Contact with hot objects or substances · Second degree heat (thermal) burns
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Union Carbide, 355 hwy 3142, HAHNVILLE, LOUISIANA 70057
on — Second degree heat (thermal) burns, affecting the multiple lower extremities locations, n.e.c..
Final narrative
On January 18, 2023, an employee was investigating a boiler feed water leak. The leak was stopped and the employee began completing housekeeping tasks in the area. He stepped in a puddle of boiler feed water, submerging his lower leg to the top of his rubber boot, resulting in second-degree burns of the lower leg and foot. The employee was hospitalized.
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 325998)
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.
An employee was removing a hose from a chemical tank after filling the tank with hexamethylenediamine (HMD). He checked the line to ensure that the hose was clear, then disconnected the hose at the connection. Residual chemical sprayed onto his face, causing a second-degree burn. He was hospitalized.
Two employees were moving a railcar (plastic pellet hopper car) using a mobile railcar mover. One employee was the engineer in control of the railcar mover and the injured employee was a switchman. The railcar mover went forward and the hopper railcar struck the injured employee, resulting in a severe crushing injury to the employee's right arm.
An employee was opening a filter housing in the potassium chloride production area and got sprayed with a hot solution of potassium chloride brine. The employee sustained thermal burns to their right hand and legs.
An employee was performing maintenance on a guillotine cutter machine. As the employee was placing a pin in the machine, his left middle fingertip was caught, resulting in a partial amputation to the finger. The machine was not locked out at the time.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
A temporary employee was testing an electrical starter motor. He was placing tape on the starter while the breaker was not engaged, but the starter sent an arc flash that burned his hands and stomach.
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.