By Shelbie Harris sharris@journalnet.com
SODA SPRINGS, IDAHO — A worker at Monsanto in Soda Springs was critically injured Friday morning following an industrial accident near the kiln located inside a structure in the main manufacturing building.
The incident occurred around 8 a.m. when the employee fell from a grate suspended 20 feet in the air that gave way unexpectedly.
“The employee fell and EMTs immediately responded,” said Monsanto spokesman Trent Clark.
The employee was transported to Caribou Memorial Hospital via ambulance and after conducting an assessment, medical staff transported the employee to the University of Utah Medical Center trauma unit via helicopter.
“The employee was experiencing pain,” Clark said. “We don’t have an X-ray unit on site, but the employee was awake and alert as they left in the ambulance.”
Clark believes the employee had ascended a stairwell and, upon stepping on the grated-platform, it gave way causing him to plummet to the ground below.
“We don’t know how far he fell,” Clark said. “We just know that when the grate is suspended as it should be it is about 20 feet off the ground.”
The current condition of the employee, who remains unidentified until the family has been notified, also remains unknown at this time.
In addition to conducting a thorough investigation of the accident, which Clark expects could take a few days to complete, Monsanto plans to release an official statement regarding the incident later today.
Further details on how the accident occurred have not yet been released.
Worker dies in industrial accident at Vale in Sudbury, Ont.
Worker was an employee of Cecchetto and Sons, a Sudbury-based general contractor
CBC News Last Updated: Apr 07, 2017 2:18 PM ET
A sign on the Vale tailings near Copper Cliff warns workers to stay safe. (Erik White/CBC )
Ontario's Ministry of Labour has confirmed a contract worker hurt Thursday afternoon on the Vale tailings property has died.
In an email to CBC News, ministry spokesperson Janet Deline said the employee was pinned underneath the tires of a dump truck, causing fatal injuries.
The ministry said it was notified of the incident around 10:15 p.m. Thursday.
Knowing exactly how the worker ended up underneath the equipment may take some time, Deline said in a subsequent interview.
"An investigation can take upwards of about a year to complete, if necessary, because if charges are warranted ... [they] have to be issued within one year of the date of the offense," she said.
Ontario's Ministry of Labour confirmed that a contract worker was killed at Vale's tailings site near Copper Cliff. (Vale)
Earlier Friday morning, officials with Vale, the owner of the property on which the incident occurred, said in a written release that the employee sustained "critical injuries" while disposing of waste materials at a tailings dump as part of Vale's Clean AER project.
The worker is not being named "out of respect for the family."
The worker was an employee of Cecchetto and Sons, a general contractor based in Sudbury.
"Our thoughts are with the family, co-workers and friends of this individual," Dave Stefanuto, Vale's vice-president of north Atlantic projects said in the release.
"We are doing everything we can to support them and to better understand what happened during this incident."
The Ministry of Labour and Sudbury police are investigating, along with Vale and other contractors. The ministry confirmed that, as of Friday morning, no work site orders had been issued.
The Clean AER project involves a number of upgrades to Vale's Sudbury smelter that are required to bring the company in-line with the province's updated air quality standards for sulfur emissions.
(Image: Hawaii News Now/file)
KAPOLEI, OAHU (HawaiiNewsNow) -
A 41-year-old man was killed in an industrial accident at the H-POWER plant on Thursday.
Authorities say the man died of critical injuries to his lower extremities.
The accident happened at around 12:20 p.m., according to Emergency Medical Services officials. He was pronounced dead at the scene. There were no obvious signs of foul play, according to police investigators.
Covanta, the company that runs the H-POWER plant, issued a statement saying, "All of us at Covanta are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend and co-worker. Our deepest sympathies are with his family and friends at this most difficult time."
H-POWER, owned by the City and County of Honolulu, burns garbage to produce steam, which drives a turbine generator. The electricity is then sold to the Hawaiian Electric Company for distribution.
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Investigation underway after H-Power worker killed in facility accident
By Web Staff Updated: April 7, 2017, 4:10 pm
The company behind H-POWER says an employee was killed in an accident at the facility.
Covanta says it happened at around noon Thursday.
The Honolulu medical examiner has identified the victim as Gulston Spragling, 41, of Waianae.
The state Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Division is investigating the incident. Inspectors were at the scene Thursday and Friday.
Officials say Covanta has a clean record, and participates in HIOSH’s Hawaii Voluntary Protection Program, which means the company has a good safety record and met high safety standards for several years.
According to Covanta, “the investigation into the accident is ongoing and we are cooperating fully with local authorities as we work diligently to determine exactly what happened.”
In a statement, the company said, “All of us at Covanta are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend and co-worker. Our deepest sympathies are with his family and friends at this most difficult time.
“At Covanta, the safety of our employees is our top priority. Tragedies like this remind us how precious life is.”
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Covanta Honolulu
Covanta Honolulu, known locally as the H-POWER (Honolulu Program of Waste Energy Recovery) facility, began commercial operation in May 1990 and is owned by the City and County of Honolulu. Covanta acquired the operating contract in 1993. Located in Kapolei, on the island of Oahu, the facility serves the municipal waste disposal needs of more than 850,000 residents and more than six million visitors to the island each year. The facility processes up to 3,000 tons per day of municipal solid waste, generating up to 90 megawatts of energy– enough to meet nearly 8 percent of Oahu's energy needs. H-POWER also recovers thousands of tons of ferrous (steel) and non-ferrous (aluminum alloy) metal for recycling each year. In 2012, Covanta completed an expansion that increased the facility's processing capacity by an additional 900 tons per day. The project was featured in Power Magazine.
Commercial Operation: May 1990
Waste Processing Capacity: 3,000 tons per day
Update on the CSB's Assessment into Fatal Explosion in
St. Louis, MO
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board’s three person investigation team arrived onsite
at the Loy-Lange Box 
Company to begin its
assessment on Thursday April 6th. Since arriving on site the
following activities and analysis have been conducted:
- CSB investigators visited all three sites impacted by
the April 3rd incident: 1) Faultless Linen; 2) Pioneer
Industrial Corp.; and 3) Loy-Lange Box Company.
- While early media reports were calling the equipment
involved in the incident a “boiler,” the vessel that launched into the
Faultless Linen building was a hot water storage tank also called a
semi-closed receiver or SCR. This tank was part of a steam generator
system that serves the same purpose as a boiler, but is of a different
design.
- The SCR launched out of the Loy-Lange facility and into
the Faultless Linen site, crashing into an office area. An initial
examination found that the vessel appears to have landed top down into a
room where three people were present.
- The three people in the office room were fatally
injured
- The structural integrity of the Faultless Linen office
area is still being assessed. The failure mode of the SCR is unknown.
Currently, it is too dangerous to enter the room to conduct an in-depth
examination. The CSB has begun discussions with the appropriate
entities on site to remove the equipment to allow forensic examination.
- An initial assessment also found that an approximately
12.5 foot long pipe, which had been attached to the SCR, crashed through
the roof of the Pioneer facility. It stuck in the roof and punctured an
office ceiling, where it remained until the company removed it to
temporarily re-roof the hole to protect the building from water damage.
- Structural engineers retained by the CSB determined
that the Loy-Lange site is not safe for CSB entry at this time. CSB
investigators have photo-documented the perimeter.
- The CSB is coordinating its investigation efforts with
local emergency responders and other federal agencies and investigative
entities.
- CSB investigators are likely to remain on site for the
next several days. Additional updates will be provided as the
investigation develops.
The CSB is an independent federal agency whose
mission is to drive chemical safety change through independent investigations
to protect people and the environment. The agency’s board members are appointed
by the President and confirmed by the Senate. CSB investigations look into all
aspects of chemical incidents, including physical causes such as equipment
failure as well as inadequacies in regulations, industry standards, and safety
management systems.
LAPEER, MI -- A 47-year-old man died Friday, April 7 after he became trapped underneath a steel fixture inside a Lapeer plant.
Lapeer police and fire were called out shortly after 11 a.m. April 7 to Lapeer Industries Inc., 3140 John Conley Drive, for an entrapment of a worker and found the man seriously injured.
Employees and officers were able to work together and extricate the worker from underneath the steel fixture. Life-saving measures were immediately undertaken on the worker.
He was transported by Medstar ambulance to McLaren-Lapeer and later pronounced dead. A preliminary investigation has revealed the worker's death appears to have been the result of an industrial accident.
His name has not been released by police, pending family notification.
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About Lapeer Industries
Lapeer Industries, Inc has been consistently meeting automotive and military needs since 1974.
As a veteran owned, small business corporation, we take pride in our reputation for manufacturing top-quality parts.
We provide prompt, on-time service, reliable products, and assure complete quality control. Satisfied customers are our highest priority.
Over 40 Years of Dedicated Service
More About Our Company
Founded in 1974 by Carl W. Schreiber, Lapeer Industries, Inc. has been an valuable leader in providing our automotive and defense industries customers with innovation, dedication, and trustworthy relationships that continue today, over 40 years later.
Due to participation and dedication, Lapeer Industries has one of the lowest employee turnover rates in the industry. We run two shifts everyday, to assure that our products are delivered on time and with the highest standard of quality.
As specialists in manufacturing, prototyping, and engineering, our key personnel will work directly with your engineers to assure cost-effective results.
Our program management team ensures top quality customer service and points of contact assistance to all of our customers. Scheduling, material yields, logistics, and cost analysis reports are just some of the daily responsibilities performed by Lapeer Industries program management team.
Lapeer Industries uses state-of-the-art manufacturing equipment to ensure competitive products at competitive prices without sacrificing quality.
At Lapeer Industries, we stand behind everything we manufacture 100%. Products must meet our high standards as well as yours. Our materials come only from approved suppliers; all materials are inspected, tested to appropriate standards, and verified by our Quality Control Department before put into production. We are capable of accommodating strict automotive requirements, as well as precision military steel mill-work.
Due to our extensive military background, Lapeer Industries was selected by Textron Marine and Land Systems / Cadillac Gage to manufacture turrets, fenders and differentials as well as other various assemblies for their ASV vehicle. Lapeer Industries was also chosen to manufacture the Scout Vehicle (including hull fabrication and machining) equipped with 7.62mm machine guns. Because of our knowledge and service, we’ve provided various military components to prime contractors.
In addition to our team of trained professionals, our complete computer-aided design system provides extensive data communication and technical analysis. We will design to your specification, or use existing designs to manufacture your product.
Our headquarters is located in Lapeer, MI. Lapeer Industries is centrally located in a tri-state area, approximately 60 miles from Detroit, and 20 miles from Flint. Access to Interstate 69 is only 5 minutes away, and we are only 20 minutes from Interstate 75. Click here for directions.
