SAFETY FLAWS SURROUNDING THREE ACCIDENTS : KIM FUNNELL

Since losing parts of nine fingers in an accident at Space Ordnance Systems on Feb. 4, Kim Funnell, a 23-year-old ex-Marine, spends hours playing with dominoes and pegs. He is trying to put dexterity and strength into the stubby claws that are what remain of his hands. It’s “almost like I’m in pre-school again,” Funnell said bitterly.

Funnell was about to put two pans of explosive powder in a magazine--a fortified storage area--at SOS’s Sand Canyon plant east of Newhall when the powder ignited.

The cause of the accident has not been determined. In a report to federal safety officials, SOS speculated that a gust of wind caught the magazine door and caused it to scrape one of the pans Funnell was holding, producing a spark that ignited the powder inside.

Funnell insisted he would never allow that to happen. “I know that metal to metal contact is a no-no in this business,” he said. Whatever the cause, the records show that the company and federal inspectors had allowed a potentially dangerous practice to continue for years.

Defense Department safety officers suggested that static electricity could have been the culprit. Some explosives are so sensitive that they can be ignited by a tiny spark from a fingertip.

To reduce the chance of static discharge, a Defense Department safety manual requires that conductive shoes be worn in certain work areas. Because of special construction of the heel, these shoes create a circuit between the body and the floor. This dissipates the static that sometimes creates a spark when a person touches metal.

Although the safety manual does not permit it, some contractors use less-expensive devices known as legstats instead of conductive shoes. A pair of legstats--basically rubber-and-metal garters that are attached to the lower leg and under the sole of the shoe--provide protection similar to that of conductive shoes.

Defense Department inspectors have traditionally tolerated the use of a single legstat by some contractors, including SOS. Safety experts say a single legstat would ground a worker when standing still but might not protect him when he lifts the protected leg to walk.

Kim Funnell, following what a company safety officer acknowledges was standard practice, was wearing a single legstat at the time of the accident.

Defense Department records say that after the accident SOS agreed to require the use of two legstats. But SOS “personnel were observed wearing only one legstat” in April, a safety report says.