Accident: 170384283 - One Killed, One Injured In Blast Furnace Release

Employee #1 was operating a Daewoo excavator with a ram attachment for breaking concrete. He was on an 11 ft 6 in. wide ramp, trying to break out the refractory wall of a blast furnace. When the ram broke through the wall, hot coke, taconite, coal dust, and superheated steam rolled outward and engulfed the excavator and Employee #1. He was burned to death. Employee #2, who was in the area, was treated at the plant's infirmary for breathing difficulties.

furnace, dismantling, blast furnace, burn, steam, construction, vapor, respiratory, air contamination, high temperature

Accident: 170386601 - Seven Injured In Blast Furnace Explosion

Employees #1 through #7 were injured in an explosion near the No. 3 tap hole of the No. 13 blast furnace. Employees #1 through #3 sustained injuries that required hospitalization.

explosion, blast furnace, furnace

Accident: 699686 - Fourteen Injured In Blast Furnace Area Explosion

On December 5, 1995, Employees #1 through #14 were attempting to swivel a blank into place into a 56 in. pipe. The purge for the system had been turned off and the gas level inside the piping system had not been tested to confirm the adequacy of the purge. An explosion occurred, followed by two additional smaller explosions, injuring Employees #1 through 14.

blast furnace, explosion, purging, work rules

Accident: 700161 - Dies Of Oxygen Deprivation .

Employee #1 was operating a rubber tire loader that was being used to clean a blast furnace slag pit. The loader bucket struck a massive quantity of molten/liquid slag and/or iron. The molten material surrounded the loader, stalling the engine. The operator was not able to restart the loader or evacuate the cab. He died from oxygen deprivation.

loader, molten slag, oxygen deficiency, suffocated, blast furnace, struck against, cleaning, work rules

Accident: 913301 - Dies Of Carbon Monoxide Exposure In Blast Furnace

Employee #1, a foreman, went to the charging platform to investigate coke blowing out of a blast furnace. The furnace was in operation and the employee entered the charging platform apparently without informing anyone and without using SCBA. Employee #1 was exposed to blast furnace gases containing large quantities of carbon monoxide. He died.

furnace, carbon monoxide, overexposure, scba, work rules, inhalation, communication, blast furnace

Accident: 723866 - Killed When Exposed To Carbon Monoxide

On November 10, 1992, Employees #1 and #2 were exposed to blast furnace gas that contained 22 percent carbon monoxide when there was a malfunction of equipment that opens and closes valves from which gas flows into a stove at a steel mill. Employee #1, a stove tender who was at the #4 stove when the valve failed to close, was asphyxiated and killed. His blood was found to have a carboxyhemoglobin level of 65.9 percent. Employee #2, employed by an outside contractor, was operating a bulldozer at a slag pit and was approximately 50 yards from the stove. Although he was exposed to lower levels of carbon monoxide, he developed an acute myocardial infarction and died.

overexposure, carbon monoxide, blast furnace, gas, mech malfunction, carboxyhemoglobin, cardiovasc system, work rules, valve, asphyxiated

Accident: 14425250 - Killed By Shrapnel From Furnace Blast

Employee #1, the blast furnace foreman, was supervising the blasting of a blast furnace. A 2 in. pipe was driven down into the furnace from the top feed floor. After the pipe was cooled with water, a stick of dynamite and a blasting cap were inserted into the pipe. While standing approximately 30 ft away in the line of sight, Employee #1 gave the OK to detonate the charge. The charge was detonated above the floor and shrapnel shot into the air. A piece punctured the employee's chest and killed him.

explosion, puncture, chest, flying object, blasting, blast furnace, dynamite, explosives, struck by