Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Earlville Farmers' Cooperative Elevator Co., Inc., 602 W Railroad Street, EARLVILLE, ILLINOIS 60518
on — Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified, affecting the multiple body parts, n.e.c..
Final narrative
On October 29, 2017, at approximately 10:30 a.m., an employee was delivering propane to a customer's home address. The employee was checking to be sure the furnace was on and the pilot was lit. When he went to light the pilot, the furnace exploded, causing burns to the employee's face and hands.
HospitalizedMultiple body parts, n.e.c.Furnaces, heaters
An employee was sitting in the cab of the truck while waste oxidizer was being offloaded. The waste reacted with the receiving tank and an explosion occurred in the tank. Fire traveled through the hose to the tanker truck, causing it to explode. The employee jumped from the burning truck and was hospitalized with burns to his face, chest, and arms.
An employee was installing piping and valves for fire protection systems in the vicinity of an electrical meter outside of a new warehouse. The meter exploded, causing burns to the employee's face and arms.
An employee was pouring molten aluminum into a drain pot. The aluminum touched moisture at the bottom of the drain pot and an explosion occurred. The employee sustained burns to their face, hands, and legs.
An employee was operating an oxygen-deficient oven that required manual ignition to make charcoal from wood. As the oven was opened, oxygen was introduced to the environment, resulting in an explosion. The employee sustained head trauma as well as fractures to the arms and legs.
An employee was setting up the electrical parts for a fireworks display. They were inserting an e-match when it generated friction with something else. A 3-inch firework shell ignited, injuring the employee's hand and head.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 424510)
An employee was preparing to unjam an auger shaft while standing on a forklift-elevated, job-made platform. The employee's wrench slipped off the equipment, causing them to lose their balance and fall. The employee landed on the ground 14 feet below and suffered fractures to the orbital bone, left elbow, and lower back.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee bent over to pick up a rubber mat from the ground. When he grabbed the corner of the mat, a rattlesnake hidden under it bit his left middle finger near the first knuckle. He was hospitalized.
An employee had been cleaning a grain bin. He walked across the bin and his left foot contacted an unguarded floor auger, resulting in severe lacerations to the foot. The auger was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
On September 23, 2025, an employee was monitoring a feed roller when they tripped and their right hand contacted the roller. The employee was hospitalized and their right hand was amputated at the wrist.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.