02/20/2012 // WPB, FL, USA // Injury Lawyers News // Nicole Howley
Portland, OR — A worker is dead after falling into a vat full of a corrosive and combustible chemical compound on Sunday, February 19, 2012. The work-related accident occurred on a barge docked in the Swan Island Basin just after 10 a.m., reported KGW.com.
According to reports, a worker had fallen into a tank of a wood byproduct called Lignin Amine, while walking with another worker past the vats. One worker noticed the other was missing, and saw that the man’s emergency line that had been tied to him was leading down into the tank.
The 57-year-old worker did not survive.
The vat contained 12 feet of a toxic and corrosive material, which is used in agriculture.
The man would have been knocked unconscious within seconds of falling into the tank. The oxygen level was less than one percent near the top of the tank, according to a hazardous materials team.
The vat had to be drained before firefighters in HazMat suits and oxygen tanks could receive the body.
Investigations into the accident are underway.
Legal News Reporter: Nicole Howley-Legal news for Oregon workplace accident lawyers.
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