Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode · Other respiratory system symptoms-toxic, noxious, or allergenic effect
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Rehau Automotive, LLC, 2424 Industrial Drive SW, CULLMAN, ALABAMA 35055
on — Other respiratory system symptoms-toxic, noxious, or allergenic effect, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee was attending a meeting in a conference room next to a laboratory. The lab was using xylene in a ventilated hood when the hood fan failed and xylene was released into the conference room. The employee suffered a respiratory allergic reaction and was hospitalized.
An employee was trying to reach the center of an I-beam (lying on the back plate of an injection mold) to attach crane rigging to it. When he pulled the beam toward himself, it shifted and crushed his left little finger against the mold's back plate. The fingertip was medically amputated.
An employee had an allergic reaction to cleaning chemicals used in her area of operations. She was admitted to the hospital for breathing difficulties.
An employee was passing through a building when she suffered an allergic reaction to a cinnamon air freshener. The employee began to feel dizzy and ill, ultimately becoming unresponsive. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee wearing a blasting hood was preparing to blast inside a tank. The line that supplies the hood with breathing air was plugged into an argon line. The employee breathed the argon gas and fell. The employee was hospitalized for argon poisoning.
An employee was preparing a pump for maintenance. When the employee removed a cover, chemicals were released into the air. The employee was exposed to hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan and was hospitalized.
An employee was making repairs to a milling machine located in the mold shop. While using a screwdriver to make adjustments, the machine energized and struck the employee. The employee's right arm was fractured.
An employee was breaking down dunnage to prepare totes and trays to go through a tote washer. A tow motor driver asked the employee to move a cart that was in the way so the tow motor could remove a gaylord. The employee moved the cart and then stepped away from the tow motor. As the employee moved to an area between carts, his right foot got caught by a cart, causing him to twist and fall on top of a cart, landing on the left flank of his torso. The employee suffered a hemorrhage on his left flank.
Three employees were installing a transfer rail in a press. There were two employees holding the rail and the injured employee was at the end of the rail guiding the rail into the bracket. The task was done manually with no mechanical equipment. The employee had their finger at the end of the rail and went to make sure the rail was lined up while the other two employees pushed it into the bracket, causing their finger to become pinched between the rail and bracket. The employee's middle fingertip was amputated. Protective gloves were worn at the time of the incident.
An employee was walking across the dock, interacting with forklift drivers on what was being loaded. A forklift drove forward with a tall load on the forks. The employee was struck by the load (running board/rocker panel rack) on the forklift. The employee sustained several contusions and an injury to their right Achilles tendon that required surgery.
An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.
An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.