Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Gerdau Long Steel North America Midlothian Mill, 300 Ward Road, MIDLOTHIAN, TEXAS 76065
on — Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified, affecting the multiple body parts, n.e.c..
Final narrative
Two maintenance employees were investigating a water leak on a furnace when the furnace exploded, causing hand, neck, knee, and leg burns to both employees.
HospitalizedMultiple body parts, n.e.c.Furnaces, heaters
More severe injuries at Gerdau Long Steel North America Midlothian Mill
A maintenance employee and a coworker were responding to a call in which an air intake hose had become disconnected from the air pump inlet. Upon arrival, the injured employee and coworker went to the electrical panel, which powered four 40-horsepower motors. The power to pump number 13-1 was turned off. The employee then went to the location of air pump 31-2 and reached around the intake to confirm there was no suction. The unit was still operating and sucked his left hand into the air intake impeller, severely injuring four fingers and resulting in the amputation of the first digit to the middle finger. The left hand index finger required sutures with no loss of bone, and the ring and little fingers had minor avulsions.
An employee was sitting in the cab of the truck while waste oxidizer was being offloaded. The waste reacted with the receiving tank and an explosion occurred in the tank. Fire traveled through the hose to the tanker truck, causing it to explode. The employee jumped from the burning truck and was hospitalized with burns to his face, chest, and arms.
An employee was installing piping and valves for fire protection systems in the vicinity of an electrical meter outside of a new warehouse. The meter exploded, causing burns to the employee's face and arms.
An employee was pouring molten aluminum into a drain pot. The aluminum touched moisture at the bottom of the drain pot and an explosion occurred. The employee sustained burns to their face, hands, and legs.
An employee was operating an oxygen-deficient oven that required manual ignition to make charcoal from wood. As the oven was opened, oxygen was introduced to the environment, resulting in an explosion. The employee sustained head trauma as well as fractures to the arms and legs.
An employee was setting up the electrical parts for a fireworks display. They were inserting an e-match when it generated friction with something else. A 3-inch firework shell ignited, injuring the employee's hand and head.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331111)
An employee used a crane to set down a bar. The bar measured 9 inches by 16 feet. The strap got stuck under the bar, and the employee asked another employee to jog the roll. The bar rolled and pinched the injured employee's left hand, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
An employee was loading a steel forming machine with steel to be processed. He went to move a cooling hose out of the way and his left thumb was crushed by the forming roller, resulting in injuries that required surgical amputation.
An employee was advancing a rail to line up for welding with a secondary rail on the weld line when his right middle and ring fingers were caught between the rails. The employee sustained an amputation to the top knuckle of the middle finger and a fracture to the ring finger. The machine was guarded at the time.
An employee was preparing bundles of 24-foot square metal tubing to be loaded onto a truck and cut the safety band for a bundle. While the employee was removing a piece of dunnage from a bundle, they bumped the bundle with their leg. The metal tubing then fell forward and struck the employee, causing a fractured left ankle.
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.