Oregon OSHA is investigating the following three cases:
- Several workers became ill July 17 after an employee began using a gas-powered pressure washer to clean a refrigerated room at a fruit processing plant. A total of 23 people went to the hospital, many of whom didn’t recognize the symptoms until it was too late.
- On July 18, construction workers in a warehouse were operating a gas-powered saw and other internal combustion engine equipment at the same time. Despite the employer’s effort to keep air moving with commercial fans, it wasn’t enough to avoid an overexposure.
- In the third incident, also on July 18, a worker using a gas-powered saw in a manhole was overcome by carbon monoxide and lost consciousness.
