was burned away. Possible contaminants in the pit include natural gas, petroleum products, hydraulic fluid, or water.

Keywords: BURN, FIRE, EXPLOSION, MOLTEN METAL, CATWALK