Inspection Detail

Inspection: 317012235 - 3v Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Sc Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation

Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:30 p.m. on November 26, 2013, Employee #1, with 3v Inc., was working with his supervisor and a coworker on the third floor of an open building which was exposed to the elements, with open side walls and a roof. They were loading an approximately four-foot square, wooden pallet containing four sealed plastic drums (55 gallon drums; 520 pounds each) of hydrochloric acid (HCl 80) onto a material hoist cage platform. The platform weighed between 800 and 1,000 pounds. The coworker was guiding the pallet jack (which weighed approximately 155 lbs), while Employee #1 and his supervisor pushed the pallet with barrels by hand. As soon as the pallet of drums was loaded onto the hoist cage, the pallet with the barrels on it was pushed off the pallet jack onto the hoist. Then, the single hoist cable (lifting capacity of approximately two tons) snapped above the cage, and the loaded hoist cage fell down the shaft approximately 30 to the ground floor. Then, three of the four barrels of acid broke open. The pallet jack did not fall down the shaft. The momentum from pushing the drums and the falling motion of the hoist cage drew Employee #1 down the hoist shaft. Employee #1 landed backward on top of the hoist cage. The coworker was almost drawn in, but was pulled back by the supervisor. The supervisor immediately notified security of the injury via radio and instructed the security officer to call 911. The supervisor proceeded to the ground floor and found that Employee #1 was unconscious on top of the hoist cage. Employee #1 fell approximately 23 feet to the top of the cage. Acid from the barrels splashed into Employee #1's left eye. The supervisor prevented Employee #1 from falling further. Employee #1 regained consciousness shortly after the fall, and he sustained: a fractured left fibula with muscle damage; partial blindness in left eye from acid; lacerations to rear of head and over left eye; and, second degree burns to left arm and back from splashed acid. Access to the platform was protected by two interlocked safety gates, but, units for the two interlocked safety gates (approximately four high and approximately 30 wide) that opened to the hoist cage were not provided in the narrative. The hoist would not operate if the gates were not properly closed for the interlocks to properly function. Distances from the gates to the hoist were supposed to be: first floor interior 27 ins., first floor exterior 17 ins., second floor interior 17 ins., and third floor interior 17 ins. The hoist was last inspected on February 28, 2013 for yearly inspection. Employee #1 was hospitalized. Units for the pallet of drums loaded onto the hoist cage (90 high and 65 by 65 on all four sides) were not provided in the narrative. Units were not provided for the distance that the loaded hoist cage fell down the shaft, approximately 30, to the ground floor breaking the barrels broke open, but this unit is likely "feet," because Employee #1 fell 23 feet.

Keywords: EYE, FRACTURE, HEAD, HYDROCHLORIC ACID, UNCONSCIOUSNESS, DRUM, LACERATION, CHEMICAL BURN, FALL, LEG