3 Major Types of Accidents in the Drilling Industry

3 Major Types of Accidents in the Drilling Industry

No matter your business sector, if you need any drilling, boring or blasting done, you leave the job to drilling companies. After all, there are plenty of accidents that may happen if you use your employees who have no expertise like those of professional drilling contractors. Here are common types of accidents in the drilling sector you need to worry about:

   1. Fires and explosions

One of the types of accidents that you need to worry about when drilling is fires and explosions. That kind of accident is more likely to happen when you are drilling for oil and gas. But it may also occur when you are drilling for other purposes. The culprit for behind this accident is the high amount of power used as well as the flammable things you may be trying to access when drilling.

A good example of an accident involving fire and explosions is the Piper Alpha Disaster. It happened in 1988 in the UK’s North Sea due to gas leakage. It took 167 lives, making it the world’s deadliest offshore disaster. And it serves as an example of how drilling can go wrong.

  2. Exposure to toxic substances

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In any drilling project, there are usually many things that are used to ensure the job goes on smoothly. These may include chemicals. But these chemicals can be toxic sometimes. Additionally, while accomplishing their drilling tasks, untrained workers may end up accidentally causing the release of hazardous gases from the ground. Nature is still unpredictable. You also need to worry about your workers’ possible exposure to radioactive waste.

In 2019, one major oil company was accused of failing to prevent their workers from being exposed to hydrogen sulphide gas, which could cause eye damage. This incident happened in the North Sea.

The toxic substance exposure does not only affect the oil and gas industry. In quarries, workers can also become exposed to dust such as silica dust and other metals. The exposure to such dust may lead to respiratory and skin problems. It may also cause an increased risk of getting cancer.

   3. Equipment-related and transportation accidents

Drilling is a machine-intensive task. Unfortunately, many untrained workers end up getting hurt as they transport materials or work on machines. These accidents include collisions between machinery, workers being trapped in machines, vehicles hitting workers, electrocution by electric machinery, and equipment failure leading to workers falling.

Some of these equipment-related accidents may cause debilitating injuries. Workers may end up losing some of their limbs. Other injuries may even be fatal.

There can never be 100% safety when workers are drilling. But measures can be put in place to ensure there are fewer fires and explosions, exposure to hazardous waste, and fewer transportation accidents. Having experts handling the work is also a necessary precaution. That’s why you should outsource any work of this nature to reputable drilling contractors with an excellent safety record. It will help keep your workers safe, and this will benefit your business in the end.

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