Contact with hot objects or substances · Second degree heat (thermal) burns
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Clean Harbors Environmental Services, 2001 US-81, MEDFORD, OKLAHOMA 73759
on — Second degree heat (thermal) burns, affecting the multiple lower extremities locations, unspecified.
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Final narrative
An employee was vacuuming up media from a vertical tube dryer while standing inside a plastic collection container while a co-worker was outside of the container with a shovel trying to loosen up the media still inside the dryer. The media inside the dryer became dislodged and entered the collection container, engulfing the employee up to the bottom of his hips. The employee suffered first and second degree burns to both of his legs, just below the hips.
An employee was offloading material from a truck. The employee opened the tailgate to remove material, was caught between the tailgate and a wall, and fell to the floor. The employee suffered a broken tibia and a laceration to the leg.
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 562910)
An employee was working to assess the operation of a high-pressure water nozzle. The water system was activated and the employee was cut by high pressure water on his left hand where the palm meets the wrist. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was working to push items in a trailer dumpster with his feet; his back was against a building wall. He fell to the concrete ground, resulting in fractures.
An employee was guiding a high-pressure water hose through a 4-inch gap on a horizontal condensing tube when the hose blew apart. The hose left the opening and the fitting at the end of it struck the employee on the side of his face. The employee sustained blunt force trauma to the left side of his head, including a laceration from his left temple through his ear.
On July 24, 2025, an employee was shoveling material when a piece of steel slag fell from a nearby furnace and struck them in the back. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to their thoracic vertebrae and a metatarsal.
An employee was helping to move a 1,300-pound coil on a cart. The steel caster hit a crack in the concrete, the weld holding the caster onto the cart broke, and the coil and cart tipped over onto the employee. He was hospitalized with a laceration on his forehead and a pelvic fracture on his right side.
An employee was working in the food service warehouse when he experienced chest pain, difficulty breathing, and lost consciousness. The employee sustained carbon monoxide poisoning.
An employee was cutting a piece of metal rod with a metal cutting machine. His right middle finger became caught between the rod and the machine's table. The employee's fingertip was partially amputated.
An employee was working at her desk. She went to stand up and fell to the floor beside the desk. The employee sustained a hip displacement and required surgery.
An employee was processing wood boards at a chop saw when the saw malfunctioned and the blade cut her left hand and fingers. She was hospitalized and her little finger was surgically amputated.