Contact with hot objects or substances · Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Omega Protein, 5735 Elder Ferry Road, MOSS POINT, MISSISSIPPI 39563
on — Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified, affecting the nonclassifiable.
Final narrative
Two employees were performing fabrication work on an existing pipe when the valve was inadvertently hit, spraying hot water on and burning the employees.
An employee was bailing fish when the bail line received pressure. The employee lost control and fell backwards, striking his head on the grating. He suffered a laceration to the back of the head and a brain bleed.
An employee was blowing down fish with an airline hose when he took a step back, lost his balance, and fell on a step located behind him. He injured his right rib and right lung.
An employee was welding on a stainless foundation and received first to second degree burns under the right arm pit and shoulder area when his shirt caught fire.
An employee connected a steam line to a hose to clean equipment when the fitting broke loose. They were struck by steam in the left inner thigh, resulting in burns that required hospitalization.
An employee was making tea when she noticed tea grinds were collecting on the side and water was no longer dripping through the funnel. The employee was checking the funnel when boiling water and tea grinds spilled onto the left side of her body. The employee sustained burns to her neck, back, and arm.
An employee had turned off the ball valve on a waterpipe system and was removing the plug when the coupling system attached to the strainer came apart. Hot water sprayed on his arm and back, resulting in first- and second-degree burns that required surgery.
An employee was using a shovel to remove waste vermiculite from molten zinc. The metal had been placed in a bin and partially hardened. The employee broke through the partially hardened metal; still-molten metal flowed to the employee's steel-toed right boot and entered through the cloth boot tongue. The employee suffered a third-degree burn to the right foot and was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311712)
On July 7, 2025, an employee was cleaning food from under a conveyor belt. He was retrieving a piece of food when his left middle finger contacted the chain and pulley. The fingertip was amputated. The machine was guarded at the time of the incident.
On December 16, 2024, at approximately 3:07 p.m., an employee was feeding frozen fish blocks via a conveyor belt into a floor mounted electrically powered grinder. The grinder became jammed with the fish material. The worker deenergized the machine and used a rolling ladder to climb approximately 4 feet in the air to unjam it. As the fish block became dislodged, the momentum of the action caused the fish block to slam down on her right thumb and the machine, causing a partial amputation of the thumb tip.
An employee opened a fillet machine to remove a fish that had gotten stuck when their left hand made contact with the blade, resulting in cut ligaments between the thumb and index finger.
An employee was moving a loading ramp to the dock when the ramp became stuck. While dislodging it, the ramp fell on their left hand. The employee sustained a partial amputation to their left middle finger.
An employee was checking a pole-type transformer tank for leaks. A hydraulic clamping device was lowered onto his right thumb and crushed it against the sharp edge of the bottom of the tank. He suffered a partial transphalangeal amputation to the thumb.
The injured employee was standing behind a table. She jumped out to scare another employee, but tripped and fell on the tile floor, injuring her right ankle/foot. She was hospitalized with a dislocated ankle that required surgery.
An employee was going into a trailer to mark product for shipment and the trailer pulled away from the dock. The employee fell out of the trailer, contacted the dock plate, and then fell to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a punctured lung, fractured ribs, and contusions.
An employee was hooking up bundled tie-downs with a chain. While he was holding a hook, the other hook was unlocked. This caused the employee's hook to slide down and pinch his right index finger between the chain and the shackle. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip (without bone loss), as well as an open fracture.
An employee was operating a gas tugger to lift metal sheeting. His left hand was pulled into the pulley, which crushed his left thumb, resulting in avulsions and other tissue damage. He was hospitalized and required surgery.