BACKGROUND: On a fall day in the South, a logging crew foreman was cleaning tools.
PERSONAL CHARACTERISTICS: The 19-year-old crew foreman had been employed in logging for approximately one year. A third-generation logger, he was considered “logging knowledgeable.” His level of safety training, including familiarity with a hazard communication (HAZCOM) program, was unknown. He was wearing a hard hat.
UNSAFE ACTS AND CONDITIONS: The crew foreman was using ether spray from an aerosol can to clean dirt and grease off wrenches and tools that were lying on the folded-out side door of the service truck. He apparently ignored or was unaware of the explosive nature of ether fumes. He had just stopped spraying ether on a tool when a co-worker approached him and, for unknown reasons, flicked his cigarette lighter. The lighter did not ignite, but it emitted sparks.
ACCIDENT: The ether still in the air immediately “blew up” and burned the side-door “work table,” the area around the worker’s chest and even down into his pants. His clothes caught on fire, and he ran around wildly. Crew workers had to tackle him to get him to “stop, drop, and roll.”
INJURY: He received third-degree burns in numerous spotty occurrences all over his chest. He required many skin grafts, and he required follow-up treatments that were expected to extend well into the future.
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR CORRECTION: Be aware that ether spray products (diethyl ether) for use as a starting fluid are very dangerous. The volatile hydrocarbons are very explosive. Ether should never be used as a cleaning agent. (Note: Some individuals working on tires have used ether and fire in a very dangerous manner to pop a tire back onto a rim—the explosion causes the beads on tubeless tires to expand and fully seat the tire on the rim. This maneuver is like courting death.)
Never smoke, use flame, or create a spark close to a volatile chemical.
Employers must develop and implement a hazard communication (HAZCOM) program that includes container labeling and hazardous chemical recognition training for all employees, and they must provide a material safety data sheet (MSDS) for each chemical used on the job. MSDS’s list known hazards of the product being used.
All hazardous products on the job must be used for their intended purpose only.
Supplied by Forest Resources Assn.