Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode · Poisoning, including poisoning-related asphyxia
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Refuse Materials, Inc., 3520 Hudson Drive, STOW, OHIO 44224
on — Poisoning, including poisoning-related asphyxia, affecting the bODY SYSTEMS.
Final narrative
Three employees were polishing the concrete floor in the back break room and were overcome with carbon monoxide (CO) from the compressor that was used in that room. One employee was hospitalized for CO poisoning.
An employee was working to pull open the stuck door of a concrete slurry container. The door sprang open and struck the employee in the lower jaw, causing a laceration and fracture to the jaw.
An employee started a piece of equipment that was in a container with a propane leak. When the equipment started, it ignited the propane in the container and caused an explosion, burning the employee.
An employee was helping to set up skates to move a gondola. The bar slipped off the rack and the gondola leg fell and crushed the employee's right index finger, resulting in amputation at the first knuckle.
An employee was passing through a building when she suffered an allergic reaction to a cinnamon air freshener. The employee began to feel dizzy and ill, ultimately becoming unresponsive. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee wearing a blasting hood was preparing to blast inside a tank. The line that supplies the hood with breathing air was plugged into an argon line. The employee breathed the argon gas and fell. The employee was hospitalized for argon poisoning.
An employee was preparing a pump for maintenance. When the employee removed a cover, chemicals were released into the air. The employee was exposed to hydrogen sulfide and methyl mercaptan and was hospitalized.
An employee was mixing self-leveling cement when his hand was caught in a mixer. He suffered a partial amputation to his left middle finger, as well as a laceration to his buttocks.
An employee was working to pull open the stuck door of a concrete slurry container. The door sprang open and struck the employee in the lower jaw, causing a laceration and fracture to the jaw.
An electric crew was unloading a lighting instrument rack (approximately 400-500 pounds) from a box truck when one of the wheels rolled off the lift gate and the rack tipped over, falling onto the injured employee's right leg. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured tibia and required surgery.
An employee was working to deliver mail to an apartment building. She was waiting for a customer to move, to obtain clearance to the mailboxes. The door swung inward and closed on her right little finger. The top half of her finger was surgically amputated.
An employee fell from a step ladder while reaching for a tie-off point. He impacted the ground, and landed on his bolt bag which contained tools. The employee was hospitalized with fractured ribs, and a lacerated spleen and kidney.
On October 30, 2025, an employee was working to adjust a stackable metal shipping container. As the container dropped into place, it caught the employee's hands in an area between the upper and lower cross-members. The employee suffered a laceration to the left ring finger that required stitches, bruising to the right ring finger, and fractures to the right middle finger that necessitated medical amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was moving a scissor lift through a doorway. The employee was pinned between the scissor lift and the doorframe, sustained a back injury, and was hospitalized.
An employee was setting up communication equipment for a meeting. They were walking and tripped over a speaker on the ground. The employee sustained a leg injury.