Western Berks Landfill

An employee was tossing a damaged toilet into a compactor. The toilet bounced off the compactor and lacerated the employee's right wrist, cutting an artery and tendon.

An employee was operating a hydraulic jack to bend a frame when the jack came loose and struck the employee. They were hospitalized for a spleen injury.

A truck had been towed into the shop with a flat tire and a blown airbag. An employee checked the tire for damage and was airing the tire. The employee was installing the valve core when the bead slipped off the rim. Air escaped, and the aluminum wheel struck the employee's head and face. The employee became unresponsive and was bleeding.

On December 14, 2023, at 8:40 p.m., three employees were inspecting milling machines for startup. A few of the sleeves on the mill drum needed to be changed out. The injured employee was trying to input a sleeve on the mill drum using a hammer. The hammer hit the edge of the drum, which caused a metal piece to splinter off and strike the employee's cheek just below the left eye. The metal splinter embedded in the back of their eye socket, resulting in pain, swelling, and bleeding that required hospitalization.

An employee was pushing a line of carts into a vestibule when the door cable snapped and struck his right ankle. The employee suffered a fracture that required surgery and hospitalization.

A driver had backed up a rear load truck to a dumpster. The winch cable was bound, and another employee went to use the controls to put slack in the line. The cable tightened instead of loosening while the driver was holding it, and it caught his hand against the truck and crushed his thumb. The thumb was fractured and lacerated; he was hospitalized, requiring surgery. The incident took place during a training activity.

An employee left the guard shack to speak to a customer. A bulldozer ran over her right foot, resulting in three broken toes.

An employee was pulling into a customer's parking lot to pick up a roll-off container when the vehicle ran over the median curb. The vehicle then veered to the left, striking the side curb and the retaining wall. The employee sustained injuries to his neck and spine, as well as a damaged artery, a head laceration, and fractured ribs.

An employee was replacing the bracing arm of a baler. The replacement part (weighing an estimated 500 pounds) was moved into place using a truck-mounted crane with a lifting strap attached to the designated pick point. The employee then used his right hand to stabilize/align the part. The part shifted, crushing his right index finger against the mounting pin hole. The employee's finger was amputated above the first knuckle.

An employee was moving a mower with a tractor bucket when the bucket slipped and struck another employee on the hand. The injured employee sustained a partial amputation of their left little finger.

An employee was closing a door when the door closed on their right index finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.

An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.

An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.

An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.