Harcros Chemicals Inc.

An employee was introducing an air sparge to an atmospheric blending vessel which contained sodium glucoheptonate (SGH) mother liquid heated to approximately 210 degrees Fahrenheit. The employee opened a valve to introduce air at the base of the vessel and rise through the vessel contents. The valve was stuck and when the handle broke free it turned further than desired and released more air than intended. The air rising through the vessel caused the SGH mother liquid to splash out of a 23-inch diameter manhole in the top of the vessel approximately 11 feet above the employee. The heated liquid fell onto the employee causing first- and second-degree thermal burns to his back.

An employee was working with a wrench. The employee fell backward into a valve, suffering an injury that required hospitalization.

While opening a valve an employee was splashed with chemicals and sustained chemical burns to the right leg, right arm, and face.

An employee was using a forklift to unload a pallet of 55-gallon drums from a tractor trailer. A 55-gallon drum containing hydrofluoric acid was leaking and the acid was released into the air. The employee was hospitalized for exposure to the acid including lung and throat injuries.

An employee was washing out a tank with hot water that was about 130 to 140 degrees. The hot water scalded his back, resulting in third degree burns.

An employee was operating a forklift and unloading a truck. After the truck was unloaded, the employee got off the forklift and proceeded to adjust the dock plate with a hook tool. The dock plate slipped and the employee went to adjust the plate with their hand when their left middle finger got caught. Their finger was amputated above the first joint.

An employee was rotating a carbide granulator blade when his finger was caught between the blade and a stationary part of the machine. The employee's right middle finger was partially amputated and they suffered an avulsion to the right ring fingertip.

An employee was using a CNC metal lathe machine in manual mode to check that the thread blocking tool made contact with the jaws. As the employee was manually spinning the spindle, his index fingertip was crushed between the spindle's jaws and the grooving insert, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

During a material handling operation, an employee's fingertip was caught under an air conditioning unit as the unit was lowered onto a cart. The employee's fingertip was amputated.

An employee was removing a bolt from a tractor hub when their right index finger was caught between the hub and the frame. The employee's fingertip was crushed and the employee was hospitalized.

An employee was servicing a bypass feeder system. The system released hot water onto the employee, resulting in first- and second-degree burns to his face, chest, right arm, and both hands.

An employee was cleaning a formic acid hose with water when formic acid splashed his right shoulder, both arms, and his face under his face shield. He was hospitalized.

A driver had just climbed out of a truck. He stepped back to close the door and his foot went into a low spot on the ground. He fell backward onto an incline, rolled, and suffered a compound fracture to the wrist. He was hospitalized, requiring surgery.

An employee was walking between two tanks when he stepped into a sump pit that was missing its metal grate. His leg was submerged in sulfuric acid, and he suffered chemical burns to the lower part of his right foot. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was delivering pool chemicals from a tanker truck when the pipe connection broke. The employee sustained chemical burns from the sodium hypochlorite.

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.