Contact with hot objects or substances · Thermal burns second degree
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Smithfield Foods, 2223 Industrial Road, CRETE, NEBRASKA 68333
on — Thermal burns second degree, affecting the Multiple body parts n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was conducting a pre-operational inspection on the stomach washer. When he opened the door, hot water sprayed onto the right side of his body causing first- and second-degree burns to his neck, shoulder, arm, back, abdomen, and leg.
Hospitalized Multiple body parts n.e.c. Water, liquids nonchemical
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 tearing down a sausage-linking machine as part of a weekly pipe clean out. As the meat piled up on the machine, he went to clean the meat off the top of the machine. The metering gears contacted his left index finger, resulting in a soft tissue fingertip amputation.
An employee was applying spreader hooks to hogs. A hog fell from the hook that he was holding upright and the hook lacerated a tendon in his left hand. The employee was hospitalized for surgery.
An employee was clearing a meat blockage from an auger and amputated his right index finger. The machine was guarded but not locked out/tagged out at the time.
An employee pulled out a bucket of hot oil from under the fryer. The employee then stood on the table to clean the back wall. He stepped down into the bucket of hot oil, resulting in third-degree burns to his left leg.
An employee was performing maintenance under a kettle. When he removed a tri-clamp on a transfer line, the hot fat and broth material in the kettle poured out onto his arm. The employee was hospitalized with burns.
After completing a run with an oil distributor truck, an employee was working to return (suction) the hot oil to the tank of the truck. When the employee opened one of the valves, hot oil (approximately 385 degrees) sprayed their face, resulting in first-, second-, and third-degree burns.
An employee was filtering a fryer with a fryer filter machine. After going around the corner and then returning to the fryers, the employee stepped into the filter machine. The hot oil burned the employee's right ankle, and the employee was hospitalized.
An employee was using a water hose to clean debris out of the outfeed of a log conditioning vat. Water began entering the vat from the adjoining vat through a void in the separation wall at the infeed of the vats. As the employee was exiting the vat he had been working in using the access opening at the outfeed, hot water exiting the access opening entered the top of his protective hip wader. It pooled at the bottom of the wader and burned his left foot and ankle.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311611)
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 stacking concrete blocks for a concrete bunker. As a block was swinging into place, the employee's left leg was pinched between two blocks, resulting in injuries to his left heel and lower leg.
An employee was climbing a ladder to inspect a vent in a restaurant dining area. The ladder slid out on the floor and the employee fell approximately 12 feet onto the ladder and the floor. He was hospitalized with a dislocated shoulder and a back injury.
An employee was filtering a fryer with a fryer filter machine. After going around the corner and then returning to the fryers, the employee stepped into the filter machine. The hot oil burned the employee's right ankle, and the employee was hospitalized.
An employee was cleaning out corn from a grain bin. The sweep auger in the bin was activated and caught his trouser leg. His leg was pulled into the auger, which injured his calf and caused leg fractures and lacerations.