The Marine Safety Forum has issued a safety alert in which a crew member sustained a minor burn. The case highlights the risk of high surface temperatures and reinforces the importance of allowing machines to complete their cooling phase before access.
What Happened
A crew member suffered a minor burn on the left lower arm when reaching into a tumble dryer and making contact with the frame around the door.
Why Did it Happen
The crew member opened the tumble dryer, before it had finished the program, and therefore not completed the cooling down session.
The manual for the tumble dryer states that during the drying process there will be a maximum temperature of 80°C inside the machine.
A test follow-up test done on the vessel has confirmed this. After opening the tumble dryer while running the drying program, the temperature of the frame around the door was measured at 80.2°C. It took a further two and a half minutes before the temperature was below 60°C.
2nd degree burns can occur at temperatures of 60°C and above, depending on the surface and the duration of the contact.
Another test showed, that if after full completion of the drying program; including the cooling down session, the temperature will be maximum 40°C.
Actions Taken
The incident has been shared with all vessels in the owners’ fleet to raise awareness about the risk of burns.
A sign was posted on the tumble dryers on the vessel, not to open the tumble dryer until the program is completely finished and updates were made to the risk assessment for working in the laundry.
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Source: Marine Safety Forum
