DES MOINES, Wash. — A company is facing over $166,000 in fines after two of its employees were badly burned while inspecting a propane tank that exploded twice.
On Aug. 22, 2024, a resort on the Kitsap Peninsula hired Des Moines-based Calhoun Tanks & Services Inc., to inspect an 18,000-gallon underground propane tank to determine if it could be put back into use.
When the two employees cut open piping to the underground tank, propane leaked, which caused flammable gas and vapor to spread throughout a fenced area where above-ground tanks sit.
The gas and vapor activated a battery in the vaporizer, which caused it to explode.
No one was hurt in this explosion.
According to the Department of Labor and Industries (L&I), the owner of Calhoun looked at the vaporizer but did not modify settings.
Work continued with no changes and a second explosion happened two hours later, this time, seriously injuring two employees.
One worker was hospitalized with burns to 30% of his body and spent more than a month in the intensive care unit. The other suffered burns to his arms and was treated and released from the hospital the same day.
“Exposure to hazards of this nature can lead to serious injuries involving permanent disability, death, or chronic irreversible illness,” the citation from L&I said.
In total, Calhoun has been told to pay $166,423 in fines for “willful serious” and “serious” workplace injuries.
The money collected from the claims will go to a workers’ compensation supplemental pension fund.
L&I claims:
- Employer did not evaluate predictable hazards while conducting pre-entry operations for permit-required confined space entry
- Employer did not eliminate or control all sources of ignition while working in a liquid propane tank storage area where flammable gases/ vapors may be present
Calhoun has said it will appeal L&I’s decision.
“It didn’t just happen once. The employer knew the risks and allowed it to happen again,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety and Health. “These workers will carry those scars the rest of their life because their employer ignored commonsense rules to keep them safe.”
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