Re: Three Ski Patrol Members Die After Falling into Volcanic Fissure
- From: " George" <george@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Mon, 24 Apr 2006 06:44:38 GMT
"Aidan Karley" <doIlookDAFTenoughTOpost@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote in message
news:VA.00000dea.119be2ec@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
In article <85v2g.696692$084.428105@attbi_s22>, George wrote:
I read that all three were very experienced mountain professionals whoDouble-plus "ouch"; they knew the rules and reacted with the heart
had
worked in the area for decades. My understanding was that they were
standing close to the edge of the fissure on heavy snow roping the area
off
to keep skiers out of the area when the ledge gave way on the guy
closest
to the edge.
a
little bit ahead of the head. Not nice.
The incident this reminded me of, which I deleted from my previous
message, was of workers cleaning a tank at a local whiskey distillery.
*Everyone* knew that going into the vessels put you into a CO2
atmosphere, and
that CO2 was heavier than air. So there were site-rules about entering
vessels. And one day 3 men went to clean a vessel. And they followed the
rules. Ventilate vessel for 24 hours before entry. Party of 3. Stirring
motors
isolated and shafts locked.
One man went in. Collapsed. Second man went in (having told 3rd man
to
call for back-up). Collapsed. Third man went in, having made the phone
call.
Collapsed. No survivors.
People do have a horrible habit of repeating mistakes, up to and
including dieing. There are circumstances that take out 3 people at once,
but
there are more circumstances that will take a person out, 3 times. No
disrespect to the people involved, but it very definitely does happen.
--
Aidan Karley, FGS
Aberdeen, Scotland,
Location: 57°10'11" N, 02°08'43" W (sub-tropical Aberdeen), 0.021233
Well, I don't know about the safety rules in Scotland, but I can see
several that they violated had the work been conducted here in the states.
First, they likely didn't use a CO2/O2 meter nor an LEL meter before entry
to check for gas levels. Second, the first guy doesn't appear to have had
an escape harness with rope, wench and tripod that could have been used to
pull him out when he had trouble so the second or third guy wouldn't have
to go in after him. And third, the third guy left the second guy alone
(never attempt such a rescue or any such work with no "competent" person
standing by).
There was an incident in the U.S. about 10 years ago where two plumbers had
dug a shallow trench in the floor of a factory to repair some old plumbing.
The trench was only about 3 feet deep, so there was little risk of it
collapsing. One of the plumbers entered the trench to start the repair,
and realized that he didn't have the wrench he needed. The second plumber
left him to get the wrench out of his truck. When he returned a few
moments later, he found his buddy laying face-down in the trench, dead. He
apparently had a heart attack, and because he had fallen face-down, he
suffocated in the dirt floor of the trench. The U.S. Occupational Health
and Safety Administration (OSHA) investigated the incident and fined the
plumbing company $50,000 dollars for violating OSHA regulations regarding
the presence of a competent person supervising potentially hazardous work
activities (according to OSHA rules, there is supposed to be a "competent"
person to stand watch at all times while another is working in a trench -
competent in this case involves someone who has had formal OSHA training in
safe trench work rules. Similar rules apply to tank cleaning). Now you
know how many Americans it takes to replace a light bulb!
Another incident which is more closely related to the one you described
above, I was told of an incident in Illinois by the Illinois State Fire
Marshal in 1991. It seems some certified Underground Storage tank removers
had removed a 2,000-gallon underground storage tank from the ground, after
following proper safety procedures, and had properly vented the tank, and
checked for explosive gases prior to destroying the tank. To destroy the
tank, they had planned to cut it up and sell the metal for scrap. As they
were cutting the tank with a blow torch, it exploded, blowing the end of
the tank off in the area where the worker was cutting, striking the worker
and killing him instantly. This occurred despite the fact that they had
tested the tank and found no trace of explosive gases inside. Apparently,
the tank had been lined internally with fiberglass to extend it's useful
life. Sometime after that work had been done, small cracks developed in
the fiberglass that allowed gasoline to seep between the metal outer wall
and the inner fiberglass wall. When they began to cut the tank, the
trapped gas volatilized from the heat of the torch and then exploded when
the flame penetrated the metal tank. I used to do a lot of this kind of
work, and after I was told that story by the Fire Marshal, I refused to let
any of my people cut a fiberglass-lined tank (instead, I made sure they
made the tank un-reusable by crushing it with an excavator and drilling one
inch holes on the bottom and ends of the tank), and always required them to
ventilate, open, and clean the tank while it was still in-ground before
removing it.
George
.
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