Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Niagara Bottling, LLC, 7561 INDUSTRIAL BLVD, ALLENTOWN, PENNSYLVANIA 18106
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
An employee was performing maintenance and degreasing near the chain and sprocket of a conveyor belt when the conveyor began running. The employee's right middle fingertip was then caught and amputated in the ingoing nip point of the chain and sprocket, which were unguarded at the time.
A mechanic was performing a modular overhaul on a blower. While removing magnetic rods for the stretch rod, the employee was placing the second rod on the blower platform. The rods were magnetically attracted to one another, and the employee's left third and fourth fingers were pinched between them. She was hospitalized and sustained a partial amputation.
An employee was clearing a piece of tape from the tape dispenser when their hand contacted the cutting implement on the dispenser. The employee suffered the amputation of their right index finger.
On September 4, 2023, maintenance staff were working on a 4-inch resin pipe for a silo. A ladder was used to lift and swing the pipe into the assembly. The pipe was tied off to the main lift with a rope. A technician prepared to shift the pipe into place when the injured employee walked over to ask a question. As the technician looked down, the pipe shifted and swung, striking the injured employee. The employee sustained a concussion.
An employee was changing the sawblade on a labeler. When he applied pressure as part of the installation, the blade cut through plastic sheathing and lacerated his right palm. He was hospitalized.
While performing a clean-in-place procedure, an employee removed the nozzle of a hose to place the hose on piping when a valve opened and sprayed her with 185-degree hot, caustic water. The employee suffered burns to both arms, both legs, and her abdomen.
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 312112)
A mechanic was performing a modular overhaul on a blower. While removing magnetic rods for the stretch rod, the employee was placing the second rod on the blower platform. The rods were magnetically attracted to one another, and the employee's left third and fourth fingers were pinched between them. She was hospitalized and sustained a partial amputation.
An employee was conducting maintenance on the bag in box (BIB) palletizer machine when the motor chain jumped, pulling his right index finger into the chain drive attached to the motor and causing a fingertip amputation.
An employee was clearing a piece of tape from the tape dispenser when their hand contacted the cutting implement on the dispenser. The employee suffered the amputation of their right index finger.
An employee was troubleshooting a bottle machine because the nozzle was stuck in the up position. The employee went to check for pre-blow air and the nozzle dropped back down to its starting position, catching his right index fingertip against the mold base. The employee sustained a fingertip amputation to the first digit.
An employee was attempting to clear a bottle jam when they were pinned to the wall by the arm of a robotic bottle stacker. The employee sustained an abdominal injury that required hospitalization. The machine was not guarded at the time.
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.