Pilot plant operator killed in pressure vessel release at a Massachusetts biotechnology company.
Authors
Massachusetts Department of Health
Source
Morgantown, WV: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, FACE 94MA019, 1994 Dec; :1-7
On May 24, 1994 a 22 year old male pilot plant operator was fatally injured at a Massachusetts biotechnology company when he opened a pressure vessel which was still under pressure. The victim was extracting the compound taxol from yew needles in a near "super critical" fluid process which employed methanol and carbon dioxide, at a pressure of 2,000 pounds per square inch (psi). The victim, who was alone, was at the end of the procedure when the pressure release occurred. Apparently believing the vessel to be depressurized, the victim attempted to remove the heavy steel cover. It appears he removed the four bolts holding the cover in place, and was attempting to remove the retaining flanges when the cover of the vessel blew. The pressure was released, throwing the victim 10 feet across the room. An assistant to the company president noted that the building's alarm and sprinkler systems had been activated, and alerted the president as he was leaving the building. Within 15 seconds the president found the victim, with a slight pulse, entangled in equipment. Paramedics were immediately summoned. The victim was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead later than night. In order to prevent future similar occurrences, the MA FACE Program recommends that employers: 1. And equipment manufacturers install safe guards, such as mechanical interlocks, on pressure vessels to ensure that they are completely depressurized prior to being opened. 2. Use a system of "checks and balances" to verify whether residual pressure remains in pressure vessels. 3. Ensure that all operators of pressure vessels are fully trained prior to allowing them to operate a system. 4. Use procedures for minimizing the potential for materials blockage in those supercritical extraction processes prone to blockage. 5. Develop procedures to insure the purity grade of solvents used in supercritical fluid systems. 6. Ensure that process equipment and operations undergo safety reviews before going into service in research, pilot or production capacities. In addition, government agencies should: 7. Consider developing safety standards to protect employees who operate pressure vessels.
Links with this icon indicate that you are leaving the CDC website.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website.
For more information on CDC's web notification policies, see Website Disclaimers.
CDC.gov Privacy Settings
We take your privacy seriously. You can review and change the way we collect information below.
These cookies allow us to count visits and traffic sources so we can measure and improve the performance of our site. They help us to know which pages are the most and least popular and see how visitors move around the site. All information these cookies collect is aggregated and therefore anonymous. If you do not allow these cookies we will not know when you have visited our site, and will not be able to monitor its performance.
Cookies used to make website functionality more relevant to you. These cookies perform functions like remembering presentation options or choices and, in some cases, delivery of web content that based on self-identified area of interests.
Cookies used to track the effectiveness of CDC public health campaigns through clickthrough data.
Cookies used to enable you to share pages and content that you find interesting on CDC.gov through third party social networking and other websites. These cookies may also be used for advertising purposes by these third parties.
Thank you for taking the time to confirm your preferences. If you need to go back and make any changes, you can always do so by going to our Privacy Policy page.