Explosion of pressure vessel, piping, or tire · Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at WVA MANUFACTURING, LLC, U.S. ROUTE 60 EAST, ALLOY, WEST VIRGINIA 25002
on — Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified, affecting the hand(s), unspecified.
Final narrative
On 08/10/18, at approximately 2:00 AM, a maintenance employee was performing repairs to an oxygen line that was part of a plant's oxygen air system. The employee repaired the hose, tightened the clamp on the hose, and instructed another employee to turn the oxygen back on. When the oxygen was turned back on, the hose exploded in the maintenance employee's hands. The employee was hospitalized with burns to both hands.
HospitalizedHand(s), unspecifiedOxygen and oxygen compounds, n.e.c.
At about 7:30 p.m. on August 12, 2025, an employee was using a backhoe to excavate accumulated slag and debris from a furnace tap area and ladle pit. Residual water in the material had not fully evaporated; upon disturbance, it reacted violently, resulting in an explosion. The employee suffered first, second, and some third-degree steam burns, mainly to the arms and knees with additional burns to the hands and the back of the neck. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was using an air compressor on a multi-wheel tire when the flange and the tire burst, causing the wheel's lock ring to strike the employee in the face. He sustained a laceration and facial fractures.
An employee was changing the connection to a compressed nitrogen tank when the system failed and exploded. One employee suffered a concussion and was hospitalized. The other employee sustained soft tissue injuries that did not require hospitalization.
An employee was putting air in a tire that was mounted on a customer's vehicle when the tire exploded, resulting in a left arm fracture that required hospitalization.
On October 24, 2023, at 12:00 PM, an employee was visually checking a gauge on the "U" controller when a pressure tank exploded. The employee was hospitalized with multiple facial fractures and required surgery.
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