For release: March 28, 1998
AMES, Iowa – A worker at the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Ames Laboratory on the Iowa State University (ISU) campus was injured Friday when he became entangled in mechanical equipment in the basement of the Lab’s Technical and Administrative Services Facility (TASF).
Ronald G. Foderberg, 56, supervisor of electrical services, was injured at approximately 2:35 p.m. Mark Grootveld, manager of the Lab’s Facilities Services department, said Foderberg and a co-worker were examining a smoke detector located near a fan that supplies air to the building’s ventilation system. The fan had been turned off, but a shaft protruding from the fan had not ceased spinning and caught Foderberg’s clothing. A protective screen over the fan prevented any contact with the fan blades, but Foderberg was pulled around as his shirt became tangled in the shaft.
The co-worker immediately notified emergency personnel. Foderberg was transported by ambulance to the Ames Airport and was flown by Life Flight to Mercy Medical Center in Des Moines where he is in critical condition.
The Laboratory is conducting a thorough investigation of the accident.
Ames Laboratory is operated for the DOE by ISU. The Lab conducts research into various areas of national concern, including energy resources, high-speed computer design, environmental cleanup and restoration, and the synthesis and study of new materials.
Contact: Steve Karsjen, (515) 294-5643
Last revision: 4/17/98 sd