Exposure to other harmful substance-multiple routes of exposure · Poisoning, toxic, noxious, or allergenic effect, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at BFI Waste Services of PA, 50 Orchard Lane, LEESPORT, PENNSYLVANIA 19533
on — Poisoning, toxic, noxious, or allergenic effect, unspecified, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
An employee was working his trash route and compacting garbage with his truck when a container with liquid popped and sprayed his face. He ingested the liquid and required hospitalization.
An employee was transporting a container across the street to the trash truck when he was struck by a vehicle. He sustained lower back bruising, a left leg fracture, and a laceration to the back of his head.
An employee was standing next to a dump truck, dumping a load. A bale of trash from a previous load rolled off a pile and pinned him against the truck. He suffered a punctured lung, two broken ribs on the left side, and a broken collarbone.
On November 17, 2023, a maintenance employee opened a line and residual bromine was released. The employee sustained burns to their palm and left leg and also suffered an inhalation injury.
An employee was picking up trash bags on a route and putting the bags in the back of a garbage truck. The employee was compacting the trash when one of the bags released vapor and dust from chlorine and pool cleaning chemicals. The vapor and dust contacted the employee's eyes and mouth and were inhaled. The employee was hospitalized with chemical irritation to the eyes and lungs.
On June 2, 2023, an employee was re-installing a repaired valve. When the employee applied pressure to the system to test the repair, air that contained peracetic acid (PAA) residue flowed from the tote filling wan. The employee contacted the PAA mist, resulting in hospitalization for second-degree chemical burns to the face, swelling of the lips and throat, and irritation to the lungs.
An employee was pouring a copper food additive into a bucket when the product splashed into his eyes and face. The employee also inhaled and ingested the substance. The employee suffered copper poisoning.
An employee was rebuilding a valve on a refrigeration system and had pumped down the ammonia in the system to conduct maintenance. He removed a cover and was sprayed by residual anhydrous ammonia. The employee sustained chemical burns to the face and hands and may have sustained a respiratory injury.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 562111)
An employee was operating the compaction levers on a truck when a motor vehicle crashed into the back of the stopped truck. The employee sustained fractured ribs and contusions.
A maintenance employee was moving a forklift from the loading dock when the forklift fell off the dock. The employee was struck by the overhead portion of the roll bar, injuring his right knee. He was hospitalized and underwent surgery.
An employee was standing on the driver side rear step of a trash truck while traveling down a road to collect residential trash. The employee went to signal the driver and slipped off the step while the truck was traveling 8-9 miles per hour. He fell 18 inches to the ground and was hospitalized with a fractured ankle that required surgery.
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.