Energy Isolation Missed on a Pump — Toxic Auto-Start

A worker walks into a pump house to check a broken pump. Nobody locked the pump out, so its automatic controls are still live — and it starts by itself while he's standing next to it, releasing poison gas (H₂S).

H₂S can knock you out in seconds, and the next person who comes looking becomes the second victim. At Aghorn in 2019 both a worker and his wife died this way.

1. Apply and verify LOTO before touching the pump — including defeating the auto-start logic.
2. Confirm zero energy (try-start / verify the pump cannot activate).
3. Wear and confirm a working personal H₂S monitor; check building gas detection and ventilation.
4. If someone goes down, do NOT rush in — rescue only with monitoring and supplied air.

H₂S killed 46 US workers 2011–2017 and 106 workers 2001–2017 (BLS data, ~6–8/yr) ; H₂S is among the leading causes of workplace gas-inhalation deaths (OSHA H₂S overview) . Rate specific to auto-start-during-troubleshooting events: not quantified in public…

Aghorn Operating (Odessa TX, 2019): operator overcome and killed by H₂S when the un-locked-out pump auto-started; his spouse, entering later through unlocked gates, also killed — 2 fatalities (CSB) .