Contact with hot objects or substances · Thermal burns degree unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at WestRock Mill Company, LLC, 28270 US Hwy 80 W, DEMOPOLIS, ALABAMA 36732
on — Thermal burns degree unspecified, affecting the Leg(s) unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee removed a floor grate to insert a vacuum hose to unclog the area and stepped into hot waste material, resulting in burns to his legs.
An employee was using a manlift to observe a leak at a white liquor line. The gasket at the leaking flange area failed and sprayed hot white liquor on the employee, who suffered burns to his side, buttocks, and eyes.
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 322130)
An employee worked in the paper machine area for a shift, cutting corners off paper rolls around the roll machine. Afterwards, the employee sustained cramping and dehydration due to heat. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was adjusting a trim sheet leading to a sheeter machine. Their glove became caught in the machine and the shearer closed on the employee's right hand, crushing it and breaking the hand and wrist.
An employee was troubleshooting a process upset. A nearby refiner had a pressure spike, causing the housing to separate slightly, which allowed the loss of primary containment. The employee was sprayed by hot water, resulting second- and third-degree burns on his torso and left arm.
On July 22, 2024, at 10:30 AM, an employee was responding to a pulp mill manufacturing process shutdown. Pulp stock overflowed through an engineered overflow pipe resulting in a buildup of stock in a bermed area. The stock was 140 to 150 degrees. The employee went to the bermed area to close an air-actuated process valve. While closing the valve, pulp stock entered the top of his boots and caused second-degree burns to both of his lower legs down to his feet. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was traveling down the maintenance aisle of a warehouse on a single-pallet front rider jack. The jack malfunctioned, causing the brakes to apply; the employee fell forward onto the concrete warehouse floor. The employee suffered an injury to the left leg and was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
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An employee was unloading a forklift from a trailer to the ground. The employee was climbing down the ladder of the trailer when their foot slipped through one of the rungs, causing them to fall backward onto the forklift forks. The employee was hospitalized for fractured ribs.