Struck against moving part of machinery or equipment · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at American Crystal Sugar Company, 35140 COUNTY ROAD 125, SIDNEY, MONTANA 59270
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was doing a pre-check of the warehouse when he heard something metal coming down the screen. He opened the airlock and was investigating with his hand when the airlock fan blade amputated three of his fingers.
An employee was troubleshooting the precoat/overflow tank when scalding liquid (juice) began to leak out of the tank and contacted the employee. The employee was hospitalized for burns.
An employee was performing maintenance on a machine and went to move a piece. A part of a cylinder released, crushing the employee's right index finger and resulting in a fracture that required surgery.
An employee was clearing a clogged sugar chute, containing rare earth magnets inset into an aluminum bar to catch any metal in the sugar. The employee loosened the middle of three magnets and it was attracted to the outside magnet, crushing the tip of his right middle finger. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee had been tearing down 2000-pound corrugated blocks of sugar. A chunk of sugar sloughed off the block and struck the employee in the back of the left leg. The employee sustained a fractured left tibia and fibula.
An employee was operating a strip saw. As the employee shut off the saw, their right index and middle fingertips were amputated by the blade before it came to a complete stop.
An employee was using a table saw to cut a piece of wood for wall framing. The wood jumped, causing the employee's hand to move toward the saw, amputating their left index finger and causing a laceration on their hand.
An employee was operating a trim saw. While trying to free a jammed board she had just cut, she came into contact with the running saw blade, which amputated her right thumb.
An employee was helping change out socks on hard thin juice filters, part of a beet sugar manufacturing operation. While the filter lid was being removed, juice started leaking down the side of the filter. This suggested that the juice was bypassing the seat on the main shutoff valve. While the main shutoff was being checked, the valve was opened and sprayed hot juice on the employee. The employee suffered burns to the left arm, the left ribcage area, the left side of the back, and the left side of the face. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was removing a beet elevating belt while mechanics were cutting a hole in the center of the belt to install the pulley point using an oscillating tool with a hook blade. The tool popped out of the belt and the tool struck the injured employee in the stomach, resulting in a laceration on the lower left abdomen.
An employee was troubleshooting the precoat/overflow tank when scalding liquid (juice) began to leak out of the tank and contacted the employee. The employee was hospitalized for burns.
An employee was clearing a jam in the bag sealer machine in the warehouse when his right thumb was caught in the belt and pulley, resulting in amputation of the thumb tip.
An employee was fixing an issue with seed cleaning equipment when he slipped on the ladder he was on. He went to catch himself and his hand went into a moving belt and pulley on the cleaner. The employee sustained the amputation of his right middle and index fingertips just below the fingernails.
An employee was riding an all-terrain vehicle (ATV) to move a bison herd. He was riding up the side of a steep hill when the ATV struck a rock and rolled, ejecting the employee before rolling over him. The employee suffered broken vertebrae in his back that required hospitalization.
An employee was climbing in the spreader area to remove a pasta jam when his right little finger was cut by the rotary cut-off knife. The employee sustained a laceration and fracture, resulting in an amputation.
A smoke jumper parachuted out of a helicopter during a forest fire response, landed on steep rugged terrain, and suffered femur and rib fractures and a liver laceration. The employee was hospitalized.