Two Men Injured In Industrial Accident
By LORETTA WALDMAN | Courant Staff Writer
October 25, 2007
SIMSBURY - A 60-year-old man was knocked unconscious and another man's jaw possibly broken Wednesday morning during a delivery of sealant at a Herman Drive roofing and driveway repair company.

Police did not release the names of the two men, whose families had not been notified, but the 60-year-old was a company employee who lives in East Granby and the other is the 30-year-old driver of the tanker truck and a resident of Springfield.

Police said that the accident occurred about 8:45 a.m. as the two were attempting to pump the sealant from the tanker truck into a holding tank at Armorseal Inc. at 10 Herman Drive. Unwittingly, one of the men left the cap on the hose and, then, after realizing his mistake, attempted to take it off.
But because the delivery system uses hydraulic pressure, the cap blew off with "great force," said Simsbury police spokesman Capt. Peter Sevetz.

It struck the Armorseal employee in the head and knocked him out, he said, and hit the driver in the face. Both men were taken by ambulance to Hartford Hospital.

The two workers were reported to be in serious to critical condition and expected to undergo surgery, Sevetz said.

No information on the condition of the driver was immediately available Wednesday afternoon. The cause of the accident was under investigation, police said.

I've been hit in the chest with a hose cap. I didn't get too hard but I could image the damage a cap could do under serious pressure. Gas vapors can create a lot of pressure in a capped hose on a hot day, and on cold a day you have to pry them off with a screwdriver.

Either "lack of attention to detail" or "stupidity" was the cause of the incident.

You always, before engaging the pump or opening the belly valve...when airing off.... make a complete SAFETY CHECK of your unloading setup...everything must be properly connected to the proper outlet and inlet....in fact, our paperwork requires for unloading that the consignee has to sign the T/O that everything is hooked up correctly and the product is going to the right tank. As soon as they sign, any screwups are on them.

Thanks for the info. I have the tanker endorsement but never used.