Contact with hot objects or substances · First degree heat (thermal) burns
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Ward Manufacturing LLC, 105 Taber Street, BLOSSBURG, PENNSYLVANIA 16912
on — First degree heat (thermal) burns, affecting the multiple body parts, n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was severely burned (first and second degree burns) on his thigh and genital area by a lancing rod while attempting to remove slag on the cupola system. The lancing rod dropped and ignited a flame burning the employee.
HospitalizedMultiple body parts, n.e.c.Molten or hot metals, slag
An employee was checking the roller alignment on a corrugated tubing machine when her left middle finger was caught between a roller and the tubing resulting in a fingertip amputation.
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 332919)
An employee was troubleshooting a shell core machine that had failed to raise the sand hopper into place for core making. The employee went to manipulate a switch and the machine cycled. The employee s left middle fingertip was caught between the roller-ball switch and the roller-ball switch target, resulting in a laceration that required surgical amputation to part of the distal phalanx.
On August 18, 2025, at approximately 7:40 AM, an employee utilized a pocket knife to cut banding on a new bundle of rod material. The knife blade bent during use. The employee was working to straighten the blade on a hard surface when the knife slipped, causing a lacerating their right wrist/forearm. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was manually pulling drive belts to rotate a machine that needed repair. The employee's right index finger was pinched between a rubber drive belt and a pulley, causing an amputation to the fingertip.
At about 9:15 a.m. on May 14, 2025, an employee was using a bending press to bend metal into a U shape. The press caused an amputation to the employee's left middle finger.
An employee was running a test pipe for 12 feet and went to pull the pipe out of a roll grooving tool. As he was doing this, the tool's control pedal actuated, causing the tool to rotate. The employee's glove became caught and was pulled into the rollset, amputating about half an inch of his index finger.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.