Exposure through intact tissue · Allergic and irritant dermatitis acute
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Crystal Metalworks, Inc., 3275 Penn Street, HATFIELD, PENNSYLVANIA 19440
on — Allergic and irritant dermatitis acute, affecting the Part of body unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was using metal pickling gel when it came into contact with their skin. The employee suffered an allergic reaction to the chemical, which caused burning and skin yellowing. The employee was hospitalized.
Hospitalized Part of body unspecified Corrosive acids n.e.c.
An employee was removing a hose from a chemical tank after filling the tank with hexamethylenediamine (HMD). He checked the line to ensure that the hose was clear, then disconnected the hose at the connection. Residual chemical sprayed onto his face, causing a second-degree burn. He was hospitalized.
A shipping/receiving operator was working on a loading rack, loading a railcar. A 2-inch discharge cap failed and released pressure along with sulfuric acid from the railcar. The acid sprayed onto the employee, who suffered burns to the chest and the lower facial area. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was pressure washing truck scales when they were splashed with water and an unknown chemical on their leg and immediately experienced a burning sensation. The employee was hospitalized with a chemical burn and required surgery.
An employee was on a ladder disconnecting a 1-inch hose, known to have last carried acrylic acid that had been drained. When the hose was disconnected, residual acid dripped onto the employee's shoulder/arm area, causing a second-degree chemical burn.
Employees were removing scaffolding that was used to repair an ion exchange tank. The line was undergoing the regen process when a piece of scaffold struck a PVC pipe that transported hydrochloric acid (HCl). The injured employee was placing material inside a scaffold rack when he was sprayed in the face with HCl and sustained chemical burns to his eyes, face, chest, right arm, and left leg.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 332323)
A temporary employee was performing a two-person projection welding task to add a hinge reinforcement to a hollow steel door. He was positioning the hinge reinforcement while his supervisor held the door to maintain alignment. When the foot pedal was actuated, the electrode partially amputated the employee's left ring finger.
An employee was stacking bundles (12 feet long, 21 inches high) of aluminum extrusions (weighing 28 pounds each). After three bundles had been successfully stacked, the fourth tipped over when it was partially complete. It landed on the employee's right ankle/leg and broke the tibia. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was adjusting the rollers on the mill feeder when their right thumb was crushed between two rollers, resulting in amputation of the thumb tip.
An employee was operating a core drill to bore through concrete at an active construction site. The equipment struck embedded rebar in the concrete, causing the handle to kick back and strike the employee's ribs. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured rib and a punctured lung.
An employee was loading pallets onto a truck and climbed down off a pallet after loosening straps to release the crane. The employee slipped off the flatbed truck and fell 4 feet to the dock plate/ground. The employee was hospitalized with a brain bleed and fractures to their T4, T5, and T6 vertebrae.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
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An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.