Incident Watch
Published: 01 October, 2008
Houston, USA, July 18. Four dead and seven were injured in Houston Refinery after a crane capable of lifting 800,000 pounds fell over at a LyondellBasell refinery in southeast Houston. The 300 feet tall crane (with a 400-foot boom) belonged to Louisiana-based company Deep South Crane & Rigging.
t was assembled on site about a month previously, and was brought in to remove large drums from inside a coking unit whose roof had been cut off to allow the crane access.
Although the crane was not scheduled for work on the day of the collapse, its engine was said to be idling after it hit the ground.
Around 1,500 contract workers are employed at the refinery, and it is one of the largest refineries in the US designed to process high-sulfur crude oil. It has a capacity of 268,000 barrels of crude oil per day, which is transformed into pre-formulated gasoline and ultra low-sulphur diesel.
There have been a number of crane-related deaths in recent months in the US. In New York City, two crane accidents since March have killed nine people.
24 July, Perama, Greece
A blast ripped through the 1981 built Friendship Gas liquefied petroleum gas carrier, killing eight men – the resulting blaze prevented rescuers boarding the ship for over five hours. The accident happened in Greece’s crowded Perama ship repair zone.
As a result of the blast, angry crowds protested outside Greece’s ministry of merchant marine as unions and opposition politicians blamed the government for alleged indifference to safety in the industry.
Apart from the dead, another four workers were hospitalized and treated for burns and respiration problems.
The accident is thought to be the second worst in terms of deaths in Perama’s history.
In September 1988, an explosion almost cut in two the tanker Anangel Greatness, costing 16 lives, while one year ago two workers died in virtually the same spot in Perama when a fire broke out aboard the tanker Ailsa Craig, an incident which sparked similar protests.
The two contractors in charge of carrying out repairs on the liquid gas carrier were arrested after testifying before the 5th Examining Magistrate in Piraeus regarding the explosion. The contracts had been passed on to sub-contractor and shipyard plater H. Konstantaras.
July 29, Tomahawk, Wisconsin, USA.
The CSB is to investigate a tank explosion at Wisconsin cardboard manufacturer Packaging Corporation of America that killed three workers.
The accident occurred as workers were performing welding to repair a flange fitting on top of an 80-foot-tall storage tank, which contained recycled water and paper fibre. The three workers were standing on a catwalk above the domed, cylindrical tank performing welding when an internal explosion ripped open the tank lid. All three workers died of traumatic injuries, including two who were found on the ground beneath the tank. A fourth, who had been observing the work from a further distance, survived with minor injuries.
