Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue · Chemical burns and corrosions, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Ecolab, 942 Baker Road, MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA 25405
on — Chemical burns and corrosions, unspecified, affecting the knee(s) and leg(s).
Final narrative
An employee was cleaning the hold containment kit area when he was exposed to a liquid, possibly sodium hydroxide. The employee sustained chemical burns to the right knee and shin and was hospitalized.
HospitalizedKnee(s) and leg(s)Sodium and potassium hydroxide, potassium carbonate
An employee went to perform a routine visual inspection by opening the manway hatch of the tank. As he turned to the tank and opened the manway hatch, the steam and/or the caustic cleaning solution was released with a high force. The temperature of the tank holding the caustic solution was 200 F. The employee sustained chemical and thermal burns to his back and body. He also suffered a compound fracture to his right ankle and fractures to his right elbow and right scapula. The employee was hospitalized.
Two employees were engaged in a verbal altercation that became physical. The injured employee was struck and fell to the ground, hitting his head on the concrete. The employee sustained a laceration and was rendered unconscious.
A forklift was backing out of a pick location after doing some work on a raw material container. While in reverse, the lift struck another employee in the back. This forced the employee's foot into an open end on a drum lifting device. The pressure compressed his steel toe boot and fractured toes on his left foot.
On November 27, 2023, an employee was emptying a 2-inch product line that transports sodium hydroxide liquid from a rail car to a 275-gallon tote tank. The nozzle came out of the tote and sprayed sodium hydroxide onto the employee's face. The employee was hospitalized with chemical burns to their face, mouth, and neck.
An employee was working with sulfuric acid as part of the production process. While transferring the chemical from a large container to a smaller container, it splashed on his body and hand, resulting in a chemical burn.
An employee knelt in wet concrete while performing work as a concrete finisher and sustained a chemical burn to the right shin. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was using a 5-gallon bucket to unload acid product from a tank. Residual product leaked into the containment area, causing the employee to sustain first- and second-degree burns to the chest, as well as third-degree burns to the arms.
An employee was transferring an alkaline cleaning chemical from a bulk container into 1-gallon containers. The employee lifted a gallon container by its label tag. The tag broke causing the container to fall approximately 14-18 inches. The container struck the ground and the contents splashed onto the employee causing chemical burns to their eyes.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 325611)
An employee was using an electric pallet jack to retrieve a chemical tote from a staging lane. He inserted the pallet jack under the tote and began to back up. After moving backward for approximately 15 feet, the employee tripped on a collapsible tote. As he fell, the pallet jack ran over his left foot. His ankle was lacerated and his foot was fractured.
An employee was installing network infrastructure at a client's distribution center. He was transporting a box measuring approximately 23 inches by 12 inches to a truck yard and walking along a narrow path adjacent to a trench that measured approximately 5.5 to 6 feet deep, 10 to 12 feet long, and 18 to 24 inches wide. Gravel on the path shifted beneath the employee's foot, causing him to lose balance and fall into the trench. He landed on his left side and struck a 4-inch PVC conduit pipe located at the bottom of the trench. The employee was hospitalized with fractures to his fourth, fifth, and sixth ribs on the left side.
An employee mixed sodium hydroxide pellets into a 55-gallon drum of hot water. A chemical reaction occurred and mixture splashed out of the drum, causing burns to the employee's face and neck. Personal protective equipment was not in place at the time.
An employee was cleaning a centrifugal pump. As he was cleaning a nozzle, his hand was caught in the inlet of the pump. He suffered a partial fingertip amputation.
A line leader was crouched down observing the chain and sprocket on a carpet filling machine for maintenance or repair when another employee got his right index finger caught between the chain and sprocket. Skin and the fingernail were removed and the employee required surgical amputation of the fingertip to the first knuckle.
An employee was conducting routine maintenance on a mixer. New lid pins had been installed, and the employee was rotating by hand to ensure they had been installed correctly. The employee's left middle finger was caught between the lid and top of a pin. The momentum from the mixer continued, causing a crushing injury to the finger. The employee underwent a medical amputation from the top knuckle to the tip of the finger.
An employee was climbing down a 15-foot multipurpose ladder. The employee fell about 8 feet, landing on the concrete floor and the ladder itself. The employee suffered several injuries, all on the right side: broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken temporal bone, broken shoulder, multiple fractures to the cheekbone, and a brain bleed.
An employee was rolling up the landing gear on his trailer when the handle began to unwind and struck his face, fracturing his jaw. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.