1 dead, 1 critical after being overcome by fumes

One man died and another was in critical condition Tuesday after being exposed to chemicals at a paint manufacturing plant in Fullerton, authorities said.

The men were unconscious when they were found inside a tank by a co-worker at Vista Paint, Fullerton police Sgt. Andrew Goodrich told the Orange County Register (http://bit.ly/uETjAq). The co-worker, with the help of other employees, pulled the men out, Goodrich said.

One man was pronounced dead at a hospital. He was identified late Tuesday by the county coroner’s office as Roberto Magdariago, 62. A second man, who police said is 45, remained hospitalized in critical condition.

Authorities believe that the chemical that caused the fumes is a paint stripper. The fumes were confined to the area where the men were working, Julie Kunze, a division chief with the Fullerton Fire Department told the Register.

No other workers reported symptoms, Kunze said.

California Division of Occupational Safety and Health spokeswoman Erika Monterroza said the men are believed to have been working inside the tank when they were overcome by the fumes.

“It’s a real tragedy when there are situations like this where it is a confined space,” Monterroza said.

A search of Vista Paints safety records over the past five years turned up several citations, Monterroza told the Register.

In 2008, Vista Paint employees were cited after an accident in Palm Desert, Monterroza said, although the details of the incident weren’t immediately available. The company also received four regulatory citations, one for an incomplete illness or injury plan, two for the operations of an industrial truck and one that was overturned, Monterroza said.

CalOSHA is investigating the accident.

Read more: http://www.sacbee.com/2011/11/15/4057992/1-dead-1-critical-after-being.html#ixzz1eM1SRauz