Morenci IPCC

Concave Burning Incident:

March 15, 2021
*Internal Distribution Only*

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Background

• March 15th, 2021 Morenci IPCC began a routine concave liner

replacement at Crusher 3.
• The first shift was executed without incident, work was well ahead
of time estimate and everything was proceeding well.
• Shortly into night shift on the 15th, an IPCC apprentice who was
learning to cut concaves with an Oxylance torch reported burns
on his legs to supervision.
• Initially, the burns appeared to be superficial; coveralls were
burned but the employees' jeans were intact, and he was mobile.
• Employee was taken to Gila Health Services, where he received
a medical evaluation and was immediately evacuated to a burn
unit in Tucson.

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 Outcome

Employees legs the night of the

incident, after medevac to Tucson

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Where we failed

• A post incident review of the SOP files found we did not have
one for this task at either crusher
• A post incident inquiry into task training revealed we had no
formal training process for use of the Oxylance cutting system.
• Unreported deficiencies of our supplied air breathing
equipment left the task to be performed by one man, with no
equipment to support a mentor or the fire watch.
• An engineered platform was purchased for this task, but it
needed modifications. Rather than communicating the issues,
the platform was abandoned, putting employees closer to the
heat source
• PPE was not adequate for the risk. After the fact, it was
disclosed that better gear was used previously, but it
degraded and was never replaced.

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Complications

Progress as of March 31, 2021. Progress as of April 21, 2021.

Initial graft rejected and became Second graft is healing well, but
infected shortly after this photo. employee is still out of work.

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Summary

Multiple gaps in our process left this task with a high level of uncontrolled
energy.
• The exothermic cutting process reaches temperatures up to 10000 degrees: Employees were
facing this energy wearing coveralls, leather spats and gloves, a supplied air respirator, and gas
cutting faceshield on their hardhat.
• Magnesium cutting rods are 8’ long, allowing standoff distance between the operator and
ignition: By not employing a proper work platform, employees were positioned as close as 1’ from
the cut. Being this close to the heat negates any protection of PPE worn by the operator, and the
protection of distance.
• “On the job” training put our most vulnerable employee in the most complex situation: Stress,
pressure to perform, and lack of experience lead to procedural mistakes. The blowback from the
torch was going directly on the employee, and he didn’t know how to correct.
• Extreme temperatures and molten metal risks call for high performance PPE: Other sites have
used aluminized cloth suits in this application for some time. Our standard gear had been
downgraded over the years as items wore out or were lost. With no formal outline of requirements,
employees improvised suits themselves.
• An engineered work platform ensures proper distance from the energy, and provides a shield
to keep blowback off the employee: The platforms we had were abandoned because they trap the
smoke, causing visibility problems. Employees were instead standing on the lip of the row they were
cutting, adding another challenge to the procedure.

Success depended solely on the skills and dexterity of the torch operator,
because there was zero overlap of controls. Our employee has undergone
multiple surgeries and been missed from work 39 days to date. (As of April
23, 2021)

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The Path Forward

• The training department has quickly provided

instruction sourced from Miami smelter as well as
Oxylance factory training. Work is ongoing to
develop a permanent class specific to Morenci
applications.
• Burning platforms have been sent back to TriStar
for modification, to let the smoke vent behind the
torch operator and improve the protection barrier.
Due back to site May 15th, 2021
• Working with Vallen and Steelgrip, aluminized suits
Header Content have been sourced and all components added to
punchout catalog
• Working with Vallen and Allegro, all new breathing
Slant shape can be apparatus has been purchased, allowing us to
cropped or insert a photo place up to 4 employees on supplied air at one time
(Torch operator, spotter, fire watch, confined space
attendant).
• SOP has been developed for Crusher 3, and draft
is in progress for Crusher 2. These specify PPE
requirements, use of safety platforms, and
personnel required. Training requirements will be
added in as well, when class is finalized.

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(Photo: April 19th 2021 Concave Job)
New equipment requirements per
SOP

All new PPE and supplied air system was tested out April 19th, and performed
well. All items are being put in punchout to ensure availability in the future. 8
Purchasing Information: Steelgrip
Suits

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Purchasing Information: Supplied Air
System

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Contact Info

For any questions, feedback, or concerns:

Jeremy Pompeo, C&C Maintenance
jpompeo@fmi.com
(928)965-4252

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