Posted on 11/15/2022 10:42:58 AM PST by Red Badger
A man was killed when he fell into a vat of molten iron at his job site.
The worker was reportedly moving a sample of iron from a furnace when he fell into a melting pot of molten iron that was heated to more than 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit. The 39-year-old was "immediately incinerated," according to a press release by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration. It was just his ninth day on the job.
OSHA sent investigators to the Mapleton, Illinois foundry on June 2 after the incident. Investigators found that the facility was lacking legally required guardrails and restraint systems to protect workers from falling into dangerous equipment.
The release also said the company "routinely exposed employees to unprotected fall hazards as they worked within four feet of deep ceramic containers of super-heated molten iron."
OSHA cited and fined Caterpillar $145,027.
"Caterpillar's failure to meet its legal responsibilities to ensure the safety and health of workers leaves this worker's family, friends and co-workers to grieve needlessly," said OSHA Area Director Christine Zortman in Peoria. "We implore employers to review the agency specific regulations to protect workers from falls into equipment in industrial settings."
Caterpillar has 15 business days from receipt of the citations and penalties to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA's area director, or contest the findings before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.
That's just the govt. fine. The workers comp. lawsuit that follows will cost them millions...
I’m not a metallurgist, never worked in a foundry. So I have no background to comment.
If I had to guess, any organic material left over would come out in the refining process. Dross, if you will. So it would technically be usable.
But what to tell the family? “Yeah, little Johnny is now part of a bridge in Costa Rica.” Or an engine block of our latest excavator. Or whatever it was used for.
If not, what do you do with that iron? Have a ceremony and bury it? Or dump it in the ocean?
I’d love to hear the end of that story.
Awkward to say the least.
Motel Hell.
“Serious question - would they still use the molten iron that he fell into?”
Impurities flow to the top of the crucible and it scraped off, it’s called dross and it’s part of the process.
Sadly his physical tissue and bone turned to dross, probably in a couple of seconds.
FNG gets vaporized .
Sure. He’s now just a bit more slag on the top of the product. Easily removed.
Open crucible.
Falls are the most common, and most preventable, of workplace accidents. I think it is in 2035(?) that all fixed(?) ladders over a certain height must have fall protection systems rather than cages.
I did a job once where the place had to replace all of their ladders (to one with cages) because a young guy fell and was hurt.
I guess OSHA didn’t take into account that the guy was trying to carry a broom and shovel in one hand and a bucket in the other as he climbed the ladder.
But now in 2035 even cages won’t be enough.
A measly $145k for melting a human being?
Instead of formaldehyde they used Ziebart.
I find that hard to believe also. No guardrails around a 2000 degree melting pot?
Or go like Bird Fidrych:
"Fidrych, the 1976 American League Rookie of the Year, suffocated when his clothes got tangled in the truck’s power takeoff shaft."
There is no such thing as “idiot proof”. There is only “idiot resistant”. The ingenuity of idiots knows no bounds.
Insurance will pay that.
You float on top of the liquid iron, so it can’t be “immediate.” You might have enough time to ask yourself “Can I swim out of this pickle?”
A Laplander only cut your nuts off if you’re messing with his daughter. Are you saying you’re messing with a Laplander’s daughter?
I’ve been witness to two industrial fatalities.
Both were in that category.
One was moving a 20,000 pound chemical tank with the rigging improperly set vs the center of gravity so it swung against a wall and pinned a guy.
The other was a 40 foot fall from a roof mounted tower when the guy didn’t have his fall arrest on correctly.
These were both skilled trades guys who do this stuff every day but got careless.
Why? So no one fell to their death.
I am not familiar with what is a "shipman's ladder", but I can say I have climbed a lot of towers, both radio towers and water towers and I can tell you I absolutely detest those stupid fall prevention devices they put on them.
They are horrible. They make an accident far more likely by wearing you out while trying to drag that stupid fall prevention box up the cable or channel, depending on which sort you have. The cable type are installed right in the middle of the ladder and protruding about 5 inches out from the lader. They force you to climb with your arms outstretched rather than up close to the tower. Climbing in that way is harder and makes you tired much faster. The cables and channels make you place your feet at exactly the right spots, and occasionally your foot will tangle on the cable or channel. I've had occasions where there wasn't enough space to put my foot on a rung because the cable or channel were too close to the ladder rail and my foot wouldn't go in there properly. When I finally got it in there, I had trouble getting it back out.
Both the cable type and the channel type jam up when you least expect them, and as you attempt to take another step, they jerk you back. If you haven't got your hand placement on a rung solidly, they can cause you to lose your grip when you suddenly jerk against one that gets stuck.
And when you finally get to the top of the tower, they have installed the thing right in the middle of the path you have to get through to either reach the tower's candelabra or walk platform.
You are forced to climb over this obstacle at the worst possible time and usually in a difficult manner like climbing over the rail rather than through the opening.
I have climbed many 300 foot towers, some 500 foot towers and 1 thousand foot tower. I have climbed innumerable lesser towers. Those fall prevention devices suck. They make the job harder and more dangerous.
The worker was reportedly moving a sample of iron from a furnace ...
If you're taking a sample, there's an opening to molten iron somewhere.
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