Ascend Performance Materials

Employees were unloading material from a barge to a storage tank. A logistics employee was lowering the unloading arm at the barge dock. The employee provided the barge operator the rope used to guide the unloading arm from the dock down to the barge. The logistics employee pulled both pins that secure the counter weight when not in use. The logistics employee then grabbed the back of the counter weight handle and pulled the counter weight toward themself. As the logistics employee was guiding the counter weight past the unloading valve handle, the counter weight pushed back too far and struck the unloading valve handle. The operator's pinky finger was caught between the unloading valve and counterweight, resulting in a partial amputation.

An employee was helping to load wood crates in the bag boxing area. The employee was caught between a strapping machine and a crate. The employee sustained five broken ribs.

An employee was fixing ceiling tiles while working from a ladder when they fell to the floor and sustained a hip fracture.

An employee was on an A-frame ladder retrieving materials from a shelf. He slipped and fell and his leg got caught in the ladder rungs, breaking his left tibia.

An employee was unloading materials from a flatbed trailer when they fell from the trailer and landed on the ground. The employee sustained a fractured left leg.

An employee was unloading appliances at a customer location for delivery. The employee was moving a water heater to be placed on the liftgate when he stepped backward and fell to the ground. The employee sustained rib and back injuries.

An employee was coming down a portable ladder when they slipped and fell to the ground, resulting in a right forearm fracture.

An employee was monitoring a rotary press when his left hand became caught in the machinery. The employee's left middle finger was amputated at the distal interphalangeal joint.

An employee was sweeping in an area with powdered PVC on the floor and began having difficulty breathing and coughing up blood, The employee was hospitalized for inhalation of PVC.

An employee was working on a pastillator machine, which processes resin-based materials into solid pastilles. His right hand became caught between the feed roller (operating at approximately 350 F) and the cooling belt. The employee s glove and shirt sleeve adhered to his arm due to the heat. The employee sustained third-degree burns to his right hand and forearm, requiring hospitalization and surgery.

An employee was troubleshooting a leak on a low pressure (less than 50 PSI) condensate line in the oxidation area of the plant. He was working to remove insulation around a valve when either the valve or the line failed, and hot condensate contacted his right arm, right abdomen area, and the front of both legs, resulting in second- and third-degree burns.

An employee was replacing a fan on a cooling unit. As he went to adjust a pump, the unit caught his right hand and the fan blades severely lacerated his index finger. He underwent a medical amputation to the finger.

An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.

An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.

An employee was shot in the leg with a pistol during an altercation with two people who had entered the store without permission.

An employee was directing a truck driver to a dump site when the truck's peanut trailer slipped off the kingpin. As the trailer fell, a ladder attached to it lacerated the employee's ear. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.