Agropur, Inc.

An employee was preparing for a clean-in-place (CIP) process and removed a cap from a pipe to connect another pipe. Hot water (approximately 170 degrees) splashed onto the employee, causing burns to her hands, left forearm, and both thighs.

An employee was walking near a spring-mounted valve when the valve opened. Steam was released and burned the employee's arm, resulting in hospitalization.

An employee was removing and cleaning the water filter for a cheese cooker. The employee switched over to the alternate filter and used the shutoff valve to isolate the filter before removing it. When the filter was isolated, the hot water/steam mixture built back pressure in the filter housing. When the employee removed the clamp, the hot water burst out onto the employee causing second-degree burns to their inner arms and the left side of their chest and abdomen.

An employee was replacing the valve stem on a pneumatic valve when the valve actuated and closed on their thumb, resulting in a fingertip amputation.

An employee was cleaning up in the packaging room when an alarm went off on the cheese knife. He went to turn around and tripped on a hose and fell backward to the floor. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured right hip.

An employee was making modifications to an electrical panel when an arc flash occurred. The employee suffered burns to multiple parts of the body.

An employee was installing a ground wire to a power transmission pole. The ground wire contacted an energized portion of a cut-out, causing an arc-flash. The employee was hospitalized with second degree burns to their chest and arms.

An employee was connecting a utility transformer for underground service to a home. The employee's impact drill went across two connection bars with 240 volts of potential, creating an arc flash. The employee sustained burns to the face and eyes due to the arc flash and molten aluminum.

On December 15, 2023, at 9:15 AM, an employee was changing 60-amp fuses in a 480-volt panel when an arc flash occurred. The employee was hospitalized with burns to both hands.

An employee had just turned off breakers and was loosening wires on panels when they were shocked by 480 volts of electricity.

An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.

A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.

An employee was changing an O-ring on a pneumatic valve. The employee had placed the valve on his work cart and was applying air to open the valve and access the O-ring. After changing the O-ring, the valve closed on his fingertip, crushing it. He was taken to the hospital, where he received an amputation.

An employee was using a pike to move a pallet of sugar that was stuck in the powder racking. The employee fell backward, landing on his right leg. The employee's leg was fractured and he was hospitalized.

The injured employee was carrying totes of cheese when they tripped over another employee's foot/ankle and fell to the cement floor. The injured employee sustained six fractured ribs on the left side and was hospitalized.

An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.

An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.

An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.

A skid loader backed over an employee's leg, breaking it.

An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.