Plastics Engineering Company

On November 8, 2024, an employee climbed onto a machine belt to clear a jammed chunk of plastic from between two heated rollers. The employee deenergized the machine, but the rollers were still coasting. The employee's gloved hand was pulled into the rollers and became trapped between the heated rollers (~330 F) for approximately 12 minutes. The employee was hospitalized with severe burns to the right hand and the complete amputation of four fingers.

An employee removed the spark plugs and was rotating an engine to evacuate condensate from the cylinders. An unknown source ignited the condensate and natural gas. The employee sustained burns to the back of his hands and upper leg area.

An employee was operating a front-end loader when a hydraulic line broke, causing the front-end loader to catch on fire. The employee jumped from the cab to the ground and sustained fractures to the T-6 vertebra and a heel.

An employee was near a hybrid separator when it malfunctioned, resulting in a flash fire that burned the employee's upper body.

An employee was moving two totes of turpentine. Noticing that one of them was leaking, he stopped his forklift and began to look for the leak. The forklift caught fire, and the employee suffered severe burns. He was hospitalized.

An employee was performing maintenance on a machine when part of an adjacent machine caught fire. The employee extinguished the fire and suffered smoke inhalation.

An employee was monitoring a rotary press when his left hand became caught in the machinery. The employee's left middle finger was amputated at the distal interphalangeal joint.

An employee was sweeping in an area with powdered PVC on the floor and began having difficulty breathing and coughing up blood, The employee was hospitalized for inhalation of PVC.

An employee was working on a pastillator machine, which processes resin-based materials into solid pastilles. His right hand became caught between the feed roller (operating at approximately 350 F) and the cooling belt. The employee s glove and shirt sleeve adhered to his arm due to the heat. The employee sustained third-degree burns to his right hand and forearm, requiring hospitalization and surgery.

An employee was troubleshooting a leak on a low pressure (less than 50 PSI) condensate line in the oxidation area of the plant. He was working to remove insulation around a valve when either the valve or the line failed, and hot condensate contacted his right arm, right abdomen area, and the front of both legs, resulting in second- and third-degree burns.

An employee was replacing a fan on a cooling unit. As he went to adjust a pump, the unit caught his right hand and the fan blades severely lacerated his index finger. He underwent a medical amputation to the finger.

The injured employee was assisting five other employees with bracing a wall panel that was being stood up. Another employee slipped on frost on the floor surface. The employees went to evacuate the area in anticipation of the wall panel falling over. The injured employee went to jump through a window opening within the wall panel and their lower half was crushed by the falling wall panel. The employee sustained a fractured pelvis.

An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a thick piece of rubber material. While being cut, the material shifted, causing the employee s right hand to contact the moving blade. The employee's thumb was amputated below the knuckle. The employee was hospitalized, undergoing surgery.

A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

An employee was on a ladder, taking measurements for a new gutter installation. The ladder slipped out from under him and both he and the ladder fell to the ground. He was hospitalized with seven broken ribs and a broken clavicle.

An employee was unloading a truck for a delivery job. While moving boxes in the truck, the employee tripped over a pallet and fell out of the truck to the ground, resulting in four broken ribs.