VLS Railcar - Hockley

On November 27, 2023, an employee was emptying a 2-inch product line that transports sodium hydroxide liquid from a rail car to a 275-gallon tote tank. The nozzle came out of the tote and sprayed sodium hydroxide onto the employee's face. The employee was hospitalized with chemical burns to their face, mouth, and neck.

An employee was working with sulfuric acid as part of the production process. While transferring the chemical from a large container to a smaller container, it splashed on his body and hand, resulting in a chemical burn.

An employee knelt in wet concrete while performing work as a concrete finisher and sustained a chemical burn to the right shin. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was using a 5-gallon bucket to unload acid product from a tank. Residual product leaked into the containment area, causing the employee to sustain first- and second-degree burns to the chest, as well as third-degree burns to the arms.

An employee was transferring an alkaline cleaning chemical from a bulk container into 1-gallon containers. The employee lifted a gallon container by its label tag. The tag broke causing the container to fall approximately 14-18 inches. The container struck the ground and the contents splashed onto the employee causing chemical burns to their eyes.

An employee was using his left hand to push an axle down the line on a raised track work area while holding the remaining axle back with his right hand. A finger on his right hand was caught between the rail and the dust guard of the axle, resulting in a fracture and a laceration.

An employee was sampling a railcar in a storage yard. After sampling the railcar, the employee was climbing down the railcar ladder when he fell off the top step of the ladder to the ground, resulting in fractures to six ribs, his right arm, and two vertebrae.

Employees were watering a train at a train platform. One of them went to step over a hose, tripped, and fell to the ground. He suffered a broken knee. The employee was hospitalized for surgery.

Employees were performing maintenance operations on a railroad line when the machine experienced a load conveyor motor failure. While clearing the machine to allow for repairs, an employee pinned the left side of the swing conveyor. The operator on the right side then requested a slight bump to the left to align the right side for pinning. Once the swing was in position, the operator went to pin the right side and the chain tensioner failed, resulting in an abrupt release of the swing chain. The chain snapped back and struck the operator s right hand, resulting in a 1-inch laceration and a fractured fifth metacarpal. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery on the hand.

The injured employee loaded a container onto a railcar and then mounted the railcar to put in the locking mechanism for the container. The employee was struck by another container that a crane was loading onto the railcar and fell approximately four feet from the railcar to the concrete ground. The employee sustained fractures to their pelvis, shoulder, and two ribs.

After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.

An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.

An employee was inspecting flares processes. The employee received burns to the front side of the body, face and arm from the flares.

An employee was removing plastic material from a production line when the machine cycled and amputated his left index, ring, and little fingers.

An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.