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| | Fuel Distributor Cited Nearly $100,000 After Fatal Explosion At Corona, California, Facility Killed Welder
By Lonce LaMon _ from DIR Press Release - November 10, 2014
A 52-year-old welder was killed on May 6th 2014 in an explosion at a fuel distribution company, National Distribution Services Inc., in Corona, California.
Samuel Enciso with another employee was attempting welding operations at the Corona facility on a 9,000 gallon tanker truck containing an unknown amount of crude oil. The tank had not been purged or tested for flammable vapors. The explosion occurred resulting in the death of Samuel Enciso whose right hand and lower arm were severed in the fatal accident. The other employee suffered burns to over 50 percent of his body.
Cal/OSHA has now cited National Distribution Services Inc. (NDS) $99,345 following an investigation into the May 6th explosion. Investigators from the San Bernardino Cal/OSHA District Office determined that NDS contributed to the incident by failing to have required safety procedures in place for employees working with flammable vapors. Investigators also found that NDS failed to train employees on the dangers of welding near combustible materials.
Investigators learned about a previous explosion at the Corona facility that occurred under similar circumstances. It involved the same two employees. On September 25th 2012, the lid of a fuel tanker blew through the ceiling of the repair facility after the employees commenced welding on a truck filled with flammable vapors. No injuries occurred on that date.
The owner of National Distribution Services served prison time following a previous incident. Carl Bradley Johansson operated a business in Montebello called Atlas Bulk Carriers in the 1990s. On September 27, 1993 there was an explosion involving welding operations on a fuel tanker that had also not been purged or tested. This incident took the life of a welder. Atlas Bulk Carriers was cited by Cal/OSHA for this incident.
About the May 6th 2014 explosion that killed Samuel Enciso, California Department of Industrial Relations Director, Christine Baker, said, “California requires employers to have and adhere to an Injury and Illness Prevention Program. This preventable death is a reminder of what can happen when that requirement is ignored.”
California Department of Industrial Relations, P.O. Box 420603 • San Francisco, CA • 94142-0603 • www.dir.ca.gov
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