American Crystal Sugar Company

An employee was performing maintenance on a machine and went to move a piece. A part of a cylinder released, crushing the employee's right index finger and resulting in a fracture that required surgery.

An employee was clearing a clogged sugar chute, containing rare earth magnets inset into an aluminum bar to catch any metal in the sugar. The employee loosened the middle of three magnets and it was attracted to the outside magnet, crushing the tip of his right middle finger. The fingertip was amputated.

An employee was doing a pre-check of the warehouse when he heard something metal coming down the screen. He opened the airlock and was investigating with his hand when the airlock fan blade amputated three of his fingers.

An employee had been tearing down 2000-pound corrugated blocks of sugar. A chunk of sugar sloughed off the block and struck the employee in the back of the left leg. The employee sustained a fractured left tibia and fibula.

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.

An employee was helping change out socks on hard thin juice filters, part of a beet sugar manufacturing operation. While the filter lid was being removed, juice started leaking down the side of the filter. This suggested that the juice was bypassing the seat on the main shutoff valve. While the main shutoff was being checked, the valve was opened and sprayed hot juice on the employee. The employee suffered burns to the left arm, the left ribcage area, the left side of the back, and the left side of the face. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was removing a beet elevating belt while mechanics were cutting a hole in the center of the belt to install the pulley point using an oscillating tool with a hook blade. The tool popped out of the belt and the tool struck the injured employee in the stomach, resulting in a laceration on the lower left abdomen.

An employee was performing maintenance on a lime kiln sump pump when they sustained second- and third-degree chemical and thermal burns.

An employee was clearing a jam in the bag sealer machine in the warehouse when his right thumb was caught in the belt and pulley, resulting in amputation of the thumb tip.

An employee was crouched down, working on an electrical box for a motor in the final clarifier. As the employee stood up, he became lightheaded, caused him to step off a concrete pillar and fall 10 feet 4 inches to the floor. The employee was hospitalized with a concussion.

An employee fell from a dock to ground level (less than 4 feet) and broke their tibia/knee.

An employee was on the ground working to close a trailer door. The door was caught by the wind and blew the employee backward. He landed on his back and sustained four fractured ribs, requiring hospitalization.

An employee was walking on top of boiler to close a valve. The employee fell off the boiler and landed on the floor, sustaining fractured ribs. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was exiting a loader and coming down the ladder. His hand slipped off the railing and he fell backward onto sandy ground, landing on his side. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured pelvis and a rotator cuff tear.

An employee's left bicep was lacerated by high-pressure water during water blasting operations. The employee was hospitalized.