Caught in running equipment or machinery during maintenance, cleaning · Amputations
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at SOLOMON COLORS, INC., 4050 NORTH COLOR PLANT RD, SPRINGFIELD, ILLINOIS 62702
on — Amputations, affecting the finger(s), fingernail(s), n.e.c..
Final narrative
On September 24, 2021, an employee was trying to unjam a machine. His left hand was caught in a rotary airlock valve (accessed through an inspection port), which pinched his middle finger. The finger was amputated up to the first knuckle. The machine was running at the time.
On February 20, 2023, an employee was climbing down a 6-foot step ladder that was leaned against a pallet of material when the ladder moved, causing the employee to fall. They were hospitalized with a pelvis and elbow fracture.
On May 14, 2020, at approximately 1:00 p.m., an employee was operating a dispensing machine fed by a moving conveyor belt. As the employee attempted to retrieve material from the conveyor, the employee's right pinky fingertip was amputated by the moving belt and pulley.
Two employees were repairing the hydraulic engagement pins on a rented front-end wheel loader. The machine controls were activated to move the attachment pins and an employee's finger was caught between the pins and the bushings. Their right index finger was partially amputated.
An employee was cleaning the conveyor on a piece of equipment when they slipped and their right hand was pulled into the chain sprocket. The employee's fifth fingertip was amputated.
An employee was throwing blankets onto a blanket folding and stacking machine. A blanket got stuck in the machine and she attempted to remove it when the machine contacted her right little finger, resulting in a fingertip amputation.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 325131)
Employees were investigating the vapor conditions at the purification vent scrubber after a restart. Employees were looking through the sight glass, when the glass ruptured, releasing chemical vapors. Two employees sustained chemical burns to their upper body.
Six employees were removing a 4-inch butterfly valve at a desulfurization unit using an impact wrench. The employees inhaled carbon dioxide vapors. Two of the employees were hospitalized.
An employee was operating the floor scrubber and pinched his right index finger between the steering wheel on the floor scrubber and a crossbeam by the storage racks resulting in a partial fingertip amputation.
On August 26, 2020, an employee was cleaning an industrial mixer when a flash fire erupted within the mixer and burned the employee's face, neck, and hands. The cleaning process involves manually scraping a mixture of aluminum paste with petroleum distillate carrier. Isopropyl alcohol is then used to wash the mixer.
On May 14, 2020, at approximately 1:00 p.m., an employee was operating a dispensing machine fed by a moving conveyor belt. As the employee attempted to retrieve material from the conveyor, the employee's right pinky fingertip was amputated by the moving belt and pulley.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.