Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
on the way. After arriving at the hospital, the victim was later transferred
by medi-vac to another hospital in Oklahoma City where he was treated for
injuries. On June 12, the company was notified by a representative of the
hospital that the victim had died.
•
On November 11, 2005, a man and two coworkers were removing and
replacing a broken bolt in the nacelle assembly of a wind turbine tower
that was approximately 200 feet above the ground. They were heating the
bolt with an oxygen-acetylene torch when a fire stated. The man retreated
to the rear of the nacelle, away from the ladder access area. Although his
two coworkers were able to descend the tower, the man fell approximately
200 feet to the ground, struck an electrical transformer box, and was killed.
•
At approximately 11:40 a.m. on June 17, 1992, a worker attempted to
descend an 80-foot ladder that accessed a wind turbine generator. The
worker slipped and fell from the ladder and was killed. The victim was
wearing his company-furnished safety belt, but the safety lanyards were
not attached. Both lanyards were later discovered attached to their tie-off
connection at the top of the turbine generator.
•
A site foreman was replacing a 480-volt circuit breaker serving a wind tur-
bine. He turned a rotary switch to what he thought was the open position
in order to isolate the circuit breaker; however, the worker did not test the
circuit to ensure that it was de-energized. The worker had placed the rotary
switch in a closed position, and the circuit breaker remained energized by
back feed from a transformer. Using two plastic-handled screwdrivers, he
shorted two contacts on the breaker to discharge static voltage buildup. This
caused a fault and the resultant electric arc caused deep flash burns to the
worker's face and arms and ignited his shirt. The worker was hospitalized
in a burn unit for 4 days.
C
Ase
s
tudy
2.1. W
ind
t
Turbine
f
fAtAlity*
*
The Oregon Department of Consumer and Business Services, Occupational Safety
and Health Division (Oregon OSHA), fined Siemens Power Generation, Inc., a total
of $10,500 for safety violations related to an August 25, 2007, wind turbine collapse
that killed one worker and injured another.
“The investigation found no structural problems with the tower,” said Michael
Wood, Oregon OSHA administrator. “This tragedy was the result of a system that
allowed the operator to restart the turbine after service while the blades were locked
in a hazardous position. Siemens has made changes to the tower's engineering con-
trols to ensure it does not happen again.”
The event took place at the Klondike III Wind Farm near Wasco, where three wind
technicians were performing maintenance on a wind turbine tower. After applying
a service brake to stop the blades from moving, one of the workers entered the hub
*
Adapted from Department of Consumer Business & Services, Oregon OSHA Releases Findings
in Wind Turbine Collapse [news release], Oregon Occupational Safety and Health Administration,
Salem, OR, February 26, 2008.
