Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Erie Bronze & Aluminum Company, 6300 West Ridge Rd, ERIE, PENNSYLVANIA 16506
on — Puncture wounds, except gunshot wounds, affecting the multiple body parts, n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was using a 30-inch grinder to grind an aluminum casting when the grinding wheel exploded causing shrapnel injuries to the employee's abdomen and thigh. When the wheel exploded, it also pushed the aluminum casting into the employee with force.
HospitalizedMultiple body parts, n.e.c.Grinders, abraders
More severe injuries at Erie Bronze & Aluminum Company
An employee was preparing a molten metal alloy mix to pour a sample for quality testing when the alloy exploded, causing second and third degree burns to the back of his neck, arms, and legs.
An employee was sitting in the cab of the truck while waste oxidizer was being offloaded. The waste reacted with the receiving tank and an explosion occurred in the tank. Fire traveled through the hose to the tanker truck, causing it to explode. The employee jumped from the burning truck and was hospitalized with burns to his face, chest, and arms.
An employee was installing piping and valves for fire protection systems in the vicinity of an electrical meter outside of a new warehouse. The meter exploded, causing burns to the employee's face and arms.
An employee was pouring molten aluminum into a drain pot. The aluminum touched moisture at the bottom of the drain pot and an explosion occurred. The employee sustained burns to their face, hands, and legs.
An employee was operating an oxygen-deficient oven that required manual ignition to make charcoal from wood. As the oven was opened, oxygen was introduced to the environment, resulting in an explosion. The employee sustained head trauma as well as fractures to the arms and legs.
An employee was setting up the electrical parts for a fireworks display. They were inserting an e-match when it generated friction with something else. A 3-inch firework shell ignited, injuring the employee's hand and head.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 331523)
An employee was adjusting the oscillator pressure injector on a die-cast machine when his right thumb contacted the adjustment handle. The machine oscillated and closed on his right thumb. The tip of the thumb was pinched and amputated between the die and the handle.
An employee in the melt department was getting ready to put a recirculation pump into the pump housing area. He first put the pump in a cabinet to warm it up to avoid thermal shock. It shifted and the cold refractory contacted the hot metal. Molten metal contacted the employee, resulting in third-degree burns between their knee(s) and ankle(s). The employee was wearing some personal protective equipment (PPE) at the time but this was breached by the molten metal.
On May 15, 2025, an employee was assisting with troubleshooting an issue with a die in a die casting machine. While unjamming the machine, the employee's finger was caught between a section of the die and a wooden spacer. The employee's left middle fingertip was amputated.
An employee was checking the die casting machine when the cavity access door closed behind him and the employee sustained eight fractured ribs. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was using a vertical band saw to cut a piece of square metal tubing when their left hand contacted the saw blade and their middle finger was amputated.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.