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Worker killed while dismantling oil tank in Wyoming.

Wyoming Department of Health

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 93WY019, 1994 Mar; :1-5

https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/face/stateface/wy/93wy019.html

20028780

A 53 year old truck driver died from injuries suffered when he was buried under debris from the roof cave-in of an empty oil tank. The victim had been sleeping inside a camper trailer while his co-workers were cleaning oil residue from tanks being dismantled for transportation to a location out of state. Earlier, the victim and a co-worker had removed some bolts from the roof of an empty tank. When the victim awoke, he apparently went to the tank from which the roof bolts had been removed. It is uncertain whether he went inside the tank or climbed to the roof of the tank. He was found buried among the debris inside the tank that occurred when the unbolted roof caved in. The co-workers returned and searched for the victim, then noticed that the roof was missing from the tank they had prepared. Looking inside, they found the victim under the debris. They attempted to dislodge the victim with a winch truck which was at the location. A worker from another oil field came by and called 911. The victim was unconscious at the time he was found, and had no pulse according to rescuers. He was pronounced dead at the scene as a result of injuries received from the roof cave in. Post-mortem blood testing indicated a BAC level of 0.24. Employers may be able to minimize the potential for occurrence of this type of incident through the following precautions: 1. Establish and enforce policy that workers not conduct potentially dangerous tasks alone. 2. Prohibit the use of alcohol and other drugs on work sites. 3. Provide a system of communication (i.e. log book or check-off schedule to inform co-workers of work completed.

Region-8; Accident-analysis; Accident-prevention; Accidents; Injuries; Injury-prevention; Traumatic-injuries; Work-operations; Work-analysis; Work-areas; Work-performance; Work-practices; Safety-education; Safety-equipment; Safety-measures; Safety-monitoring; Oil-industry; Alcoholic-beverages; Drug-abuse; Substance-abuse

19940307

Field Studies; Fatality Assessment and Control Evaluation

Cooperative Agreement

1994

PB2014-103505

A01

FACE-93WY019; Cooperative-Agreement-Number-U60-CCU-807083

NAICS-21

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

WY; WV

Wyoming Department of Health