Blanchard Refining Company, LLC

An employee was preparing to load catalyst from a trailer into a catalyst hopper. They used nitrogen to build up pressure to move the catalyst. Something wasn't working, so the employee climbed onto a 9-foot high platform on the truck to check a valve. When the employee was climbing down, the cap of the trailer shot out and hit the employee in the chest, knocking the employee down to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured skull and eight broken ribs.

An employee who was troubleshooting a level transmitter was found unconscious within the vicinity of a suspected hydrocarbon (H2S) release.

An employee suffered a chemical exposure to his face and was hospitalized.

An employee was checking the function of newly installed actuators when they were struck by a pressurized release pipe. The employee suffered fractures to the orbital socket and shoulder, requiring hospitalization.

A ramp in the trunk of a delivery van struck an employee's calf. She suffered a broken leg and was hospitalized.

An employee was completing a service call and looking at a water pump when the pump cover plate struck their forehead. The employee sustained a forehead laceration and fracture requiring hospitalization.

An employee was removing chains from a steel tube. A sorting hook attachment was caught on the staging area cross member. When he raised the chains, the sorting hook snapped back and struck the employee's face causing a fractured jaw.

An employee was in the sawmill basement using a push broom and shovel to clean wood chips and sawdust. The employee's right arm was struck by a wooden board between the wrist and elbow, resulting in a fracture.

An employee was applying pressure to a tank car loaded with caustic soda solution for post-load leak testing. He twisted the valve plug to check it for leaks when it broke free, releasing the caustic soda solution through the opening. The employee suffered chemical burns to both eyes and to his respiratory tract.

Employees were setting up an 8-inch sewer PVC pipe line. An employee was removing/rolling a scrap PVC pipe off the conveyor when their little fingertip was crushed between the end of the PVC pipe and the post for the overhead bus stop guard (fixed guard). The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was walking by an equipment battery (tank battery) when a leak occurred around a heater that caused a flash fire. He was wearing flame-resistant clothing and sustained burns to his palms and back.

Two employees were removing a recirculation pump from service at an evaporator. They were disconnecting pump flanges and couplings from the motor when boiling water burst out from the system. Both employees sustained second-degree burns to the chest, stomach, and arms.

On December 9, 2024, an employee was cleaning out a mixtruder. While he was retrieving some residual pieces of silicone left inside, its rotating blades caught the fingers of his right hand resulting in amputation of all four fingers. The thumb was left intact.

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 inspecting flares processes. The employee received burns to the front side of the body, face and arm from the flares.

An employee was removing plastic material from a production line when the machine cycled and amputated his left index, ring, and little fingers.

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.