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, Inc., 2305 SHERWIN ST., GARLAND, TEXAS 75041
on — Chemical burns and corrosions, unspecified, affecting the face, unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was changing out a pump in a waste water treatment plant. The pump was pressurized and when he disconnected the hose, it sprayed peracetic acid in the employee's face, resulting in chemical burns.
An employee was removing bees while standing 6-7 feet up on a telescoping ladder when the ladder slipped and they fell to the concrete pavers below. The employee was hospitalized with an open fracture to the left elbow that required surgery.
On August 29, 2024, at approximately 1:00 a.m., an employee was cleaning out the air pump and hoses that were used for a chemical solution. The air pump was on while boil-out chemicals (hot water with caustic chemicals) were in the tank. As the employee turned to close the drain valve on the tank, the hose disconnected from the pump and sprayed the employee with the boil-out liquid. The employee received second-degree burns to their left hand, their left leg (from knee to ankle), and the back of their right leg. They were hospitalized to treat the burns.
An employee was traveling forward on a stand-up electric forklift. As the employee passed through a forklift door and attempted to make a right turn and the rear of the vehicle fishtailed into a pallet rack, resulting in a laceration to his left little finger and injuries to his left ring and middle fingers.
An employee parked his work vehicle in a customer's parking lot when a robber approached the employee with a gun and asked for his money and wallet. The robber started shooting; the employee sustained gunshot wounds to the neck and hand.
An employee was helping to seal a grain storage bunker to prepare for fumigation. He was using a battery powered nail gun to fasten plastic sheeting on the side of the bunker when the nail gun misfired and a nail struck the employee in the left side of the chest, resulting in a puncture wound.
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.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.