Exposure through intact tissue · Chemical burns, corrosions degree unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at YKK (U.S.A), Inc., 3340 Chestney Road, MACON, GEORGIA 31217
on — Chemical burns, corrosions degree unspecified, affecting the Wrist(s) and arm(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was pouring nitric acid into a plating bath tub. A mechanical trolley that traveled over the tank approached and startled him. This caused him to spill the acid onto his right arm. His arm was burned from the wrist to the elbow.
Hospitalized Wrist(s) and arm(s) n.e.c. Nitric acid
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.
A shipping/receiving operator was working on a loading rack, loading a railcar. A 2-inch discharge cap failed and released pressure along with sulfuric acid from the railcar. The acid sprayed onto the employee, who suffered burns to the chest and the lower facial area. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was pressure washing truck scales when they were splashed with water and an unknown chemical on their leg and immediately experienced a burning sensation. The employee was hospitalized with a chemical burn and required surgery.
An employee was on a ladder disconnecting a 1-inch hose, known to have last carried acrylic acid that had been drained. When the hose was disconnected, residual acid dripped onto the employee's shoulder/arm area, causing a second-degree chemical burn.
Employees were removing scaffolding that was used to repair an ion exchange tank. The line was undergoing the regen process when a piece of scaffold struck a PVC pipe that transported hydrochloric acid (HCl). The injured employee was placing material inside a scaffold rack when he was sprayed in the face with HCl and sustained chemical burns to his eyes, face, chest, right arm, and left leg.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 339993)
An employee was operating an industrial tape cutter machine. He stopped the machine to clear a blockage. While he was clearing the blockage, the machine came down and amputated his left index fingertip. The machine was guarded at the time of the incident.
An employee was setting up the dies on a metal forming machine. He was feeding some material through and jogging the machine when his left middle finder got caught in the point of operation and the fingertip was amputated. The machine was not guarded at the time.
An employee was replacing the trim die on a machine when the machine's stored energy caused the die to come down and contact their fingers. The employee sustained a laceration and fractured left ring and middle fingers.
An employee had attached a new hammer to a machine that shaped and formed coils of steel. When the employee hit "run" to operate the machine, the hammer struck the employee on the right arm. The employee suffered a broken humerus that required surgery.
An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.
During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.