Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: TUESDAY, January 18, 1994                   TAG: 9401190011
SECTION: CURRENT                    PAGE: NRV1   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: STEPHEN FOSTER STAFF WRITER
DATELINE:                                 LENGTH: Medium

WORKER COMPENSATION APPEAL IN ARSENAL DEATHS DENIED

The families filed the appeal last month. This month, the full commission upheld a May ruling by a deputy commissioner denying the daughter of Ivery Boysaw, 44, and the widower of Mary Duncan, 56, benefits because the women broke safety rules when they entered a confined space in which liquid ether had spilled on Oct. 18, 1991.

The women were loading ether into tanks that day when one of the tanks overflowed. The women then entered the area, bordered by dikes to contain possible spills. Buckets, a dustpan and a broom were found near their bodies.

Chevella Heslep, who worked as a safety inspector at the plant, testified that she conducted a gas analysis of the scene shortly after the women's bodies were found. The oxygen level was below 10 percent, meaning ``there was no breathable air in the dike,'' the ruling stated.

Hercules Inc., which runs the plant, contended that the women violated safety rules laid out in July 1990 that required workers to receive direct permission before entering a confined area for any reason. Evidence showed that the women walked by a ``Danger'' sign going into the area.

But lawyers for the claimants, Jamille Boysaw and Roy Duncan, argued that the rule was actually just a ``recommendation,'' and that another rule advised them to contain a spill if possible before notifying a supervisor.

However, the commission decided that the second rule did not override the first, partly because the dike area already contained the spill.

``We find that [Boysaw and Duncan] were required to obtain an entry permit before entering the dike, and that this procedure was not followed on October 18,1991,'' the ruling stated.

Lawyers for Duncan and Boysaw could not be contacted Monday. A recording said their office was closed because of the weather.

Workers compensation could have allowed for the families to receive up to two-thirds of the employees' weekly salaries - a little more than $300 - for up to 500 weeks.

The case could still be appealed to the Virginia Court of Appeals.

Dale Webb, lawyer for Hercules, said the accident was tragic, but said the commission's decision was a ``sound ruling.''

Keywords:
FATALITY