Quenching tank: Accidental drowning in hot quenching oil.
We describe an unusual case of drowning in fluid other than water in an industrial setting. A 26-year-old man was working in an industry which performs surface treatment of mechanical steel parts with quenching oil. He fell into the quenching oil (which was hot due to immersion of red hot metal parts), and as he was working alone in the particular section, there was a fatal outcome. A medico-legal autopsy was performed. The causes of death were found to be multiple, with the association of drowning, extensive superficial burns and asphyxia due to laryngeal oedema. To our knowledge, it is the first report of drowning in hot quenching oil, and only nine previous observations of drowning in industrial environments have been reported in the international literature. Even though rare, these kinds of accidental deaths can be prevented in dangerous industries with proper precautions and strict adherence to standard operating procedures.
1 Department of Forensic Medicine, S. Nijalingappa Medical College, Bagalkot, Karnataka, India.
Anand B
AB
Mugadlimath
2 Department of Forensic Medicine, Sri Aurobindo Medical College and PG Institute, Indore, India.
Mandar Ramchandra
MR
Sane
3 Department of Forensic Medicine, Government Medical College, Aurangabad, India.
Kailash U
KU
Zine
4 Department of Anatomy, S. Nijalingappa Medical College, Bagalkot, Karnataka, India.
Rekha M
RM
Hiremath
D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000401:mortality; D000062:Accidents, Occupational / Q000401:mortality*; D000328:Adult; D004332:Drowning / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology*; D006801:Humans; D007219:Industrial Oils / Q000009:adverse effects*; D008297:Male
Accidental drowning; asphyxial death; burns; industrial accident; quenching oil; scalds; unfenced and slippery quenching tank