Proforma Safety Blog

Imperial Sugar Rebuilds Facility on the Ashes of 2008 Catastrophe

Posted by proforma on March 30, 2010  |  No Comments

On February 7, 2008, at about 7:15 p.m., something ignited sugar dust in Imperial’s refinery in Port Wentworth, Georgia, resulting in blasts and subsequent fires that destroyed much of the facility and killed 14 people. This article in the NFPA Journal®,March/April 2010, talks about the  tragedy, which the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board (CSB) described as “entirely preventable.” Poor maintenance, housekeeping, and equipment design were identified as factors in the catastrophe. The U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) reported scores of “willful” and “particularly flagrant” safety violations. Imperial Sugar has made the commitment to build a safe, modern packaging facility and the solution has been a system and functional design for the new plant that emphasizes the concepts of separation, isolation, and suppression. At Port Wentworth, this has included relocation of the huge sugar storage silos, more stand-alone buildings, and inclusion of fire walls within buildings. Most important, it’s included a major overhaul to employee attitudes toward safety. Click on the link above for details.

Fatality at Valero’s Texas City Refinery

Posted by proforma on December 8, 2009  |  No Comments

A worker was killed by “blunt force trauma” to the head at the Valero refinery in Texas City, Texas, on December 4, 2009, as he and two other workers allegedly were attempting to restart a boiler. The two other workers were injured in the blast. Valero has attributed the accident to a “failure” of the boiler. OSHA is investigating; the Chemical Safety Board has announced it will not open a formal investigation. Current details are available here.

Lifeboat Drill Goes Awry; One Crew Member Killed

Posted by proforma on August 31, 2009  |  No Comments

A fatality occured recently on a Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit (MODU) during a planned lifeboat drill.

The MODU was conducting routine testing of its lifeboats and equipment as required by regulation and launched its starboard lifeboat with a crew of seven. During recover of the lifeboat at the end of the drill, the aft hook opened, the boat swung onto its forward hook, which then failed, plunging the lifeboat and its occupants 65 feet into the sea. One crew member died and the remaining six sustained injuries.

Among the causes, it was determined that critical components of the system had deteriorated with age and use and the On-Load release system was not fully understood. For details, read the IADC report.

China Construction Industry Safety Practices Leave Much to Be Desired

Posted by proforma on June 29, 2009  |  No Comments

We don’t usually post construction stories like this one, but the absence of safety systems is so glaringly apparent that we are making an exception.

This is a 13-story apartment building that is — or was — nearing completion in Shanghai, China. As you can see in the photo, the building simply fell over. One worker was killed. This article in the Los Angeles Times describes the shoddy construction practices in China.

Loose Drilling Line Kills Worker

Posted by proforma on June 29, 2009  |  No Comments

While tripping to the bottom with the drill string, the drilling crew met with an obstruction and came to a stop, which triggered the drawworks drum to spool off excess drill line. When the drum brakes were applied and the spool off stopped, the crew decided to spool the line back onto the drum.
One worker, unfortunately, then apparently moved to the area between the derrick and the drawworks. The drill string broke free as it fell through the bridge, the line whipped up towards the drawworks and struck the worker. The worker died from his injuries.
Obviously the worker should not have been in that position; the review of this incident details the mistakes made that resulted in this wholly avoidable fatality.

Welder Electrocuted by Damaged Cord

Posted by proforma on May 21, 2009  |  No Comments

A 220-volt floodlight caused the death of a welder when its cord became pinched between the fixture and a mounting bracket. Tragically, the light had been determined to be inappropriate for the job and set aside, but not disconnected.

The location: a bilge pump room in the column of a semi submersible. Conditions were hot, 97 degrees, and the welder’s coveralls were soaked with perspiration. A Permit To Work (PTW) and Job Safety Analysis (JSA) had been completed, but reports are the PTW didn’t capture all the elements (confined space, ventilation, electrical hazard, etc.) The JSA was not specific to the job.

Among the corrective actions taken was a “hazard hunt” of the rig fleet focused on portable lights, power tools and electric cords. Rig supervisors were not only urged to enforce STOP(TM), but one STOP card per person per day on board was mandated.

Further details on steps taken to prevent repeat of the incident are detailed here on the International Association of Drilling Contractors site.