Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Amputations involving bone loss
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at GATES CORPORATION, 1650 Rowe Parkway, POPLAR BLUFF, MISSOURI 63901
on — Amputations involving bone loss, affecting the Other finger(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
Two maintenance technicians were changing out drive belts on the south end of the vulcanizing vessel. To check the proper function of the drive belts, the technicians manually cycled the cars into and then out of the vessel. One technician was manually cycling the vessel back out and the injured technician was inspecting the belts and checking the tension. The injured technician's right index finger was pinched between the belt and the pulley, resulting in an amputation of the distal phalanx.
Amputation Other finger(s) n.e.c. Other metal, wood, and special material machinery n.e.c.
An employee was cleaning a mandrel shaft with an emery cloth when their glove became caught on the rotating shaft. Their right hand was pulled in with the glove and their thumb was amputated.
On February 20, 2024, at approximately 6:30 a.m., an employee was unjamming rubber that had become stuck in a machine. When the machine started, the flapper moved, striking and compressing the employee. The employee was hospitalized for three fractured ribs, a partially collapsed lung, and a puncture wound in the middle of their back.
An employee was operating a hose/bender machine. He was reaching to adjust a piece of hose and got caught in a pinch point, sustaining an amputation to his finger.
On 8/9/2023, an employee was pressure washing a mandrel shell when the pressurized mixture lacerated their right hand near the thumb. The employee was hospitalized.
A temporary employee turned off a planer machine, opened the housing, and began clearing a jam. The machine's spinning blade caught his right hand and degloved the index finger.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 326220)
An employee was preparing to cut rubber stock on a pneumatic cutting machine when their middle and ring fingertips were amputated by the cutting blade.
At about 12:25 a.m. on September 3, 2025, an employee was troubleshooting a malfunction involving a slitter whose arbor was not rotating as expected. The employee was observing the slitter's operations when the arbor completed its cycle and the employee's right index finger was drawn into the slitter's 4-inch, non-rotating cutting blade. The fingertip was amputated.
An employee was operating a rolling rope machine. Tooling fell out of the machine and landed on the employee's foot, breaking bones. The machine was not guarded at the time.
An employee was operating a machine when hot air and water was released. The employee sustained burns to the neck, back, buttocks and leg on the right side.
An employee was readjusting a safety hook to remove hardware from gang forms when his feet slipped. He fell to the ground, resulting in a broken left arm and wrist.
An employee was on a step ladder in a store aisle, making room on shelving for merchandise. She fell from the step ladder to the floor, suffering two fractures in her left leg. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
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.
An employee lost his footing while climbing an inclined ladder. He stumbled down one step and was able to stabilize himself by holding the railing and twisting his body, but he suffered an internal abdominal injury and was hospitalized.