Explosion of nonpressurized vapors, gases, or liquids · Thermal burns second degree
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at PDF, INC., 24 Sand Island Access Rd. #14, HONOLULU, HAWAII 96819
on — Thermal burns second degree, affecting the Part of body unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee had used cleaning solvent to clean the engine room. The employee turned on a vacuum, which caused an explosion to occur, followed by a fire. The employee was hospitalized with second-degree burns.
Hospitalized Part of body unspecified Solvents and degreasers except naphtha based
Employee 1 was investigating a gas odor. While employee 1 was checking the equipment, a gas explosion occurred, resulting in a fire that burned the employee's face. Employee 2 entered the area and a second explosion occurred, causing burns to their face and arms. Employee 2 was hospitalized.
During fiberglass work, an employee mixed a methyl ethyl ketone peroxide (MEKP) catalyst with a cobalt chemical that they thought was a dye. A chemical reaction occurred, resulting in an explosion. The employee sustained second-degree burns on his back and a blister on his right arm.
At about 7:30 p.m. on August 12, 2025, an employee was using a backhoe to excavate accumulated slag and debris from a furnace tap area and ladle pit. Residual water in the material had not fully evaporated; upon disturbance, it reacted violently, resulting in an explosion. The employee suffered first, second, and some third-degree steam burns, mainly to the arms and knees with additional burns to the hands and the back of the neck. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was cutting glass for a custom windshield and was using denatured alcohol during the cutting process. The denatured alcohol caught fire and the flame traveled to a gallon-sized container of the liquid. The can exploded and the employee sustained second- and third-degree burns from the waist up.
On April 18, 2025, an employee was cutting the lid off an empty 55-gallon drum using a plasma cutter. The drum originally contained a flammable liquid and residual liquid inside the drum ignited and exploded. The employee was hospitalized with burns to the face, chest, and arms.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 811490)
A building engineer was inspecting a generator. As he closed the generator enclosure door, his right ring finger was caught between the door and the door frame. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was planing lumber on a jointer. While he was feeding the workpiece into the jointer, it hung up and he lost his grip on it. His gloved hand came into contact with the point of operation, and his left little finger was partially amputated near the first joint.
An employee was on an extension ladder cleaning an outdoor dryer duct when he fell to the concrete ground. The employee sustained two brain bleeds, punctured lungs, fractures to their hip, tibia, face, vertebrae, left wrist, shoulder, and upper arm, as well as an open fracture to the arm.
An employee was in an elevator pit working on the hoisting cables and compensator sheave. He moved the cables back onto the sheave groves. One of the cables spun, twisted out of the grove, grabbed his glove, and pulled his hand into the sheave. The tip of his right thumb was caught under a cable and was amputated approximately at the knuckle just below the nail.
An employee was on a six-foot ladder to inspect the mounting bracket for a rollup door. As the employee was adjusting the position of the bracket, the ladder pushed out from under the employee and the employee fell to the ground, breaking their left arm and dislocating their right shoulder.
An employee was on a 6-foot A-frame ladder, working to replace ceiling tiles. They fell to the ground and sustained fractures to their hip and femur. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
An employee was installing shoring and stepped on a 2x4 that was running across the top of a trench. He fell through and was hospitalized with a fractured left femur.
An employee was securing a ramp to a dock to unload cargo. He was using large pins to put the ramp in place when two of his fingers got caught in the ramp, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was helping to dismantle a mobile crawler crane. Employees were separating boom sections. When the last pin was hammered out, the 40-foot boom section dropped 4-5 inches onto the injured employee's left foot. All five toes were amputated and the employee was hospitalized for surgery.