Explosion or fire on water vehicle · Fractures and burns
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Wastewater Specialties, LLC, 900 LA- 108, SULPHUR, LOUISIANA 70665
on — Fractures and burns, affecting the multiple body parts, unspecified.
Final narrative
Five workers of two employers (Wastewater Specialties, LLC and Westlake Chemical Lake Charles South) were hospitalized when a flash fire in a vessel occurred. Two employees were on an elevated platform welding a flange onto a 54-inch segment of process piping at the quench tower. Three other workers were engaged in a hydro blasting operation. Employee 1 suffered head trauma, lacerations, and burns. Employee 2 suffered a lower leg/ankle injury. The other workers sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns to face and torso, and fractures to their arms and legs.
HospitalizedMultiple body parts, unspecifiedWater vehicle, unspecified
More severe injuries at Wastewater Specialties, LLC
An employee was cutting windows in the sheet metal of a tank using high-pressure water (40k) when the equipment's magnet, which holds the cutter to the tank, failed. The water then lacerated the employee's right thigh above the knee.
Two employees were transferring gasoline to a boat when the vapor caught on fire. Employee 1 was hospitalized with burns to the face and body. Employee 2 sustained eye and skin injuries but was not hospitalized.
An employee was performing maintenance and repair work on a boat. When the boat was started up, it caught fire and exploded. The employee suffered second-degree burns to the face, hands, and legs.
While prepping a push-boat to move to another location, employees filled both motors with 2-stroke oil and put the cowlings back on the motors. An employee went to start the motors. The port motor started but the starboard motor hesitated. The employee tried again; the starboard motor started up but fire shot out and fuel that leaked caught fire. One employee was hit by the flames, and sustained burns on the neck, left hand, and both legs.
On June 22, 2020, at 10:50 AM, an employee was installing a fuel sender in a 31-foot boat's fuel tank. As he connected the fuel sender wires, a spark was created and ignited the fuel vapors. The vapors exploded and then caught on fire, burning the employee. He jumped down from the boat and other employees ran over to put out the fire. He was hospitalized with third degree burns on his hands and a concussion.
The injured employee was assisting another employee with fueling a push boat when fumes/vapors in the area were ignited by a spark from the battery post. The injured employee sustained flash burns.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 541620)
The employee was working in the back of a micro truck and maneuvering around the materials in the back of the truck. The employee's foot caught on the edge of the truck, causing him to lose balance and fall from the back of the truck to the ground approximately 3.5 to 4 feet below. The employee landed on his feet on the loading dock but rolled his ankle. The employee was hospitalized with a compound fracture of the ankle.
An employee was assisting the operator of a soil sampling rig to collect soil samples. He went to remove soil sampling tooling and the energized equipment cycled. His right index fingertip was amputated including the fingernail.
A truck driver was loading a second roll-off container onto a two-box trailer. He was operating the hydraulic control levers with his left hand, and was holding the D-ring in place on the exterior of the trailer while letting slack out of the winch cable. The employee's right little finger became pinched between the winch cable and the structure of the trailer. The employee required surgical amputation of the distal phalanx.
An employee was sampling a fluid catalytic cracking (FCC) unit by opening a valve and placing a proving tube inside to collect the sample. The sample taken is a hot gas mixture. When the sample was collected, the flange came undone and fell due to the pressure. The employee sustained an amputation to their right middle fingertip.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
A temporary employee was testing an electrical starter motor. He was placing tape on the starter while the breaker was not engaged, but the starter sent an arc flash that burned his hands and stomach.
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.