Contact with hot objects or substances · Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Qualawash Holdings, LLC, 803 E. 120th St., CHICAGO, ILLINOIS 60628
on — Heat (thermal) burns, unspecified, affecting the nonclassifiable.
Final narrative
An employee was attempting to connect a hot water hose to the hot water supply line when the hose disconnected from the equipment and sprayed the employee on the back, resulting in burns that required hospitalization.
An employee was disconnecting the return line from a container after cleaning when they were sprayed with heated sodium hydroxide solution. The employee sustained thermal and chemical burns to their legs.
An employee was cleaning out a mobile tank unit with a pressure washer. The washer's hose failed, causing air and water at high pressure to puncture the employee's hand. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was conducting maintenance on machines in an open warehouse location. The employee developed difficulty breathing, caused by chemical vapors from an intermediate bulk container that was being drained about 30-50 feet away.
An employee was trying to flush a liquid bulk tank trailer with hot water. Hot water splashed from a valve in an adjacent bay onto the employee's left leg, burning the calf and the back of the thigh.
An employee connected a steam line to a hose to clean equipment when the fitting broke loose. They were struck by steam in the left inner thigh, resulting in burns that required hospitalization.
An employee was making tea when she noticed tea grinds were collecting on the side and water was no longer dripping through the funnel. The employee was checking the funnel when boiling water and tea grinds spilled onto the left side of her body. The employee sustained burns to her neck, back, and arm.
An employee had turned off the ball valve on a waterpipe system and was removing the plug when the coupling system attached to the strainer came apart. Hot water sprayed on his arm and back, resulting in first- and second-degree burns that required surgery.
An employee was using a shovel to remove waste vermiculite from molten zinc. The metal had been placed in a bin and partially hardened. The employee broke through the partially hardened metal; still-molten metal flowed to the employee's steel-toed right boot and entered through the cloth boot tongue. The employee suffered a third-degree burn to the right foot and was hospitalized.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 562998)
An employee was performing maintenance on a hopper. The employee's hand was caught in a cylinder pivot point area when the pneumatic cylinder released trapped air. The cylinder crushed the employee's left little finger, causing the partial amputation of the fingertip.
An employee was opening a door to a semi trailer at the facility and his hand was caught between the door and another parked semi. The employee's left index finger was fractured and thumb muscles were injured. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was removing residual meat particles from the sprocket of the crossover conveyor belt in the packing area. While doing so, the conveyor started and his fingers were caught between the metal framework and the belt, resulting in amputations to the middle and ring fingers on the left hand as well as skin damage to the right hand.
An employee was unloading vehicles. While unloading a van, the brakes failed and the vehicle rolled off the car hauler and ran over the employee. The employee was hospitalized for a lower left leg fracture.
An employee was servicing the compactor. They were reconnecting the turnbuckle on a receiver box when the turnbuckle slipped and fell, crushing the employee's left middle fingertip. The employee was hospitalized for surgery.
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.