Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Vistra Energy, 13498 E 800 St., HENNEPIN, ILLINOIS 61327
on — Amputations, affecting the fingertip(s).
Final narrative
On February 1, 2019, around 11:00 a.m., an employee was troubleshooting a unit at the mill. He was removing the wet coal from the feeder wheel using a three-foot flat steel bar and the bar got caught in the rotating wheel. The employee attempted to pull the bar out and pinched his right middle finger between the bar and the inspection port housing resulting in a laceration and broken bone that required surgery to repair. It later required surgical amputation.
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 221119)
Employees were preparing to replace a primary electrical cable. While two of the employees were working to remove the cable on one side of a switchgear, they came into contact with a wrench and the outside part of the switchgear. One employee suffered an electrical shock.
An employee was installing personal protective grounds at a substation when their hand contacted the end of the ground that was not energized, but induced voltage was created by wind and shocked them. This resulted in a burn on their thumb.
At about 9:35 a.m. on March 18, 2024, an employee was conducting maintenance on a non-operational fan controller in a switchgear room. The employee pulled the controller and began installing a new one. The employee was electrocuted, suffering third-degree burns to the right hand and fingers as well as burns to the right forearm, and was hospitalized.
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.