Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at H.E. NEUMANN COMPANY, Salem Correctional Center, INDUSTRIAL, WEST VIRGINIA 26426
on — Thermal burns second degree, affecting the Hand(s) and arm(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was heating up a discharge refrigerant line on a compressor using a torch to replace the compressor. When he went to remove the line from the compressor, a fireball exited the compressor line burning his left forearm, wrist and hand. The employee was hospitalized for second-degree burns to the left forearm and hand.
Hospitalized Hand(s) and arm(s) n.e.c. Heating, cooling, cleaning, and waste handling machinery unspecified
An employee was using a torch to loosen a bolt on a water trailer. Natural gas was present in the water and it ignited, causing a fire. The employee sustained third-degree burns to their upper leg.
An employee had been removing phosphorus pentasulfide while on a scaffold. He was using a non-sparking tool to dislodge the phosphoric material. The employee noticed a flash of flame. He descended the scaffold, but the flash ignited residual phosphorus pentasulfide that was on the outside of the employee's personal protective equipment (PPE). He sustained thermal burns to his right hand and right calf.
An employee was taking a butane gas sample as part of the hydrocarbon refining process. A component disconnected and the butane ignited, resulting in first- and second-degree burns to the employee's forearms and to their face, including their cheeks, chin, and neck.
An employee was troubleshooting a power washer in the field. Because there might have been water in its fuel, he brought it back to the shop and drained about a gallon of fuel from the tank into a plastic container. Some of the fuel spilled onto the floor and ignited. The employee was stomping out the fire when he lost his balance and tripped into a stool, which caused the plastic container to spill more fuel onto the fire. The employee's pants and shirt caught on fire, and he fell, abrading his knee while trying to get through the flames. As well as the knee abrasion, he suffered burns to the left leg and left lower quadrant of the torso. He was hospitalized.
An employee was fueling a gasoline-powered pressure washer with a safety fuel can. During the transfer the fuel ignited, causing a fire. The employee sustained burns to his nose, and his right hand and forearm.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 238220)
An employee was moving a 3-ton condensing unit, strapped down on a dolly, out of a garage. The strap broke, causing the employee to fall backward onto the brick pavered driveway. The employee suffered injury to a spinal ligament in the neck.
An employee was closing the side cargo door to a company van. The tip of his finger got caught between the door and the door jamb, resulting in a partial amputation.
While working at a customer's residence, an employee was cutting tape with a box cutter to wrap insulation for a piece of pipe. The box cutter struck a hardened object within the wall causing it to bounce back and puncture the employee's right eye. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was assembling a baker type scaffold. He was beginning to transverse down the scaffold, approximately six feet off the ground, when the scaffold tipped over and he fell. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured femur.
An employee was trimming out sprinklers on the exterior of a building when he fell off an extension ladder. He landed on the ground and sustained fractures to his nose and arm.
An employee was conducting routine maintenance on a mixer. New lid pins had been installed, and the employee was rotating by hand to ensure they had been installed correctly. The employee's left middle finger was caught between the lid and top of a pin. The momentum from the mixer continued, causing a crushing injury to the finger. The employee underwent a medical amputation from the top knuckle to the tip of the finger.
An employee was climbing down a 15-foot multipurpose ladder. The employee fell about 8 feet, landing on the concrete floor and the ladder itself. The employee suffered several injuries, all on the right side: broken ribs, a broken sternum, a broken temporal bone, broken shoulder, multiple fractures to the cheekbone, and a brain bleed.
An employee was rolling up the landing gear on his trailer when the handle began to unwind and struck his face, fracturing his jaw. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.