Chemical Accidents and Exposures

Chemical accidents and exposures on ships and in ports can cause severe injuries and fatalities.  Flammable chemicals may cause ship fires, and workers in the maritime industry may also be exposed to chemicals when doing their jobs, such as cleaning, painting, or other maintenance work. If you have been harmed by chemicals in maritime work, contact a lawyer to find out how to seek compensation. 

How Does Chemical Exposure Occur in the Maritime Industry?

Chemical exposure while working in the maritime industry may happen in several ways. You may be exposed to chemicals regularly if part of your job requires using them.

For instance, you may need to use cleaners, paints, or solvents if you repair, build or maintain ships. You may also be exposed to chemicals if you work aboard a ship transporting them.

Safety training is of the utmost importance if you work with chemicals regularly. It is your employer’s responsibility to make sure that all workers are adequately trained to do their jobs and to do them safely.

You can become dangerously exposed if you are not shown how to work with chemicals safely or are not provided with the proper safety equipment.

Many things could go wrong when transporting chemical cargo, leading to an accident. Training is essential here, too, and a lack of training or safety equipment could cause an accident and resultant exposure.

How the cargo is stored is also a potential source of an accident. When chemicals aren’t stored properly, a leak, a spill, a rupture, or another accident could lead to exposure.

Hazardous Chemicals

According to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), hazardous chemicals used in the maritime industry must be labeled correctly to warn workers of potential dangers.

OSHA defines hazardous chemicals as those that can cause any physical or health hazard. These include asphyxiants, combustible dust, pyrophoric gases, and flammable liquids, among others.

Examples of regulated hazardous chemicals used or transported in shipping include:

• Flammable liquids
• Spray finishing chemicals
• Hazardous waste
• Welding chemicals
• Carcinogens
• Vinyl chloride
• Toxic metals like lead, arsenic, chromium, and cadmium
• Benzene
• Asbestos

Asbestos was once heavily used in ship construction. While it is no longer used, many older ships and onshore facilities still have asbestos materials. It is essential that employers warn workers of the risks of asbestos exposure and provide appropriate safety training and gear if it is in the workplace.

Injuries Caused by Chemical Exposure

If you do become exposed to toxic chemicals while working on or around a ship, there are several ways a worker can be injured:

• Simply getting a chemical on your skin can cause burns, allergic reactions, infections, and even skin cancer.
• Repeated exposure is possible if you consistently work in the same conditions, and this factor can worsen injuries.
• A one-time skin exposure may result in mild or severe reactions depending on the toxicity of the chemical and the amount to which you were exposed.
• Inhalation is also a concern when exposed to certain chemicals. If you breathe in a toxic chemical, you may experience the same issues as skin exposure, but in your lungs and airways or inside your mouth.
• Inhaling asphyxiants may cause you to be unable to breathe and absorb oxygen, leading to brain damage or even death.
• Serious long-term consequences can result from inhaling toxic chemicals, from chronic lung disease to lung cancer.

Chemical Accidents on Ships

Exposure to toxic chemicals in the maritime industry is a severe hazard, but larger chemical spills are also a cause for concern.

A chemical spill or leak on board a ship not only has the potential to cause injury due to exposure, but it may also cause a fire or environmental damage. When ships carry large amounts of chemicals as cargo, this risk of environmental disaster is greater.

Several factors may cause spills and accidents, but collisions are among the most serious and common. If your ship collides with another ship or an inanimate object or runs aground or into coral reefs, a hole may be torn in the hull, leading to a significant spill.

These large-scale accidents cause environmental damage and put all workers at risk of exposure, fires, and injury. Rescue workers, cleaners, and other nearby people are also at risk.

The consequences can range from mild to severe, depending on the severity of the collision and the number of people involved in the clean-up and rescue efforts.

Examples of Maritime Chemical Accidents

Chemical exposure accidents are often small-scale and don’t make the news. However, there has been some investigation into how workers are exposed.

For example, one study examined workers on a vessel processing crude oil. Most workers were not exposed to benzene, a harmful byproduct of crude oil production. Still, those responsible for cleaning and maintaining tanks were significantly exposed and at risk for harmful side effects.

More significant accidents are often considered more newsworthy and illustrate how risky it can be to carry chemical cargo. One example occurred in 2015 when a chemical tanker caught fire in its engine room.

Although the fire had nothing to do with the chemicals on board, it could have spread to the cargo and caused a much more serious accident.

Worker’s Rights After Chemical Exposure

As a maritime worker, you have certain rights according to federal law. These rights protect you and ensure you get compensation if you are injured while working.

These injuries include chemical injuries. If you have been exposed to chemicals or were involved in a more significant accident and spill that caused you harm, your employer or employer’s insurer should provide you with compensation.

If you are being denied compensation to cover medical bills, lost wages, and other costs, you have the federal maritime laws to ensure you can claim those costs.

The rules can be confusing, so consult a professional and experienced maritime lawyer to ensure you can file a claim under the correct law and receive the compensation you are owed.