Hazard communication involving chemicals in our facilities can not be taken for granted. There are numerous occasions where our employees or outside contractor employees are working with hazardous chemicals in our facilities. On occasion those hazardous chemicals either injure or kill those who are working with them. Here is a story that reinforces the need for safety when working with hazardous chemicals.
A employee for a contractor was burned by chemicals in an accident at alumina plant in the United States during the week of October 20, 2013. The incident follows an earlier incident where five employees in what is called the digestion area of the same plant.
The worker who was injured suffered burns while in the precipitation area of the plant, the company's spokesperson wrote in a press release.
The man was flown by helicopter over 120 miles away to a hospital. His condition was not available (at the time of this news article).
The precipitation area recovers and classifies the dissolved alumina from the plant process liquid.
The plant's emergency response teams and local emergency medical services responded to the call at 11:45 AM.
How the contractor was burned is under investigation. No one else was injured.
"We are deeply concerned any time someone is injured. Given the nature of this incident, the (company) has made the necessary notification to the Mine Safety & Heath Administration, and the agency is participating in the incident investigation," the company spokesman wrote in an email.
The spokesperson declined to identify the contractor or the injured worker, citing the company's privacy rules. "Company takes incidents like these very seriously and will work closely with both the contractor involved as well as MSHS to determine what happened, identify the causal factors and determine what steps need to be taken to prevent a recoccurrence.
It is unknown to what extent the injuries of the worker were. The APSB wishes the worker a quick recovery. The exact root cause of this instance is unknown from the news media article. Nevertheless, this facility has had a previous accident involving chemicals (root cause unknown too). That incident was covered by the APSB (can be viewed here).
The safety videos that the APSB posts have received positive feedback from the readers. Therefore we'll continue posting safety videos where and when appropriate.
A good rule when using or working near chemicals is to always over dress. How do you know what personal protection equipment (also commonly referred to in our industry as PPE) is required when working with or around a chemical? Refer to the Material Safety Data Sheet (also commonly referred to as MSDS).
Reading a MSDS does not have to be hard. Occupational Safety & Health Administration has a Quick Card regarding the parts of a safety data sheet.
Here is a video that involved the proper personal protection equipment to be used when applying pesticides. The APSB understands that the application of pesticides is unique and not relevant to the chemicals being used in our plants. But, what is relevant is the amount of personal protection equipment the actor in the following video is wearing.
At the end of the video the actor's skin is completely covered and protected by any possible exposure to chemicals. The APSB has observed workers in our industry performing tasks with chemicals where they fail to properly prevent any exposed skin from showing. One wonders if unprotected skin was an issue in this particular incident, and the previous incident that injured 5 workers. Remember the rule, when in doubt over dress when working with chemicals.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has a useful resource regarding eye and face protection. Which can be viewed here.
It is unknown to what extent the injuries of the worker were. The APSB wishes the worker a quick recovery. The exact root cause of this instance is unknown from the news media article. Nevertheless, this facility has had a previous accident involving chemicals (root cause unknown too). That incident was covered by the APSB (can be viewed here).
The safety videos that the APSB posts have received positive feedback from the readers. Therefore we'll continue posting safety videos where and when appropriate.
A good rule when using or working near chemicals is to always over dress. How do you know what personal protection equipment (also commonly referred to in our industry as PPE) is required when working with or around a chemical? Refer to the Material Safety Data Sheet (also commonly referred to as MSDS).
Reading a MSDS does not have to be hard. Occupational Safety & Health Administration has a Quick Card regarding the parts of a safety data sheet.
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At the end of the video the actor's skin is completely covered and protected by any possible exposure to chemicals. The APSB has observed workers in our industry performing tasks with chemicals where they fail to properly prevent any exposed skin from showing. One wonders if unprotected skin was an issue in this particular incident, and the previous incident that injured 5 workers. Remember the rule, when in doubt over dress when working with chemicals.
The Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA) has a useful resource regarding eye and face protection. Which can be viewed here.
Please comment.
Yes we need to be concerned but many company do not have preventive measure for there workers.
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