Accident in Oxygen Deficient Environment

[RalphSafety]

A sharp reminder about the dangers that lurk out there, even in rural areas.

Man incapacitated by oxygen debt
By CHRIS BRISTOL
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

Two men were sent to the hospital after entering an environmentally controlled room without oxygen masks in this Vander Houwen apple cold-storage warehouse on Naches Heights Road on Monday.

A would-be rescuer was in critical condition Monday after he tried to pull another man from the airless environment of a controlled-atmosphere room.

Jim Dale remains in intensive care after nearly suffocating in the accident, which happened about 9:45 a.m. at the Vander Houwen apple storage warehouse in the 1400 block of Naches Heights Road, just west of Yakima.

Nick Vander Houwen said the accident occurred when Dale, a neighbor, tried to rescue Vander Houwen employee Billy Harris from a controlled-atmosphere room, which uses nitrogen to keep apples fresher longer than conventional cold storage.

Harris had gone into the oxygen-free room to retrieve some Red Romes and other apple varieties for testing, and when he didn't come out, Dale went in after him, Vander Houwen said.

When Dale was incapacitated, Vander Houwen said two more of his neighbors, David Garretson and Don Lyons, hurried to the scene and were able to drag both men out.

Ambulances rushed the two to Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, where a revived Harris refused treatment. Dale, however, was not so lucky.

Vander Houwen was hesitant to discuss the accident in great detail, noting regulators from the state Department of Labor and Industry were on the way to investigate.

Elaine Fischer, a spokeswoman for L&I in Olympia, confirmed the agency was investigating the accident for possible confined-space violations.

Confined space is defined as dangerous enclosed places, such as controlled-atmosphere rooms, tanks, manholes, sewers, boilers and grain silos.

Hazards includes atmospheric problems, such as lack of air or toxic vapors. Other hazards include potential for being trapped, no room to avoid falling objects or being engulfed by material such as water or grain.

Confined-space accidents claimed two lives in Washington this year, Fischer said. Both were in May. One incident happened at the BP oil refinery in Blaine. The other happened at the Transalta power plant in Centralia.

In both cases, the victims were pressure-washing inside tanklike facilities. In both cases, L&I found numerous safety violations and issued fines, Fischer said.

According to Fischer, would-be rescuers are frequently injured or killed in connection with confined-space accidents.

As examples, she cited the deaths of four divers in an irrigation canal in the Lower Valley in 1997 and the deaths of two 16-year-old boys in a Spokane-area grain silo in 2003.

[S8ER95Z]

Wow that's terrible.

A few months ago someone here died while trying to rescue someone from a manure pit. You never really think about that kind of thing. :(

[lexfd5]

Looking at past confined space incidents from NIOSH and other agencies it would seem most are recoveries of the initial victim and the initial rescuer. And that is not just civilians only. Just stay safe and think for a second.

[E229Lt]

Person down=Rescuer on air.

Anything else is unacceptable.

[RadRob]

Person down=Rescuer on air.

Anything else is unacceptable.

I agree. If someone went down, there has to be a reason. We can't just guess and hope we make it out alive.

[Murphy4329]

Would traditional SCBA be sufficient for a rescue here?? I would think so, but just want to make sure.

[safetychick]

A statistic from my OSHA Standards class last semester... 50% of confined space fatalities are the would be rescuer.

Some of the reasons for this:
• Rescuers are overcome by their emotions
• Rescuers take unnecessary chances
• Rescuers do not understand the hazards involved
• Rescuers do not have a plan of action
• Rescuers lack proper confined space entry training


For this incident, SCBA should be sufficient enough

[lutan1]

[QUOTE]Person down=Rescuer on air.

Anything else is unacceptable.QUOTE]

WRONG!

The correct procedure for any rescue in confined spaces/oxygen deficient atmospheres is to perform atmospheric monitoring.

Monitoring will determine if the air is safe to enter.

Someone could be down for many resons- heart attack, faint (from heat), whacked head on something, etc, etc. These are just a few off the top of my head and NONE of them require a rescuer to wear SCBA to perform a rescue.

To don SCBA is a big time waster and also very bulky and hard to work in, in many confined spaces. In fact, in many confined spaces, you won't be able to wear a traditional SCBA set. Many require airline systems instead.

[E229Lt]

Monitoring will determine if the air is safe to enter.


Monitoring MAYdetermine if the air is safe to enter.

I should also correct my statement to read:

Person down=Rescuer on air.

Anything less is unacceptable.

[lutan1]

If you use a monitor with Oxygen reading capabilities, it will determine if it is safe to enter.

If the air is either oxygen deficient or enriched, the monitor will tell you so. Perform at least 3 reads at differing heights to ensure that you're not caught in any pockets or layering of gases.

[RadRob]

WRONG!

The correct procedure for any rescue in confined spaces/oxygen deficient atmospheres is to perform atmospheric monitoring.

Monitoring will determine if the air is safe to enter.

Someone could be down for many resons- heart attack, faint (from heat), whacked head on something, etc, etc. These are just a few off the top of my head and NONE of them require a rescuer to wear SCBA to perform a rescue.

To don SCBA is a big time waster and also very bulky and hard to work in, in many confined spaces. In fact, in many confined spaces, you won't be able to wear a traditional SCBA set. Many require airline systems instead.

If you are performing a "rescue" in the situations you listed, then that implies that there is fire around. Where there is fire, there is smoke. SCBA is a must.

[lutan1]

If you are performing a "rescue" in the situations you listed, then that implies that there is fire around. Where there is fire, there is smoke. SCBA is a must.

Huh? :confused:

How do you get a fire situation from my suggesation of heart attack, fainting from heat, hitting your head, etc whilst in a confined space?

[spearsm]

WRONG!

The correct procedure for any rescue in confined spaces/oxygen deficient atmospheres is to perform atmospheric monitoring.

Monitoring will determine if the air is safe to enter.

Someone could be down for many resons- heart attack, faint (from heat), whacked head on something, etc, etc. These are just a few off the top of my head and NONE of them require a rescuer to wear SCBA to perform a rescue.

To don SCBA is a big time waster and also very bulky and hard to work in, in many confined spaces. In fact, in many confined spaces, you won't be able to wear a traditional SCBA set. Many require airline systems instead.

Let me throw this in the mix.

Did the hole watch see individual "x" go down?
Did he hollar, "ouch"? Grab his heart?
Did the watch hear the famous "GONG" when a head meets a hollow object? Was that his head or him slumping to the floor.

Due to the configuration of the CS, the downed individual may in fact be in the pocket of the stuff that got him/her. The 02 levels, CO, H2S and LEL's (and what ever else may be lurking....) May look fine at the place where you are testing. Even at the different sample levels. Can the sampling tube reach the area where the victim is?

You are so correct that other factors may have got them, but how do you know? Do I chance it?

Just a thought.

[enginerider50]

Now reading the initial post about the man who entered a storage facility to retrieve apples.


First off if anyone has ever been around these types of storage facilities would know that these are good size rooms/buildings that hold many, many crates of apples. For the sake of argument we will assume that the room was 12'x20'x10'. Limited access do to the nature of the environmental considerations.....nitrogen enriched atmosphere. The crates of apples themselves are closely approximated @ 4'x4'x4'.

Now thinking about this we can assume that entry was made through 6' wide door. So then why would an SCBA be un-acceptable if you are going into a room that size to rescue a downed person? Additionally a tag line for the rescuer would be needed.

It always amazes me that when scenario's are posted on here every one puts in their own $0.02 without first going back to the original post and thinking about what is being said.

Spearsm said

Let me throw this in the mix.

Did the hole watch see individual "x" go down?
Did he hollar, "ouch"? Grab his heart?
Did the watch hear the famous "GONG" when a head meets a hollow object? Was that his head or him slumping to the floor.

Due to the configuration of the CS, the downed individual may in fact be in the pocket of the stuff that got him/her. The 02 levels, CO, H2S and LEL's (and what ever else may be lurking....) May look fine at the place where you are testing. Even at the different sample levels. Can the sampling tube reach the area where the victim is?

You are so correct that other factors may have got them, but how do you know? Do I chance it?

Just a thought.

Not picking on you, but this a fine example of what I was getting @. Just go back to the original scenario and think about the building/room. These scenarios can be "what if'd" to death.

sorry about the soap box.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

[spearsm]

Not picking on you, but this a fine example of what I was getting @. Just go back to the original scenario and think about the building/room. These scenarios can be "what if'd" to death.

sorry about the soap box.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled programming.

It's all good, bro! :) I don't take it as picking.

Now go back and reread my post. I was refering to what Lutan1 said about going in after a heart attack/whacked head; those times when supplimented 02 is not technically needed.

I had to go back and reread MY post. I don't see it as "what-if`n". I believe I was just throwing out the common variables that exist with all possible confined space rescues.

As I hear at work, all the time.........It's all good :cool:

[E229Lt]

If you use a monitor with Oxygen reading capabilities, it will determine if it is safe to enter.

This will only tell you that there is sufficient oxygen to support life. Monitors are product specific and will only give you a reading of gasses which it has sensors to read. If your meter is set up with O2, SO2, CO and HS sensors (common to confined space monotoring) and there is another gas present in the room which has overcome the victim, your assumption that it is safe based on the O2 readings could be fatal.

[RadRob]

Huh? :confused:

How do you get a fire situation from my suggesation of heart attack, fainting from heat, hitting your head, etc whilst in a confined space?

Let's see...

Heart attack - from working too hard extinguishing a fire.
Fainting from heat - Duh, fire=heat.
Hitting your head - ceiling falling in from fire.

If you were talking about a non-fire situation, please state that if you want to avoid confusion. My examples above, I have seen a time or two.

Not picking on you, but this a fine example of what I was getting @. Just go back to the original scenario and think about the building/room. These scenarios can be "what if'd" to death.

We have to "what if" everytime we go somewhere for a fire. If we didn't, there would be many more LODD's. The "what if's" are where we get the SOP's from. We are in the "what if" business.

[E229Lt]

If you were talking about a non-fire situation, please state that if you want to avoid confusion. My examples above, I have seen a time or two.

Rad,
This whole thread was about a non-fire event.

[RadRob]

Rad,
This whole thread was about a non-fire event.

The original post was, yes. However, lutan1 stated, and I quote:

The correct procedure for ANY rescue in confined spaces/oxygen deficient atmospheres is to perform atmospheric monitoring.

The word ANY is what I disagree with. While atmosheric monitoring should be done in most cases, it is not the ONLY precaution you take when performing a rescue. It is best to be on air whenever you are uncertain of the situation. Period.

[RalphSafety]

See below. One question, how long does it take to do atmospheric monitoring? Would you not be able to get your SCBA on in the same amount of time? While SCBA would be cumbersome in a confined space, this particular incident was not a confined space, so the atmospheric monitoring might be wasting valuable time, and I would suspect many fire departments dont have this equipment.

Man who suffered oxygen deprivation in warehouse dies
By MARK MOREY
YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC

A Naches Heights man who was critically hurt when he rushed into an oxygen-deprived fruit warehouse to save an collapsed worker has died, authorities said Thursday.

Jim Dale, 58, was pronounced dead about 3:15 p.m. Wednesday at Yakima Valley Memorial Hospital, Yakima County Coroner Maury Rice said.

Dale had been in critical condition since Monday morning, when he entered a controlled-atmosphere storage building to try to save an employee of Vander Houwen orchards.

The company owns the warehouse in the 1400 block of Naches Heights Road where the incident happened.

Dale was waiting outside while Vander Houwen worker Billy Harris retrieved fruit samples from inside. When Harris didn't return on time, Dale tried to save him.

Both were overcome in the nitrogen-rich atmosphere, but neighbors managed to drag them out of the building.

Harris refused treatment at the hospital.

Company owner Nick Vander Houwen said Thursday that it would have been normal for Dale to rush to someone else's aid.

"Jim, as usual, tried to help, which is the way he lived his life. He's going to leave a very large void in our life," Vander Houwen said.

Dale, who lived nearby, was at the house Monday morning to share his regular cup of coffee when he volunteered to watch the door for Harris.

Vander Houwen said fruit samples normally would have been stored just inside a door for safe recovery, but that apparently didn't happen this year.

Because an employee was also involved in the incident, the state Department of Labor and Industries is investigating the case for possible workplace violations.

Speaking in general terms, agency representative Elaine Fischer said Thursday that labor rules might require a respirator or other safety precautions when entering a controlled-atmosphere environment. About 60 percent of confined-space deaths involve rescuers, Fischer said.

Because of the state investigation, Vander Houwen was earlier reluctant to discuss the exact circumstances.

The two men and their wives had come to know each other as they worked together on crops and traveled to industry shows, among other activities. Dale stopped by the house several times a week, and visited Vander Houwen every day while he was in the hospital.

Harris also knew Dale well, and "he's had a struggle dealing with this, as we have," Vander Houwen said.

Dale's family could not be reached Thursday. According to a death notice submitted to the Yakima Herald-Republic, he was a physical therapist before becoming a farmer.

Vander Houwen said the effects of Parkinson's disease had forced Dale to retire from his first career and then from raising apples, but he continued to grow hay for sale.

Survivors include his wife and three children.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday in Yakima.

[E229Lt]

this particular incident was not a confined space

I couldn't agree less.

[Lewiston2Capt]

I am going to agree with the Lt on this one. At least here in NYS confined space entry is supposed to be accompanied by atmospheric monitoring. I would consider the original senario to be a confined space entry due to the nature of the atmosphere contained within, it would probably also have limited egress/access. Should a rescue be needed within a confined space, the quickest method would be to donn some sort of breathing apparatus and make entry. Monitoring takes time. I can put a pack on in 30 seconds. To take samples at 3 different levels could take longer depending on tank size. I would prefer to err on the side of caution and bring my own air in with me.

[Lewiston2Capt]

this particular incident was not a confined space,
The following is the OSHA definition of a confined space. I believe that this space meets the requirements for a "Permit Required Confined space"

Adequate size and configuration for Employee entry? Yep
Limited means of access or egress: I would think so since they are purging the room with Nitrogen you wouldnt want a ton of openings, one opening could be considered limited.
Not designed for continuous occupancy: I would say that is self explanitory.

OSHA defines a confined space as an area, which has:
adequate size and configuration for employee entry;
has limited means of access or egress; and
is not designed for continuous employee occupancy.
Confined spaces are classified as either "non-permit required confined spaces" or "permit required confined spaces." OSHA uses the term "permit-required confined space" (permit space) to describe those spaces that both meet the definition of "confined space" and pose health or safety hazards. A hazard assessment needs to be conducted and documented in order to classify a confined space.

The OSHA Standard "Permit Required Confined Spaces" (1910.146) requires that employees be protected from life threatening hazards associated with entry into confined spaces.

A Permit Required Confined Space contains or has the potential to contain one or more of the following hazards:

Atmospheric hazards: Oxygen enrichment or deficiency, flammable /explosive vapors or gases, or toxic vapors and gases.
Engulfment hazards: Materials within the space that could engulf entrant(s)
Internal configuration hazards: Spaces whose internal configuration (inwardly converging walls) could trap or asphyxiate entrant(s).
Other recognized serious safety or health hazards.