Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Tetra Technologies, Tom Ketcham Leas Site, BIG SPRING, TEXAS 79720
on — Fractures, affecting the lower leg(s).
Final narrative
An employee stepped down from an uneven surface and fractured their right tibia and fibula.
An employee was completing a fluid treatment process. The employee had just closed a 4-inch valve on a "T" manifold when he tripped and fell forward, striking the shin of his right leg against a valve handle and then landing on the ground. The employee's right leg sustained a spiral fracture requiring hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was walking to their truck to look for a lid. When they stepped between the truck and a dock plate, they sustained a knee injury that required surgery.
An employee was standing on plant bed timbers, using a powered hand trimmer to trim the shrubs in the plant bed. The timber gave way, breaking into several pieces. The employee lost balance and fell with the trimmer in his hand. He suffered a severe laceration to the right wrist and hand.
An employee was loading phosphoric acid onto a rail car and preparing to secure the rail car for transport. While repositioning the loadout spout to secure it back to the drip pan holster on the dock, the spout contacted the handrail of the rail car, causing the employee to lose balance. The employee stepped back and their right foot entered the opening for the rail car, causing him to twist/pivot on his left leg. The employee's lower left leg was fractured.
On November 14, 2023, an employee was receiving a delivery from a truck when some of the merchandise fell from the truck s lift and struck him. He then fell to the ground and his head struck the sidewalk, resulting in an injury that required hospitalization.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 213112)
An employee had been cleaning the work area. While lifting a saw, the employee's index finger was lacerated by the saw blade. A tendon was cut and required surgery.
An employee was delivering home heating fuel when bees came from the ground and stung the employee's face, neck, torso, and hands. The employee proceeded to shut off the oil flow before losing consciousness. They were hospitalized due to an anaphylactic reaction.
An employee was using a torch to loosen a bolt on a water trailer. Natural gas was present in the water and it ignited, causing a fire. The employee sustained third-degree burns to their upper leg.
An employee had been conducting crane operations. The employee went to stop a piece of oil and gas equipment for tubular running from falling over to the ground. Their right hand was caught between a rolling ladder and the equipment, resulting in fractures to the index and middle fingers. They were hospitalized and the middle finger required surgery.
An employee was working to install a drive belt on a water pump. He was holding the belt on both sides of the pulley, working to route it over the top. As he pulled down with his right hand, the pulley rotated and the belt slid over it, pulling his left little finger between the pulley and the belt. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip as well as a fracture to the ring finger.
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 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.