Toxic Fumes Pose a Serious Threat to Oil and Gas Workers

The oil and gas industry is hard on its workforce. Yes, it helps keep our economy running – but it poses a lot of dangers to its workers. Among the most serious is toxic chemical exposure: not only can corrosive materials lead to serious burns, but inhaling the fumes can lead to a lot of internal damage.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), a federal agency overseen by the Centers for Disease control and Prevention (CDC), has looked into just how serious toxic chemical inhalation can be. On May 19, 2014, NIOSH published a report on worker fatalities in flowback operations; per the CDC’s analysis of that report, “at least four workers have died since 2010 from what appears to be acute chemical exposures during flowback operations at well sites in the Williston Basin.”

Just shy of a year later (April 10, 2015, to be exact), the CDC updated their information: the total of fatalities was nine, not four, and all of the workers involved had been doing manual tank gauging. The CDC went on to explain:

When hatches on production tanks are opened by a worker, a plume of hydrocarbon gases and vapors can be rapidly released due to the internal pressure present in the tank. These gases and vapors can include benzene, a carcinogen, as well as low molecular weight hydrocarbons such as ethane, propane, and butane. In addition to asphyxiation and explosive hazards, exposure to high concentrations of these low molecular weight hydrocarbons can have narcotic effects, resulting in disorientation, dizziness, light-headedness and other effects…. Case reports of sudden death following butane and propane inhalation have suggested cardiac arrhythmia (irregular heartbeat), hypoxia (a state of insufficient oxygen supply), and respiratory depression (reduced breathing rate and inadequate ventilation of the lungs).

To put this all in simpler terms, an invisible cloud of deadly gas and vapors can escape these hatches every time they are opened, putting oil and gas workers at risk. (They can also leak out of the hatches.) These clouds move fast, which means anyone who is in their direct line or downwind runs the risk of inhaling them, if they are not properly protected.

Symptoms of toxic fume exposure

Short-term effects may include:

• Dizziness
• Vomiting
• Difficulty swallowing
• Headaches
• Problems breathing
• Nausea
• Skin rashes

Long-term consequences may include:

• Cancer
• Respiratory disease
• Pneumonia
• Chronic lung disease
• Brain damage
• Death

NIOSH’s recommendations to keep workers safe

The CDC article lists six recommendations made by NIOSH to help protect workers. They are:

1. Establishing emergency protocols in the face of adverse events.
2. Implementing new tank gauging procedures, such as remote monitoring.
3. Giving workers self-contained breathing apparatuses if remote monitoring proves impossible.
4. Training workers to recognize depleted oxygen, hydrocarbon concentrations, and potential fire hazards.
5. Training workers to ensure they “correctly and consistently use calibrated multi-gas monitors,” which will tell them what the oxygen and lower explosive limits are.
6. Never letting anyone work alone.

Additionally, workers should be trained on how to handle and store hazardous materials and chemicals. Products should be inspected by supervisors and managers before they are used. The inspection should follow any manufacture guidelines or safety protocols.

Toxic fume inhalation can be life-threatening, At Larson Law, our North Dakota oil field injury lawyers are strong advocates in court and in the negotiation process. We want to help. To learn more about our services, please contact our Minot office at 701-484-4878, or complete out our contact form to schedule a free consultation.