Explosion of nonpressurized vapors, gases, or liquids · Thermal burns degree unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Alcast, LLC dba Alcast Company, 8821 N University St, PEORIA, ILLINOIS 61615
on — Thermal burns degree unspecified, affecting the Multiple body parts unspecified.
Final narrative
An employee was operating a mold machine when a pouring ladle that was coated with a water-based paste was submerged in molten aluminum. The moisture caused an explosion, resulting in severe burns over his body.
Hospitalized Multiple body parts unspecified Molten metal, slag
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 331521)
An employee was trimming manufactured parts using a two-hand control, C-frame trim press. They were manipulating parts in the machine when their hand contacted the controls that energized the machine. The employee sustained amputations to their left index finger and left thumb.
Two employees were operating an aluminum die casting machine when a piston that pushed molten aluminum into the mold stopped dispensing aluminum correctly. After they had spent several hours fixing the issue, the machine cycled and the die closed on one employee's right hand. The employee suffered amputations to the index fingertip and the thumb at the knuckle.
On September 10, 2024, at approximately 5:55 AM, an employee suffered burns to his right hand as he was removing a ladle from a furnace and the cup made contact with the side of the furnace, splashing molten aluminum into his glove. The employee was hospitalized with burns to his right hand.
An employee was training a new employee to operate the trim press. As she removed a part from the press dies, the die activated and her right hand was caught between the die and the die plates, resulting in crush injuries to four fingers and amputations.
An employee was changing a die in a press when the die slipped and crushed the employee's left index finger. The employee sustained an open facture of the tuft of the left distal phalanx and a partial amputation.
An employee was driving a boom lift (in the lowered position) in an exterior dock area. The lift s left wheels rolled onto base plates that covered a 3-foot-deep sump pit. The base plates failed, and one side of the lift dropped. The employee's left leg was caught under the lift basket, and he suffered a fracture to the lower leg including the ankle.