The Aluminium Plant Safety Blog has
a recent story where two workers were burned by molten metal. The importance of
getting quick medical care to the workers suffering burns was complicated by
the distance to the nearest burn treatment hospital. Here is the story:
Two male employees of an aluminium foundry in the Midwest United States were burned in the afternoon one day during the week of December 1, 2013.
The local Police Captain said the police did not investigate the matter because it was not criminal in nature but dispatchers sent ambulances to the scene to transport the men first to a local hospital and then to a larger hospital 60-70 miles away.
The incident occurred in the afternoon. The first hospital requested air ambulances (medical helicopters) but it was reported it could not fly because of the dense fog.
The details of the incident are unknown to the APSB at this time. In the United States the average length of a hospital stay for treatment of burns in 2011 was 8.4 days (from American Burn Assoc.). We will update this posting if further information comes forth.
UPDATE
The APSB contacted the editor of the newspaper which published the article that was posted above. The APSB inquired to see if there were any reports on the condition of the workers. Here is what the editor responded.
"Unfortunately, we do not know anything more about this incident. The police do not have information on it because it was not a criminal matter, and the company does not want to give anymore details. It can be difficult to report on incidents like this."
Companies in our industry do a great job of supporting local communities in a variety of ways. That good will can be quickly forgotten when an incident results in worker(s) being injured or killed.
In our increasingly litigious society, companies commonly refuse comment on incidents, or even deny that an incident occurred. The APSB would argue that in some instances "no comment" does more lasting harm to a company's reputation then by commenting.
What is the last information that would you want to be made public?
- Two workers were burned and are hospitalized.
- Two workers who were burned are recuperating and expect to recover (making the assumption that there injuries were not severe).
The APSB wishes the injured workers a quick recovery.
Please Comment.
Please suggest some safety points to prevent such accidents
ReplyDeleteThank you for the comment. Without knowing what exactly occurred in that foundry. Some basic safety points would be the following:
ReplyDelete1. Training your workers on the proper procedures when handling molten metal is the first step. It is also important to periodically observe them and correct any areas of what you have seen that are against company procedures.
2. Wearing the proper personnel protection (clothing) equipment for the task on hand. That includes protecting the area of the back of the neck. That area can be come exposed when a worker bends forward. Many plants wear a snood or a shroud to prevent molten metal from entering from that area.
3. Keep unauthorized personnel away from molten metal. All too common some of the workers injured in a molten metal explosion (assuming that an explosion injured these workers) are workers who were nearby when they shouldn't be.
There are many more safety points that can be brought up by the readers of this Blog. Does anyone have more suggestions?
be practical in choosing your safety equipment. get the melt deck supervisors input. because it won't do you a bit of good to buy equipment that they won't wear. either it makes them too hot in the summer, or restricts movement etc...
ReplyDeleteGood Afternoon
ReplyDeleteI do believe that Mathews Industrial Products in Western Australia Perth also manufacture to certain specification on what you may require for your application. Iain has had many years experience in the refectories industry.
Dear good comments. Safety equipment, personnel protection (clothing) equipment for the task on hand, traning, and qualification workers is important point for good work. But also we must know workers must have good salary in this case they will be focused on work. If they have bed salary in this case his occupation is how to order feed family. Than labor discipline goes down and happen accident.
ReplyDelete