Contact with hot objects or substances · Third or fourth degree heat (thermal) burns
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Formosa Plastics Corporation, Texas, 201 Formosa Dr, POINT COMFORT, TEXAS 77978
on — Third or fourth degree heat (thermal) burns, affecting the nonclassifiable.
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Final narrative
Employee received 2nd and 3rd degree burns from hot liquid plastic while removing a plug.
Two employees were removing a discharge hose on a portable pump. A 50% caustic solution sprayed onto the employees, one of whom suffered burns to the eyes as well as an abrasion to the side of the body where the hose struck them. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee stepped on a piece of plywood used to cover a ground level opening containing hot water and vapors from a sump pump. The plywood failed and the employee fell into the opening approximately 3 feet resulting in second and third degree burns to the lower legs.
At about 3:00 p.m. on December 3, 2020, an employee was switching out a one-ton chlorine cylinder in an ethylene glycol unit when a chlorine leak developed. The employee inhaled chlorine gas and was hospitalized.
An employee was handling a catalyst hoist. As he tried to stop the load from swinging, his left little finger was caught between the hoist and a handrail. The fingertip was crushed.
An employee connected a steam line to a hose to clean equipment when the fitting broke loose. They were struck by steam in the left inner thigh, resulting in burns that required hospitalization.
An employee was making tea when she noticed tea grinds were collecting on the side and water was no longer dripping through the funnel. The employee was checking the funnel when boiling water and tea grinds spilled onto the left side of her body. The employee sustained burns to her neck, back, and arm.
An employee had turned off the ball valve on a waterpipe system and was removing the plug when the coupling system attached to the strainer came apart. Hot water sprayed on his arm and back, resulting in first- and second-degree burns that required surgery.
An employee was using a shovel to remove waste vermiculite from molten zinc. The metal had been placed in a bin and partially hardened. The employee broke through the partially hardened metal; still-molten metal flowed to the employee's steel-toed right boot and entered through the cloth boot tongue. The employee suffered a third-degree burn to the right foot and was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 325211)
An employee was monitoring a rotary press when his left hand became caught in the machinery. The employee's left middle finger was amputated at the distal interphalangeal joint.
An employee was sweeping in an area with powdered PVC on the floor and began having difficulty breathing and coughing up blood, The employee was hospitalized for inhalation of PVC.
An employee was working on a pastillator machine, which processes resin-based materials into solid pastilles. His right hand became caught between the feed roller (operating at approximately 350 F) and the cooling belt. The employee s glove and shirt sleeve adhered to his arm due to the heat. The employee sustained third-degree burns to his right hand and forearm, requiring hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was troubleshooting a leak on a low pressure (less than 50 PSI) condensate line in the oxidation area of the plant. He was working to remove insulation around a valve when either the valve or the line failed, and hot condensate contacted his right arm, right abdomen area, and the front of both legs, resulting in second- and third-degree burns.
An employee was replacing a fan on a cooling unit. As he went to adjust a pump, the unit caught his right hand and the fan blades severely lacerated his index finger. He underwent a medical amputation to the finger.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.