Another round of OSHA’s most interesting cases

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Carbon monoxide exposure

Thirty workers at a meatpacking facility were poisoned after an employee replaced a cylinder of a tri-gas blend with one containing only carbon monoxide.

Presented by Shawn Merillat, industrial hygienist, Wichita, KS

The facility used modified atmosphere packaging to help extend the shelf life of its products. Normally, that process relied on a blend of nitrogen, carbon dioxide and 0.41% carbon monoxide to package beef products.

“Unfortunately, before the incident occurred, the employer stored all of the cylinders in the same cage,” Merillat said.

The packaging line ran for about 20 minutes before numerous employees needed assistance to leave the facility. Sixteen of the workers were transported to hospitals and six were admitted, including two pregnant employees.

Investigation details

Merillat said the employees had no training on the chemicals they were using or how to read hazard communication labels. In addition, the facility wasn’t equipped with carbon monoxide sensors or alarms.

OSHA issued eight serious citations – five related to the carbon monoxide release.

“Had that machine been running a little bit faster, had the exposure period lasted a little bit longer or the room been a little bit smaller, we could have had 30 fatalities,” Merillat said.