Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Electric Cable Compounds, Inc., 108 Rado Drive, NAUGATUCK, CONNECTICUT 06770
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
On August 30, 2017, an employee was cleaning out/blowing down a rotary airlock when the airlock caught and amputated his left middle and index fingers. The airlock was not locked/tagged out at the time of the incident.
An employee was working in the extruder area preforming purging activities when the employee became injured by the material compound and sustained burns to the left side of the face and right wrist. The employee was hospitalized.
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 325991)
An employee was working to unclog a feeder that feeds raw material into an extruder to make plastic/polymer. The slide gate closed on his right hand, amputating three fingers between the first and second knuckles as well as cutting the thumb tip.
An employee was operating an overhead crane and using a hoist to lower a metal tipper bin. The tipper lowered onto their right hand, crushing their right thumb and resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was unclogging a granulator when the rotor pulled his fingers in. His left index, middle, and ring fingers, as well as his right thumb, index, middle, and ring fingers were amputated. The employee was hospitalized. The machine was not guarded at the time.
On March 3, 2025, two employees were working on a blender. The injured employee was removing contaminated pellets from the blender. Another employee went to elevate a tilter that was feeding the blender when the blender auger activated and crushed the injured employee's left leg. The employee's leg was medically amputated 4" - 6" below the knee. The machine was guarded at the time.
An employee was performing maintenance on a pelletizer. When they rotated the drum, their left index finger became caught between the pelletizer blades and the bed, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was checking on a machine outside of the building and removed a cover to clean out a blocked area. His hand was caught by a rotary valve in a dust collection machine. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
An employee was working to clean a glue roller with a scraper tool. The tool and the employee's left thumb were pinched between two rollers, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was re-arranging boxes of pipe insulation on a pallet. One of the boxes fell from the pallet and knocked over an upright empty cylinder. The cylinder fell and crushed the tip of the employee's right toe. The employee's toe required surgical amputation.
An employee was securing the claw of a grapple truck to the truck bed. His left little finger was caught between the tie down strap and the rub rail of the truck, resulting in partial amputation of the finger.
An employee was cutting extruded aluminum framing material using a horizontal band saw. She went to grab a rag in the machine when the rag contacted the blade and pulled her hand in toward the blade, resulting in a partial amputation of the right index finger.