Whiting Systems

On November 27, 2023, an employee was emptying a 2-inch product line that transports sodium hydroxide liquid from a rail car to a 275-gallon tote tank. The nozzle came out of the tote and sprayed sodium hydroxide onto the employee's face. The employee was hospitalized with chemical burns to their face, mouth, and neck.

An employee was working with sulfuric acid as part of the production process. While transferring the chemical from a large container to a smaller container, it splashed on his body and hand, resulting in a chemical burn.

An employee knelt in wet concrete while performing work as a concrete finisher and sustained a chemical burn to the right shin. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.

An employee was using a 5-gallon bucket to unload acid product from a tank. Residual product leaked into the containment area, causing the employee to sustain first- and second-degree burns to the chest, as well as third-degree burns to the arms.

An employee was transferring an alkaline cleaning chemical from a bulk container into 1-gallon containers. The employee lifted a gallon container by its label tag. The tag broke causing the container to fall approximately 14-18 inches. The container struck the ground and the contents splashed onto the employee causing chemical burns to their eyes.

An employee was using an electric pallet jack to retrieve a chemical tote from a staging lane. He inserted the pallet jack under the tote and began to back up. After moving backward for approximately 15 feet, the employee tripped on a collapsible tote. As he fell, the pallet jack ran over his left foot. His ankle was lacerated and his foot was fractured.

An employee was installing network infrastructure at a client's distribution center. He was transporting a box measuring approximately 23 inches by 12 inches to a truck yard and walking along a narrow path adjacent to a trench that measured approximately 5.5 to 6 feet deep, 10 to 12 feet long, and 18 to 24 inches wide. Gravel on the path shifted beneath the employee's foot, causing him to lose balance and fall into the trench. He landed on his left side and struck a 4-inch PVC conduit pipe located at the bottom of the trench. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to his fourth, fifth, and sixth ribs on the left side.

An employee mixed sodium hydroxide pellets into a 55-gallon drum of hot water. A chemical reaction occurred and mixture splashed out of the drum, causing burns to the employee's face and neck. Personal protective equipment was not in place at the time.

An employee was cleaning a centrifugal pump. As he was cleaning a nozzle, his hand was caught in the inlet of the pump. He suffered a partial fingertip amputation.

A line leader was crouched down observing the chain and sprocket on a carpet filling machine for maintenance or repair when another employee got his right index finger caught between the chain and sprocket. Skin and the fingernail were removed and the employee required surgical amputation of the fingertip to the first knuckle.

An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.

A casting machine jammed. An employee's hand was caught in the machine, where a belt line caught and amputated the tip of his finger.

During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.

An employee slipped on condensation on a walkway in a parking garage. She fell and suffered a closed fracture to the neck of the left femur.

An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.