Exposure to other harmful substance-multiple routes of exposure · Chemical burns and corrosions, unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Hilmar Cheese Company, Inc., 12400 US 385, DALHART, TEXAS 79022
on — Chemical burns and corrosions, unspecified, affecting the multiple mouth locations.
Final narrative
An employee was on a scissor lift, using a reciprocal saw to cut an inactive line with a 6-inch blade. The blade cut into an adjacent anhydrous ammonia line, releasing vapors that burned the employee's mouth and tongue and caused respiratory issues.
An employee was backing up a forklift, staging pallets for shipping. The employee's hand was pinched between the forklift's safety cage and a pallet, causing amputations to four fingers (including the complete amputation of the ring finger).
On November 17, 2023, a maintenance employee opened a line and residual bromine was released. The employee sustained burns to their palm and left leg and also suffered an inhalation injury.
An employee was picking up trash bags on a route and putting the bags in the back of a garbage truck. The employee was compacting the trash when one of the bags released vapor and dust from chlorine and pool cleaning chemicals. The vapor and dust contacted the employee's eyes and mouth and were inhaled. The employee was hospitalized with chemical irritation to the eyes and lungs.
On June 2, 2023, an employee was re-installing a repaired valve. When the employee applied pressure to the system to test the repair, air that contained peracetic acid (PAA) residue flowed from the tote filling wan. The employee contacted the PAA mist, resulting in hospitalization for second-degree chemical burns to the face, swelling of the lips and throat, and irritation to the lungs.
An employee was pouring a copper food additive into a bucket when the product splashed into his eyes and face. The employee also inhaled and ingested the substance. The employee suffered copper poisoning.
An employee was rebuilding a valve on a refrigeration system and had pumped down the ammonia in the system to conduct maintenance. He removed a cover and was sprayed by residual anhydrous ammonia. The employee sustained chemical burns to the face and hands and may have sustained a respiratory injury.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311513)
An employee was diagnosing the lack of flow of product to a powder bin. The employee removed the rotary star valve below the bin. While he was reinstalling the valve, his right middle finger was crushed between its shaft and its housing. The finger was partially amputated.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee was changing an O-ring on a pneumatic valve. The employee had placed the valve on his work cart and was applying air to open the valve and access the O-ring. After changing the O-ring, the valve closed on his fingertip, crushing it. He was taken to the hospital, where he received an amputation.
An employee was using a pike to move a pallet of sugar that was stuck in the powder racking. The employee fell backward, landing on his right leg. The employee's leg was fractured and he was hospitalized.
The injured employee was carrying totes of cheese when they tripped over another employee's foot/ankle and fell to the cement floor. The injured employee sustained six fractured ribs on the left side and was hospitalized.
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.