Struck by dislodged flying object, particle · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Hydro Extrusion USA LLC, 53 Pottsville Street, CRESSONA, PENNSYLVANIA 17929
on — Fractures, affecting the skull.
Final narrative
An employee was setting up a hydraulic press with a new die. The employee inserted hold-down pins and a large metal bar. As the die came down during the initial work, it hit the edge of one of the hold-down pins, which vibrated past the end of the jig and entered the path of the ram. The ram hit the edge of the pin and flung it out violently. The 1-pound metal pin hit the employee's head, causing facial lacerations and a skull fracture.
HospitalizedSkullMachine and appliance parts, n.e.c.
An employee was adjusting rolls of vinyl that were on a pole set horizontally on a rack. As the employee was pushing the vinyl with his right hand, the right side of the pole dropped about 3 feet, pulling the left side of the pole downward at an angle. The employee's left ring finger became trapped/pinched between the pole holding the vinyl and the rack that was holding the pole. The employee's fingertip was amputated.
An employee was performing maintenance on a press puller and aligning the puller when it fell. The puller electrical panel struck their left upper back, resulting in fractures to their T12 and L1 vertebrae. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was conducting preventative maintenance on an extrusion press and using an impact wrench to remove rivets on the shear cylinder. When the last rivet was removed, the stored energy in the cylinder released and dropped it onto the employee's hand. Their right thumb was caught between the cylinder and the casing of the rivet gun, resulting in crushing injuries. The employee sustained an amputation of the thumb without bone loss. The machine was locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was broaching a keyway in a bore sprocket with a manually operated powered cylinder hydraulic press. On pressing the broach through the initial phase of cutting, he used an extension rod to finish broaching and clear the broach from the part. While setting up the extension rod, he placed his left index finger on top of the extension rod. The press extended and crushed his finger, resulting in an amputation.
While doing general labor, an employee developed signs of heat stress. After going home, later, he was hospitalized for dehydration and heat-related symptoms.
An employee was tossing a damaged toilet into a compactor. The toilet bounced off the compactor and lacerated the employee's right wrist, cutting an artery and tendon.
An employee was operating a hydraulic jack to bend a frame when the jack came loose and struck the employee. They were hospitalized for a spleen injury.
A truck had been towed into the shop with a flat tire and a blown airbag. An employee checked the tire for damage and was airing the tire. The employee was installing the valve core when the bead slipped off the rim. Air escaped, and the aluminum wheel struck the employee's head and face. The employee became unresponsive and was bleeding.
On December 14, 2023, at 8:40 p.m., three employees were inspecting milling machines for startup. A few of the sleeves on the mill drum needed to be changed out. The injured employee was trying to input a sleeve on the mill drum using a hammer. The hammer hit the edge of the drum, which caused a metal piece to splinter off and strike the employee's cheek just below the left eye. The metal splinter embedded in the back of their eye socket, resulting in pain, swelling, and bleeding that required hospitalization.
An employee was pushing a line of carts into a vestibule when the door cable snapped and struck his right ankle. The employee suffered a fracture that required surgery and hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331313)
An employee was conducting preventative maintenance on an extrusion press and using an impact wrench to remove rivets on the shear cylinder. When the last rivet was removed, the stored energy in the cylinder released and dropped it onto the employee's hand. Their right thumb was caught between the cylinder and the casing of the rivet gun, resulting in crushing injuries. The employee sustained an amputation of the thumb without bone loss. The machine was locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was operating a gasoline-powered pump to remove water from the ground floor sump of a storage building. The pump became blocked and overheated. The employee was removing the blockage when he was sprayed with hot mud and steam, resulting in first- and second-degree burns to his right hand and left wrist, as well as a third-degree burn to the underside of the left wrist.
An employee stepped on the lip of a deck plate and his foot slipped into a pot of ore, resulting in burns to the lower left ankle and foot. The employee was hospitalized.
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.