Truck driver dies from exposure to ammonia vapor cloud
Lack of respiratory protection made tank rupture a fatal event
Following the death of a truck driver at Midwest Farmers Cooperative's grain handling facility in Tecumseh, OSHA has cited the company for 12 serious safety violations.
The driver, who was not provided a respirator or personal protective clothing, was overcome by anhydrous ammonia vapors March 20 while transferring the liquid from a semitruck to bulk storage tanks. In the lungs, liquid anhydrous ammonia causes destruction of delicate respiratory tissue. Exposure to ammonia vapor may cause convulsive coughing, difficult or painful breathing, congestion and death. The worker later died at the hospital from complications related to the ammonia inhalation.