Inhalation of harmful substance single episode or single shift · Effects of poison, toxic, or allergenic exposure unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Smithfield Foods, Inc., 1400 North Weber Avenue, SIOUX FALLS, SOUTH DAKOTA 57103
on — Effects of poison, toxic, or allergenic exposure unspecified, affecting the BODY SYSTEMS .
Final narrative
An employee was working in the prepack department in the chorizo area when a contractor performing work in the area cut into an anhydrous ammonia line. The employee inhaled ammonia gas, resulting in injury to the lungs and eyes. The employee was hospitalized.
Hospitalized BODY SYSTEMS Ammonia, ammonium compounds
An employee was operating a packaging machine and went to unjam some plastic. Her left hand contacted the cutting blades resulting in a partial amputation to the middle fingertip. A guard was in place at the time.
An employee was putting a pipe back together and was setting up equipment prior to start of production. The air valve was turned on and the employee's left thumb was partially amputated by the butterfly spindle inside the pipe.
An employee was replacing a roller on a belt press. They were pushing the roller when it fell out of alignment and crushed their left hand resulting in partial amputation of the little finger.
An employee was working in the smoked meats department operating a machine that clips and holds the ham before smoking. A tote used to catch bindery emulsion from the machine was full and moved out from under the workstation. The employee later tripped over the tote and fell to the floor, sustaining a left femur fracture that required hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was working in the food service warehouse when he experienced chest pain, difficulty breathing, and lost consciousness. The employee sustained carbon monoxide poisoning.
An employee was performing janitorial duties on the 15th floor of a building that was under construction. She began having trouble breathing. The employee was hospitalized with lung irritation caused by dust.
An employee was sweeping in an area with powdered PVC on the floor and began having difficulty breathing and coughing up blood, The employee was hospitalized for inhalation of PVC.
An employee was scraping dried glue from the top lid of a hot glue pot. His left hand slipped and came into contact with the hot glue. He then suffered burns to his hands and fingers as he tried to remove the glue. He was hospitalized.
An employee was in a scissor lift approximately 20 feet above the ground to place a plastic tarp on a catwalk in order to catch condensation. They positioned the lift opposite the work area and stepped out of the scissor lift onto an I-beam. The employee fell from the I-beam to the ground. The employee was hospitalized with a skull fracture on the right side of their head and injuries to the chest and both eyes.
A maintenance employee was called to look at a pallet conveyor machine where a chain had fallen off a sprocket wheel. When the employee grabbed the loose chain, a light sensor caused the machine to restart. This created a pinch point between the chain and sprocket that caught the employee's left little finger. The finger was surgically amputated at the second knuckle.
The injured employee was standing by one of the stationary computers along the wall. There was a half-pallet located approximately 3 feet behind the employee that consisted of 12-pound boxes stacked six boxes high. A forklift was transporting a pallet that came in contact with the stationary pallet behind the injured employee, causing four boxes to fall and contact their legs. The injured employee was hospitalized with leg injuries.
An employee was using a box strapping machine to place straps on boxes when his right middle finger was caught in the machine, resulting in an open fracture to the distal phalanx.
An employee was moving a tensile strength test device with a dolly. The device fell from the dolly onto the employee's right leg, causing a compound fracture.
An employee was walking past a crossover conveyor when a ramp came down and hit them in the back. The employee sustained a broken back vertebra, as well as a concussion, and was hospitalized.
An employee was using a hook tool to pull a pallet onto the lift gate of a tractor trailer. The hook detached from the underside of the pallet, causing the employee to fall backward off the lift gate. The employee landed on the concrete parking lot about 5 feet below, suffering fractures to the skull and two thoracic vertebrae.
An employee was walking on a truss table when he lost his balance and fell approximately 3 feet to the floor. The employee sustained a dislocated and fractured left ankle.