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11 March 2010 - Another tragic death in a hotel cellar today highlights the dangers of carbon dioxide in poorly ventilated areas. According to newspaper reports a 54 year old worker at a hotel near Colac, Victoria was in the cellar receiving a delivery of beer kegs. Equipment in the cellar was damaged during the delivery and there was a release of carbon dioxide. The worker was asphyxiated. A second person was able to escape the cellar uninjured. Worksafe Victoria issued an improvement notice to the hotel following the incident. The hotel must now install fixed air monitoring equipment in the cellar. A free publication "Preventing Cellar Beverage Gas Leaks" is available at Worksafe Victoria. Another summary of cellar safety requirements is provided by Australian Hotels Association NSW . Other recent incidents in cellars include: 8 July 2009 - A worker is seriously injured by an explosion in a hotel cellar in Echuca, Victoria. It is believed that acetylene leaking from a cylinder in the cellar caused the explosion. 1998 Victoria - Worker dies after entering a cellar with leaking carbon dioxide |
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Drilling Supply Vessel - 3 dead cleaning tank |
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3 October 2009 - Three people have died while cleaning a water based mud tank on drilling supply vessel in Nigeria. The company involved with the incident was contracting to Mobil Producing Nigeria (MPN) a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil.
The three men had cleaned three other tanks on the vessel prior to the incident. Preliminary investigations found that entry permits and initial gas testing had been conducted however continuous gas monitoring and ventilation was not in operation.
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$500k Prosecution - Confined Space Fatality |
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(From abc.net.au/news) A Melbourne company has been fined $500,000 over the death of a worker two years ago.
The Victorian County Court heard 42-year-old Geoffrey Johnson inhaled toxic fumes from paint stripper when he was cleaning the inside of a large chemical tank at Altona North.
The court was told Mr Johnson did not have a permit to climb inside the tank, and he did so without any safety equipment, and with no supervision.
His employer, Depot Vic Proprietary Limited, pleaded guilty to two breaches of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
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Updated Standard - AS 2865-2009 |
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At last, it has arrived! After weeks and months and years of hard work and debate, the Confined Spaces standard has been released.
AS2865 - 2009 Confined Spaces is now available for purchase from SAI Global. There are quite a few changes from the previous standard:
- Confined space definition updated (which may be adopted by all state authorities??)
- Standby Person - clarification of roles and options for "alternative means"
- Training modules and competency requirements described
As a member of the committee that re-wrote the standard, I may be a little biased, but the new standard is a big improvement on the previous edition.
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Prevent Falls AROUND Confined Spaces |
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Worker Survives 7m Fall into Water Tank (4 August 2009 - Launceston, Australia)
Incidents like this are a reminder of the importance of fall prevention around openings to tanks and pits. I often see photos in catalogues and brochures advertising the latest tripods and retrieval systems for confined space entrants, while the winch operator is leaning over an open pit without any fall prevention!
An open pit or tank also seems to draw in on-lookers. The best way to prevent on-looks and winch operators from ending up in the bottom of the pit is to install temporary edge rails. Bolt them in where possible, otherwise tie off and secure portable rails to some other fixed structure.
Maybe we could start a media watch? Send me photos of safety advertisements that also contain safety breaches!
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