Inspection Detail

Inspection: 303746879 - Western Kentucky Energy Corp

Inspection Information - Office: Ky Labor Cabinet Division Of Osh Compliance

Investigation Summary

An employee working alone was assigned to remove a section of protective insulation and check for a possible leak in a schedule-80 exterior dump line for a vertical coal-fired boiler. The dump line showed corrosion and had thinned to 6 millimeters. The header of the boiler had four discharge dump lines, and one of the 12,410-kiloPascal discharge lines ruptured at a point below the circular header. The employee was standing on the concrete floor, approximately 3.7 meters below the rupture. The pressure release threw the employee across the work area, and his body struck a portable salamander heating unit. The injured worker was taken to a hospital, where he died at approximately 3:00 p.m. the same day.

Keywords: HEAD, BOILER, RUPTURE, HIGH PRESSURE PIPE, HIGH PRESSURE, ELEC UTILITY WORK, PIPE, CONCUSSION, PRESSURE RELEASE