Inspection Detail
Inspection Information - Office: Marlton | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Nr: 302717236 | Report ID: 0213900 | Open Date: 09/29/2000 | ||
Reade Manufacturing Company | ||||
100 Ridgeway Boulevard Lakehurst, NJ 08733 | Union Status: NonUnion | |||
SIC: 3399/Primary Metal Products, Not Elsewhere Classified | ||||
Inspection Type: | Accident | |||
Scope: | Partial | Advanced Notice: | N | |
Ownership: | Private | |||
Safety/Health: | Health | Close Conference: | 02/28/2001 | |
Close Case: | 05/03/2001 | |||
Related Activity: | Type | ID | Safety | Health |
Accident | 101771293 |
Violation Summary | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Serious | Willful | Repeat | Other | Unclass | Total | |
Initial Violations | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
Current Violations | 3 | 1 | 4 | |||
Initial Penalty | $4,725 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $4,725 |
Current Penalty | $2,794 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $2,794 |
FTA Amount | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 | $0 |
Violation Items | |||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
# | ID | Type | Standard | Issuance | Abate | Curr$ | Init$ | Fta$ | Contest | LastEvent | |
1. | 01001 | Serious | 19100151 C | 03/26/2001 | 04/13/2001 | $525 | $700 | $0 | I - Informal Settlement | ||
2. | 01002 | Serious | 19100212 A01 | 03/26/2001 | 03/29/2001 | $394 | $525 | $0 | I - Informal Settlement | ||
3. | 01003 | Serious | 19101200 F05 I | 03/26/2001 | 03/29/2001 | $1,875 | $3,500 | $0 | I - Informal Settlement | ||
4. | 02001 | Other | 19100305 B01 | 03/26/2001 | 03/29/2001 | $0 | $0 | $0 | - |
Accident Investigation Summary | ||||||
Summary Nr: 201771060 | Event: 09/29/2000 | Employee Killed In Chemical Explosion | ||||
At approximately 8:45 a.m. on September 29, 2000, Employee #1 was inside Building 14 sorting out "tramp" material (paper, plastic, steel, large pieces of magnesium, etc.) from magnesium scrap piled on a steel-sorting table. At the time of the accident, a powerful explosion took place in and around Building 14. The building was demolished with many pieces of magnesium scrap thrown up to approximately 310 feet from the blast area. This scrap pierced other surrounding buildings. The blast caused the sorting table to bow down and rip from the bolts that anchored it to the concrete floor. Employee #1, who was inside Building 14, was critically injured, and died the next morning from complications from the thermal burns. The exploding material was a magnesium, Teflon, viton blend that was inadvertently mixed into the magnesium scrap. The magnesium, Teflon, viton blend is a very reactive and sensitive material. Mechanical impact, friction, electrostatic discharge or electrical sparks and flame easily initiate a reaction. Another employee was directed to dump three drums of material, thought to be magnesium, into a magnesium scrap bin in Building 15. However, this material was not solely magnesium, as the employer believed. An investigation following the accident identified it as the magnesium, Teflon, viton (MTV) blend. Unknowingly, this magnesium, Teflon, viton blend and magnesium scrap mixture was scooped by a bobcat from the bin in Building 15, then driven into Building 14 and dumped onto the sorting table. The exact source of energy that initiated this explosion is unknown. | ||||||
Keywords: burn, marking, metal shop, fire, explosion, chemical reaction, unguarded, chemical | ||||||
Inspection | Degree | Nature | Occupation | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 302717236 | Fatality | Burn/Scald(Heat) | Misc. metal & plastic processing machine operators |