Compressed or pinched by shifting objects or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at International Paper - Mansfield Mill, 1202 Hwy 509, MANSFIELD, LOUISIANA 71052
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
Due to heavy rains, the wood chips lying on the #1 Reclaim Circulating Chip Conveyor became saturated and heavy to the extent that the weight yanked the gear box from the structural base. In order to make repairs, a maintenance employee was manually moving the gearbox chain tooth by tooth. When he released the chain on the third tooth/notch, he had his ring finger between the chain and the sprocket when the chain jumped causing his finger to be pinched. As the pinch was occurring, the employee pulled his finger back, which caused the skin to be removed at the tip of his finger. The incident resulted in the amputation of the fingertip.
AmputationFingertip(s)Gears
More severe injuries at International Paper - Mansfield Mill
An employee worked in the paper machine area for a shift, cutting corners off paper rolls around the roll machine. Afterwards, the employee sustained cramping and dehydration due to heat. The employee was hospitalized.
The injured employee was attempting to open a valve with a valve wrench. The wrench slipped and started to spin in the direction opposite of what the employee intended. The employee attempted to retrieve the wrench when the tip of his left middle finger was crushed between the valve and the wrench and was amputated.
A welder was tasked with a repair project on a de-barker machine. He was carrying a 44-pound roll of welding wire to the location. Accessing the de-barker drum requires walking down a rubber conveyor. While stepping onto the conveyor, the employee slipped. This caused him to drop the roll of wire onto his right hand. He sustained crushing injuries to the fingers on his right hand and required surgery for his right middle finger.
An employee was operating a forklift and unloading a truck. After the truck was unloaded, the employee got off the forklift and proceeded to adjust the dock plate with a hook tool. The dock plate slipped and the employee went to adjust the plate with their hand when their left middle finger got caught. Their finger was amputated above the first joint.
An employee was rotating a carbide granulator blade when his finger was caught between the blade and a stationary part of the machine. The employee's right middle finger was partially amputated and they suffered an avulsion to the right ring fingertip.
An employee was using a CNC metal lathe machine in manual mode to check that the thread blocking tool made contact with the jaws. As the employee was manually spinning the spindle, his index fingertip was crushed between the spindle's jaws and the grooving insert, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
During a material handling operation, an employee's fingertip was caught under an air conditioning unit as the unit was lowered onto a cart. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
An employee was removing a bolt from a tractor hub when their right index finger was caught between the hub and the frame. The employee's fingertip was crushed and the employee was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 322130)
An employee worked in the paper machine area for a shift, cutting corners off paper rolls around the roll machine. Afterwards, the employee sustained cramping and dehydration due to heat. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was adjusting a trim sheet leading to a sheeter machine. Their glove became caught in the machine and the shearer closed on the employee's right hand, crushing it and breaking the hand and wrist.
An employee was troubleshooting a process upset. A nearby refiner had a pressure spike, causing the housing to separate slightly, which allowed the loss of primary containment. The employee was sprayed by hot water, resulting second- and third-degree burns on his torso and left arm.
On July 22, 2024, at 10:30 AM, an employee was responding to a pulp mill manufacturing process shutdown. Pulp stock overflowed through an engineered overflow pipe resulting in a buildup of stock in a bermed area. The stock was 140 to 150 degrees. The employee went to the bermed area to close an air-actuated process valve. While closing the valve, pulp stock entered the top of his boots and caused second-degree burns to both of his lower legs down to his feet. The employee was hospitalized.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
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An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.