Fatal Accident Circumstances and Epidemiology (FACE) Report: Two Dead, One Critical in Confined Space Incident in New York

摘要

As a result of a confined space incident in a degreasing tank, three workers died. The manager, the foreman, and a laborer at a metal products finishing operations facility were cleaning out a trichloroethylene (79016) degreasing tank on a Saturday. They were alone in the building at the time of the accident. The tank was cleaned three or four times a year on a weekend when the facility was closed. The degreaser tank was 8 feet high, 30 feet long, and 6 feet deep with a 30 by 40 inch opening at each end. The usual procedure was to shut off steam, drain the tank, open the bottom doors and allow the tank to cool and vent overnight. One man was then to enter via a ladder, remove fallen metal parts, place them in a box, and pass the box to a worker on the outside. The third man was to stand by to assist. The three men were to rotate their spots every 5 minutes. There were no witnesses to this accident as the men arrived at the building at 7:30am and were discovered in the tank and unresponsive at 7:30pm.