Lighter Side Of Hoax
A U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Administration warning about a disposable butane lighter blew up when a belated search for facts about a fatality and a serious burn injury was found only a hoax.
In a recantation last Jan. 11, OSHA conceded that its memorandum on the incidents to OSHA regional administrators last May was based on hearsay. OSHA reported that its memorandum was based on a Chicago and Northwestern Transportation Company safety alert telling of the two “incidents” and “that no one could confirm that the two reported accidents took place.” Thus were the stories of sparks from a “welder’s torch” causing a disposable butane lighter to explode in a vest pocket and sparks from a “nearby torch” causing a similar lighter to burn in a trouser pocket laid to rest.
