WorkCover Work health and safety division acting general manager Peter Dunphy said the 41-year-old worker was cutting the lid off a 44 gallon drum with a plasma cutter at the business, located in Dalton Street, when the drum exploded. 

It caused serious fractures to his head and upper body. 

“Drums are often recycled and used as storage containers, particularly in agricultural settings,” Mr Dunphy said. 

“Typically, drums are cut using an angle grinder, plasma cutter, oxyacetylene burner or welding equipment. 

“This is an extremely dangerous activity which has resulted in a number of workers being killed or seriously injured in recent years, including a 41-year-old worker who was injured when the 44 gallon drum he was cutting exploded at a business at Bomen, north of Wagga Wagga, in January 2013.”

Mr Dunphy said hot work or work that may cause an explosion should never be conducted near or on items that contain chemical residue, especially solvents. 

“Drums that previously contained flammable liquids or gases must be handled with extreme care as they may contain vapours that, even after many years, can ignite when exposed to heat, resulting in fire and explosion,” he said. 

“WorkCover’s initial inquiries into the incident indicate that the worker had cut a number of  drums before the one he was working on exploded and that no testing had been undertaken on the previous contents of the drum before the worker attempted to cut it.” 

The worker was transferred to Royal North Shore Hospital and placed in an induced coma.