Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Emporium Hardwoods Operating Company LLC, 15970 Route 120, EMPORIUM, PENNSYLVANIA 15834
on — Fractures, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
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Final narrative
In the planner area, an employee was piling lumber that was being transported by a lumber chain. One of the chains became jammed. The employee reached between the chain way because the chains were doubled over. Energy was stored in the gear box due to the jam. The employee manually tugged the belt associated with the belt/pulley mechanism for the 2 hp motor and gear box. The motor/gear box drives the chains. When the employee tugged on the belt, it released the stored energy from the jammed gear box. The employee's fingers went into the nip point created by the belt/pulley and three fingers on the right hand were severely fractured. The ring finger also had skin removed.
An employee was helping to clean up around a conveyor belt area. Another employee turned the conveyor on so it could move and clear some material. The employee attempted to remove a large piece of bark under the conveyor. His left arm was caught in the moving parts under the conveyor. He was hospitalized with a broken left arm and required surgery.
An employee was cleaning up an aisleway. The employee picked up a portion of a log and went to throw it on the waste conveyor. The employee slipped on the incline that led up to the conveyor, fell down, and his foot got caught on the conveyor. The conveyor belt pulled off his boot and cut his foot. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was using a 24" chainsaw to trim oversized logs. During use, the chainsaw dropped and cut the employee's foot. The employee was hospitalized for surgery on his foot.
Two employees were repairing the hydraulic engagement pins on a rented front-end wheel loader. The machine controls were activated to move the attachment pins and an employee's finger was caught between the pins and the bushings. Their right index finger was partially amputated.
An employee was cleaning the conveyor on a piece of equipment when they slipped and their right hand was pulled into the chain sprocket. The employee's fifth fingertip was amputated.
An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 321113)
An employee was repairing a photo eye on the infeed roll case when they dropped a tool. The employee went to grab the tool and his fingers contacted the chain and sprocket of the infeed roll case. His fingers were pulled into the pinch point and the fingertips were crushed, resulting in amputation of one fingertip.
An employee was troubleshooting dispersing equipment. A belt and pulley system was energized, and the moving belt caught the employee's right ring finger. He suffered a partial amputation at the first knuckle, below the nail.
An employee was cleaning the photo eye sensors of a piece of equipment between the saw that cuts lumber into lengths and boards. The employee stepped on a metal grate that gave way and fell 8-10 feet. The employee was able to remove himself from the conveyor. His tibia was fractured just below the knee.
While refilling a lubricant tank, an employee observed that a pump was not operating correctly. While troubleshooting the issue, the employee reached toward the back of the pump to check for proper airflow. Their left index finger contacted moving components in the pump's piston mechanism, resulting in partial amputation of the fingertip.
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.