Alert 12 – 03 Malfunctioning Pump Results in 3rd Degree Burn Injury
WHAT HAPPENED:
While disconnecting the suction line from a drilling fluid transfer pump, an employee sustained 3rd degree burns when his lower abdomen and right arm were splashed with hot drilling fluid. The employee was in the process of transferring the hot drilling fluid from the haul-off pit to the reserve pit. The transfer pump had been running for an unknown amount of time before the employee discovered the suction line was clogged. The crew had experienced similar problems with the pump system in the past and was unsuccessful in their attempts to keep the suction line from clogging up. The employee turned the pump off and, with the assistance of the derrickman who was lifting the suction line from the haul-off pit with a forklift, the employee attempted to disconnect the suction line from the pump. Once the cam-lock connector on the pump was released, the built up pressure in the suction line blew the hose off the pump, splashing the employee with the hot drilling fluid.