Upstream Operations: Fatalities

Related to Confined Vapors and Gases

Susan Monroe, M.S., CIH
US DOL/OSHA

Upstream, Midstream, Downstream

Upstream: exploration, testing, rigging up,

digging, drilling, extraction, rigging down
Midstream: transportation to downstream factilities
(basically)
Downstream: petroleum product distribution, retail
outlets and natural gas distribution companies. The
downstream industry touches consumers through
thousands of products such as gasoline or petrol,
diesel, jet fuel, heating oil, asphalt, lubricants,
synthetic rubber, plastics, fertilizers, antifreeze,
pesticides, pharmaceuticals, natural gas, and propane

Confined Space

Is large enough for an employee to enter fully and

perform assigned work;
Is not designed for continuous occupancy by the
employee; and
Has a limited or restricted means of entry or exit.
These spaces may include underground vaults,
tanks, storage bins, pits and diked areas, vessels,
silos and other similar areas.

Permit Required Confined Space

A confined space which has one or more of these

characteristics:
Contains or has the potential to contain a hazardous
atmosphere;
Contains a material with the potential to engulf
someone who enters the space;
Has an internal configuration that might cause an
entrant to be trapped or asphyxiated by inwardly
converging walls or by a floor that slopes downward
and tapers to a smaller cross section; and/or
Contains any other recognized serious safety or health
hazards.

Upstream Fatalities in the Past Four

Years
# Upstream Fatalities
45
40
35
30
25

# Upstream Fatalities

20
15
10
5
0
2008

2009

2010

2011

2012

Upstream Fatalities: Fatality Event

# Fatalities
Other
Inhalation of toxic or Asphyxia
Struck-By (unrelated to an
Fall (unrelated to an

# Fatalities

Electrocution
"Heart Attack"/Heat/No
Blowout/Explosion/Overpres
0

20

40

60

80

Why focus on confined gases /vapors

when most fatalities are struck-by or
falls?
Fall hazards are usually obvious
Struck-by and Fall fatalities are often indirectly caused
by release of built-up gas or vapor pressure, e.g., a blowout
causes the rig to collapse
Built up gas and vapors are an underlying cause in many
oil and gas fatalities
This type of gas and vapor fatality represents a less
recognized hazard scenario. It does not fit a confined
space definition due to lack of entry and it is not covered
by the PSM standard, which addresses overpressurization
The physical hazard of a gas/vapor under pressure often
underlies these fatalities

Ages of Heart Attack/Heat/ No

Witness Victims
# "Heart Attack"/Heat/No Witness Victims
Above 50
age 40-50
# "Heart
Attack"/Heat/Unknown
Victims

age 31-40
Age 20-30
0

Where Heart Attack/Heat/No

Witness Victims were Found

beneath the stairs leading to the rig floor

lower deck in front of drill rig
beside manhole where the filling pipes are
located
under the substructure of the drilling floor
near the oil well
under the tire of the defoaming machine
at drilling rig #3
by storage tank #1

Was it a Heart Attack?

Burden on OSHA: How can you prove it was not?

Many times no witness, just a body
Gas is gone from the air, cannot sample
By-products of the fatal gases also occur naturally
in the human body
Difficulty of getting fresh post-mortem samples:
custody of corpse, OSHA not a forensic agency,
autopsies conducted by local, non-federal
agencies, subject to local budgets and politics
Even in cases of H2S overexposure, it may be
ruled natural causes because the heart failed

Case study: typical fall fatality where

gas may have been released
January 2011 Oklahoma: employee #1
(28 years old) was observed running to the
stairway on the rigemployee #2 lost
sight of him as he approached the
stairway. Employee #1 was found later
that day, lying beneath the stairway
leading up to the rigno one witnessed
the accidentthe victim may have slipped
going up the stairway

Case Study: Typical Struck-By Fatality

Caused by Sudden Gas Release

January 2011 Colorado: The motorman of

an oil drilling rig was struck by an
unexpected release of pressurized drilling
mud when a threaded nipple connection
on the pipe stand came loose. The
motorman was then burned when the mud
struck a nearby halogen light fixture on the
rig which ignited

Case Study: Typical Struck-by Fatality

Caused by Over Pressurization of Gas

November 2010 Oklahoma: Six workers

arrived at Gas well #3 to clean it. The crew
was performing normal procedures for
servicing a gas well. They connected a
blowout preventer valve first. Later during the
cleaning, a tubing became stuck in the well.
They attempted to work it free, but the tubing
broke and was ejected from the well. They
ran from the well. The blown tubing struck
Employee #1 in the back of his head, killing
him instantly.

Other OSHA Standards that Relate to Confined

Vapors and Gases (besides the confined space
standard)

1910.134
1910.1000
1910.253
1910.120
1910.132

Why is 1910.1000 Hardly Ever Cited in

these Situations?

Confined spaces change rapidly

After gas is released and blowout occurs,
or explosion, dispersion occurs
Non-Newtonian fluid issue ---the stirring/
sheering of the fluid stops due to the
traumatic event, so gas stops being
released

Take Home Message to Avoid These

Hazards:

Consider Vapor and Gas buildup

Look for electrical sources near gases and vapors
Whatever is containing the gas may leak or burst
Most gases have poor warning properties
Gas concentrations can change quickly, even in open air
Gas is used everyday, everywhere, and this lessens
employee hazard perception
Upstream operations employees tend to underestimate
hazards
Most oil and gas workers have 12 hour shifts; fatigue adds
to lack of understanding unseen hazards