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WorkSafeBC

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Incident Summaries

This page contains summaries of selected Notice of Incident (NI) reports received by WorkSafeBC. This information may help you to prevent similar accidents in your workplace.

You can also see summaries for all industries.

THE NI INFORMATION IS PRELIMINARY AND SUBJECT TO CHANGE. Some details have been edited to protect the privacy of workers involved.

Completed WorkSafeBC investigation reports for selected incidents are available online, sorted by industry sector.

Upstream Petroleum Industry

Injury Type : Close call New Item
Core Activity : Moving a drilling rig
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009144250156
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A drilling rig derrick (about 138 feet long) was being transported between 2 large-bed trucks. The rear truck got too close to the edge of the road and slid into the ditch, damaging the derrick. The derrick had to taken away for repairs and recertification, but no workers were injured.

Injury Type : Close call New Item
Core Activity : Gas well servicing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009165800095
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A mobile crane was moving a coiled tubing injector head (a device used to feed continuous piping into and out of a well) from the well head onto the transportation cradle. The load unexpectedly dropped 3 feet and became embedded in the rig matting (wooden mats supporting the drill rig).

Injury Type : Injury to shoulder New Item
Core Activity : Oilfield welding
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009144250163
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A service rig was being used to remove a large-diameter piece of pipe (production casing). The winch line from the service rig had been attached to the casing bowl to hold it in position. The steel casing bowl section suddenly separated from the casing and struck a worker.

Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Assembling a drilling rig
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009144250097
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A worker was driving an SUV on a resource road, heading to a drilling lease location. The road was icy and at one slippery patch, the vehicle went into a skid, sliding sideways and rolling into the ditch. The worker was not seriously injured.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Assembling a drilling rig
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009144250097
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

The operator of a 90-ton mobile crane was attempting to lift a corner section of a drilling rig substructure to level the structure. During the lift, the lifting capacity of the boom extension was exceeded and the extension bucketed. No workers were injured.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Gas production
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490100
Date of Incident : 2009-Aug

At an active sour gas processing facility (a facility that produces hydrogen sulfide gas), a 4-inch pipeline ruptured, releasing sour gas into the atmosphere at the site. Workers were immediately notified of the rupture and release, and they evacuated the site. The emergency shutdown system for the plant was successfully activated without injury or exposure to the four workers employed in the area.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil or gas well completion
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820218
Date of Incident : 2009-Apr

During well completion, an uncontrolled release of natural gas occurred. A hole was eroded during a casing coupling operation as part of a high-pressure fracturing (process to stimulate the gas formation to release its resource).

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Moving an oil and gas drilling rig
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820219
Date of Incident : 2009-Aug

A pole truck was lifting and separating a laid-down derrick (an oil and gas drilling derrick) when the structural beams on the derrick bent. The wrong lifting points were being used.

Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Oil and gas trucking
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490095
Date of Incident : 2009-Jul

An oil field tank truck was leaving an oil production facility hauling a load of produced water. The access road was muddy and very slippery, and the truck began to slide into the ditch. The driver stopped the truck. As the truck sat on the edge of the road, the shoulder gave way and the truck slid sideways into the ditch and rolled onto its side.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pipeline construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490096
Date of Incident : 2009-Jun

Two sections of pipeline (900 metres and 234 metres) needed to be welded together before being lowered down a bore hole. (A bore hole is drilled to allow a pipeline to be installed below ground by excavating the surface.) The bore hole had been drilled down the steep slope of a hill. Workers were trying to pull one of the pipe sections into position to weld the two sections together. As part of the process of pulling the pipe through the bore hole, one of the large dozers that would pull the pipe had to be repositioned. The 900-metre section of pipe buckled, pulled free from the anchor holding it in position, and rolled downslope 500 metres.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil or gas drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490066
Date of Incident : 2009-May

A slip-and-cut operation had been completed for the main load line on a drilling rig. ("Slip-and-cut" is the process by which drilling line is replaced once the duty cycle of the load line has been reached.) Following this operation, the drilling rig crew hoisted a stand of drill pipe that contacted the crown of the drilling rig. No workers were injured and operations were suspended until an engineer could re-certify the drilling rig as safe for operations.

Injury Type : Burns to face and eyes
Core Activity : Electrical repair
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009153370097
Date of Incident : 2009-May

At a crude oil pumping station, a worker was doing electrical work on a variable frequency drive (VFD). The worker was reversing the leads from the VFD to a recently installed crude oil pump when a capacitor in the VFD discharged, causing an arc flash.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pile drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009154930161
Date of Incident : 2009-May

During pile drilling on a construction site, the drill's auger bit contacted a natural gas distribution pipeline. No one was injured.

Injury Type : Injuries to ankle and foot
Core Activity : Drilling for natural gas
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820110
Date of Accident : 2009-Apr

Workers on a drilling rig were conducting a routine cut-and-slip operation (removing the worn portion of the drilling rig's main lifting cable). One of the workers unintentionally bumped a pneumatic toggle switch used to prevent two-blocking. The switch activated a cylinder that applies the draw work's brake, pinning a worker's ankle between the cylinder yoke and a pivot shaft.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pipeline installation
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490044
Date of Accident : 2009-Apr

Workers were hydrovacing (a process using hot water and vacuum suction to locate and expose underground utilities) and excavating around an existing sour gas pipeline. The workers did not anticipate a bend in the pipeline. The excavator ruptured the pipeline, releasing sour gas (hydrogen sulfide) and fluids into the immediate work area. Workers evacuated the area and the rupture was contained without any workers being injured.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Drilling and pipe laying
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820076
Date of Incident : 2009-Mar

During a severe winter storm, the dome of a water treatment facility used for oil and gas drilling fluids collapsed. The dome was air-suspended (like a stadium dome). No one was inside or near the dome when it collapsed.

Injury Type : Blunt force injuries to upper body
Core Activity : Pipeline construction
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163790035
Date of Accident : 2009-Mar

A worker was pressure-testing a recently installed 6-inch natural gas pipeline. At about 1260 psi, the test head weld failed. The worker was injured by the blast force and spray of methanol/water mix.

Injury Type : Abdominal injuries
Core Activity : Seismic drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009144250039
Date of Accident : 2009-Mar

Young worker (ages 15-24)
Worker's experience at this task is unknown

A tracked water hauler vehicle for filling seismic drill units struck a downed tree on the right of way used for access to the seismic program. As the tracked hauler passed the downed tree, a branch from the tree released, sprang up, and broke through the hauler's front window. The limb injured the operator (a young worker) and and broke through the rear window guarding.

Injury Type : Exposure to H2S gas and other injuries (1 worker); exposure to H2S gas (1 worker)
Core Activity : Pipeline maintenance
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490021
Date of Accident : 2009-Feb

As workers prepared to launch a pig into an 18-inch sour gas pipeline, the pig trap ruptured upstream of the valve pressuring the launcher. The rupture of the line caused a large release of sour gas, which threw one worker over 30 feet. A second worker escaped to a safe area. Both workers suffered exposure to hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas and the thrown worker suffered additional injuries. (Pigging is the process of running a plug down a pipeline to remove water and other contaminants in the line. A pig trap is a riser in the pipeline in which the pipe is brought to the surface to allow for the introduction of cleaning tools or other work processes.)

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Water tanker trucking
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163790018
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

A tandem-axle water tanker was travelling on a resource road. The truck left the road, severing the water tank from the chasis.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil and gas well construction and drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009154930085
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As drill pipe and equipment were being hoisted on a drilling rig, the travelling blocks contacted the crown blocks. The anti-two-block device had been disabled.

Injury Type : Fractured vertebra, bruising
Core Activity : Oil and gas drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820039
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

As a 30-foot length of casing pipe (7 inches in diameter) was being lowered, the lifting clamp contacted another piece of drilling equipment. The contact caused the latch on the clamp to release and the clamp opened. The suspended pipe dropped and struck a young worker.

Injury Type : Multiple fractures
Core Activity : Stringing pipe
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009144250021
Date of Incident : 2009-Feb

Workers were laying 24-inch-diameter pipe using a pipeline side boom unit. As the side boom moved forward to get a shorter piece of pipe off a tractor-trailer, its rear lifting hook inadvertently caught a longer piece of pipe. The longer pipe was pulled forward, pinning a worker against the bulkhead of the tractor-trailer unit.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil and gas well drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009158820025
Date of Incident : 2009-Jan

As an oil and gas well was being drilled, a kick (a release of gas and oil toward the surface) occurred. The kick was felt 10 metres from the targeted completion zone of the well. The weighted drilling mud being used was insufficient to control the influx of gas from the formation. Gas and oil bubbled out of the mud tank at the drilling rig, causing sour gas and condensate to be released onto the well site and into the surrounding atmosphere. Procedures to gain control of the well and to clean the contaminated mud revealed that the surface equipment was undersized. Further releases of contaminated mud occurred, and difficulties and cleanup continued for several days. Emergency response procedures prevented any exposures or injuries to workers.

Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163790007
Date of Accident : 2009-Jan

A worker was in an ATV, following a seismic drill rig to a worksite. As the ATV went up a steep grade, it flipped and rolled over the worker.

Injury Type : Broken bones in hand
Core Activity : Seismic drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009163790006
Date of Accident : 2009-Jan

A worker was operating a portable drill on a seismic operation. The worker slipped on ice and one hand went under the auger bit as the worker's other arm activated the auger's down lever.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Gas well completion
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009153370012
Date of Accident : 2009-Jan

During a coiled tubing completion operation at a natural gas well, a malfunction in the coil tubing injector head caused a "runaway" of the coil tubing string into the well bore. The runaway occurred at a depth of about 2400 metres as the coiled tubing was being pulled from the well. The injector head was supported by a truck-mounted crane, and the forces created by the coil tubing runaway caused the crane's turret bolts to fail. The injector head and the crane both collapsed to the ground. The crane operator was not at the controls of the crane and was not injured. The wellhead was damaged below the point where the blow-out preventer (BOP) attaches to the wellhead. Well control would have been compromised if the well had been completed into a natural gas producing formation.

Injury Type : Injuries to the head and neck
Core Activity : Well servicing slick line
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2009124490002
Date of Accident : 2009-Jan

Workers were conducting a slick line operation for the purpose of lowering tools down the well bore to de-commission the oil and gas well. When the load line on the picker unit (truck-mounted crane) was inadvertently severed, the load line ball fell. It landed on the well head, then deflected and struck one worker.

Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Pipeline testing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008153370276
Date of Accident : 2008-Dec

Two workers had just completed a hydrostatic test (to 2150 psi) on two 16-inch temporary pig traps (used in cleaning pipelines). One of the workers (a young worker) closed a ball valve to isolate the piping being tested from the recording device and the pressure gauge. The worker then bled off the pressure in the hydrostatic testing connection and in the lines to the recording equipment and gauge. The lines to the recording equipment and gauge were removed, and the worker then began to remove the testing connection from the valve using a pipe wrench. But instead of the testing connection unthreading from the valve, the valve unthreaded from the pipe nipple that connected the valve and connections to the pig traps (which were still pressurized to 2150 psi). The pressure drove the test piping and valve up, and they struck the worker. The injured worker was taken to hospital but died several days later.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Well fracturing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008154930278
Date of Accident : 2008-Dec

Well control equipment failed, resulting in the loss of pressure and flow control on a natural gas well.

Injury Type : Facial injuries
Core Activity : Drilling rig repair
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008158820289
Date of Accident : 2008-Dec

A worker was straightening a bend in a drilling rig's I-beam (6 by 16 inches) using a 25-ton hydraulic jack and tubular steel (square) spacers. The jack and spacers slipped, and the jack struck the worker in the face.

Injury Type : Fractured leg
Core Activity : Seismic slashing and trail clearing
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008154930275
Date of Accident : 2008-Dec

A worker was thrown from the snowmobile he was operating.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Well drilling work
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008154930279
Date of Accident : 2008-Nov

While managing a well difficulty, well pressure overcame control measures, resulting in drilling pipe being shot out of the well into the derrick and well control being lost.

Injury Type : Concussion
Core Activity : Vehicle recovery
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008158820291
Date of Accident : 2008-Nov

Two workers were loading a stranded vehicle when the hook slipped and the cable whipped. As one worker reacted, he slipped on the ice, struck his head, and lost consciousness.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Setting up drilling rig
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008124490147
Date of Accident : 2008-Nov

Workers were setting up a drilling rig on a new location. The mast of the rig was being positioned using two 40-ton picker trucks (crane trucks) in conjunction with two oilfield bed trucks (large trucks equipped with an A-frame and winch for hoisting). The bottom section of the mast had been hoisted about 6 feet into the air to attach it to the drilling rig's A-frame legs when the turret bolts on the crane of one of the picker trucks failed. The load dropped, and the crane's boom fell and struck the cab of the second crane. The operator's house and counterweights were damaged, but the workers in position to insert the A-leg pins were unhurt.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Gas well drilling
Location : Northern BC
ID Number : 2008153370247
Date of Incident : 2008-Nov

A crew was drilling a horizontal section of a natural gas well when they noticed an influx of natural gas out of the rock formation into the well bore (a gas kick). They stopped drilling and circulated the well, while weighting up (increasing the density of) the invert drilling mud (hydrocarbon-based drilling fluid) to stop the gas from entering the well bore. While circulating the well, 20 cubic metres of invert fluid was lost into the rock formation. Once control of the well had been regained, the well was flowed so that some of the lost invert fluid could be recovered. However, gas came to surface, causing the invert drilling fluid to spray out of the mud tank and onto the drilling rig. At the same time, a leak was discovered in the piping between the manifold shack and the de-gasser. The well was shut in using the hydraulic control (HCR) valve off the blow-out preventer so the leak could be repaired and pressure readings could be taken. The pressure in the well eventually exceeded the maximum allowable casing pressure, so the well was opened to flare. When the HCR valve was opened to allow the well to flow directly to flare, the piping between the blow-out preventer and the choke failed, causing an explosion. The explosion ignited the invert mud that had sprayed onto the rig, as well as the invert still in the mud tanks. The crew again shut in the well, this time using the pipe rams of the blow-out preventer. They attempted to extinguish the fire but the heat from the burning invert caused the blow-out preventer to fail. Control of the well was lost and the drilling rig was destroyed in the subsequent well blow-out and fire. No workers were injured.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Pipeline construction
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008124490135
Date of Incident : 2008-Oct

A draw works side boom (a tractor-style mobile crane used in pipeline operations) was hoisting a load when the brake bands on the winch failed. The load dropped to the ground but no workers were injured.

Injury Type : Exposure to H2S gas (3 workers)
Core Activity : Re-working an oil and gas well
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008154930234
Date of Accident : 2008-Oct

As hydrochloric acid was being transferred from a tank truck to a vacuum truck, hydrogen sulfide gas (H2S) was discharged through the pressure relief valve on the vacuum truck. Three workers were exposed to the gas, including one worker who lost consciousness and had to be revived with CPR.
See a slide show about the hazard of H2S with tanker trucks:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/SlideShows.asp?ReportID=33842

Injury Type : Temporary loss of consciousness, lacerations, soreness
Core Activity : Oilfield fluid hauling
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008124490135
Date of Incident : 2008-Sept

A worker was preparing to flush out the fluid tanks on a tractor trailer unit. He opened the top hatches, sprayed hot water into the tank, then noticed vapors coming out of the hatch. As he started to climb down the ladder at the back of the trailer, he lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Injury Type : Crush injuries to finger Core Activity : Pipefitting
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008163790035
Date of Accident : 2008-Sep

A worker was manually removing a small section of flowline piping, As the piping came loose, it dropped and pinched one of his fingers between the pipe and the flange valve.

Injury Type : Fatal
Core Activity : Gas production
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008163800035
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A worker was seriously injured when he fell from the ATV he was operating on a gravel road near a gas plant. Several weeks later, he died of his injuries.

Injury Type : Fatal (1 worker); serious burns to face and hands (2 workers)
Core Activity : Oil or gas well completion
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008124490126
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

A crew at a well site was cleaning a pressure vessel storage tank after a Frac job (well completion process to enhance the production of a natural gas well). The workers had opened the two access hatches on the vessel to allow for natural ventilation and had taken a reading of the LEL levels (concentration of gas vapours) in the vessel. A vacuum truck crew had attached their suction hose to the drain line on the pressure vessel to begin drawing out the waste materials (the pressure vessel was partially filled with Frac materials, including sand, potassium chloride, produced water, light oil, and natural gas). The vacuum truck operator was standing on an elevated platform adjacent to one of the vessel hatch openings, using a high-pressure wash wand to spray down the interior of the vessel (part of the cleaning process). Two other workers were standing on the ground adjacent to the second hatch opening when an explosion and flash fire occurred. The explosion threw the vacuum truck operator against the wall of an adjacent test building, fatally injuring him. The workers at the second hatch sustained serious burns.

Injury Type : Fatal (3 workers); serious injuries (3 workers)
Core Activity : Mushroom growing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008095610260
Date of Incident : 2008-Sep

Two workers were in the pump house of a "brown water" containment pond, removing a pipe blockage. As they worked, sludge was released that created an oxygen-depleted atmosphere. Four other workers attempted a rescue. Three of the six workers died and the other three were seriously injured.

Watch a series of videos about the hazards of confined spaces, including IDLH (immediately dangerous to life or health) atmospheres:
http://www2.worksafebc.com/Publications/Multimedia/Videos.asp?ReportID=35168

Injury Type : Bruising
Core Activity : Oil or gas well servicing
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008124490120
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A truck hauling materials from well completion work was travelling in a convoy of eight vehicles. As the truck entered a corner to a bridge approach, it failed to properly negotiate the turn onto the bridge. The truck straddled the bull rail on the side of the bridge, then rolled off the bridge and landed upside down on the river bed below. The driver, who was wearing a seatbelt, sustained only minor injuries.

Injury Type : Amputated fingers
Core Activity : Drilling rig
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008163800024
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A worker on a drilling rig was cleaning a lighting plant generator. His fingers inadvertently slipped inside the fan guard and were amputated.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Gas plant
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008144250173
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

Workers arriving at a gas plant found that the top of a sour water tank (a 400-barrel tank used in the production of oil and gas to store produced water) had been blown off the support structure and was hanging by the piping from the top of the tank.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Well servicing using a service rig
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008144250169
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

During a gas well servicing, a service rig was picking up a snubbing unit stack when the service rig draw works brakes failed. The snubbing unit fell onto the draw works of the service rig. The brakes on the main hosting winch had been serviced several months earlier, but the hoisting equipment had not been load tested and this was the first lift since the repair work.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil or gas field servicing
Location : Lower Mainland
ID Number : 2008095610260
Date of Incident : 2008-Aug

A number of 400-barrel production tanks (storage tanks for oil and gas production) had been opened for cleaning. The tanks were venting hydrogen sulfide (H2S) gas directly into the atmosphere. Tests at the site showed rates as high as 350 ppm, but no workers were injured.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Oil and gas production
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008163790006
Date of Incident : 2008-Jul

A meter skid (a device for measuring natural gas) had been rebuilt and pressure tested with nitrogen. After the pressure test, a large volume of natural gas leaked.

Injury Type : Close call
Core Activity : Drilling operations
Location : Northeast BC
ID Number : 2008095610260
Date of Incident : 2008-Jun

A drilling rig was running a test on a downhole mud pump. The operator of the hoisting controls chained down the brake control lever and left the area. The hoisting equipment lowered itself to the drilling rig floor. The equipment was damaged, but no workers were injured.



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