Inhalation of harmful substance single episode or single shift · Poison, toxic, or allergenic effects other respiratory
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at VanDeMark Chemical, Inc., 1 North Transit Road, LOCKPORT, NEW YORK 14094
on — Poison, toxic, or allergenic effects other respiratory, affecting the BODY SYSTEMS .
Final narrative
An employee was performing a routine tank change when phosgene gas was released. The employee was exposed to the gas for about a minute. After about six hours, the employee developed respiratory distress symptoms. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was working in the food service warehouse when he experienced chest pain, difficulty breathing, and lost consciousness. The employee sustained carbon monoxide poisoning.
An employee was performing janitorial duties on the 15th floor of a building that was under construction. She began having trouble breathing. The employee was hospitalized with lung irritation caused by dust.
An employee was sweeping in an area with powdered PVC on the floor and began having difficulty breathing and coughing up blood, The employee was hospitalized for inhalation of PVC.
Two employees were lifting a roll of steel poly bar (50 inches and approximately 150 pounds) from ground level to a height of 4 feet at the 66-inch rubber calendar. One employee dropped the roll, resulting in the poly bar contacting the injured employee's right knee. The employee was hospitalized with fractured right patella.
Employees were loading a 295-pound transformer onto a pickup truck using a forklift. The injured employee was acting as the spotter. The transformer hit the tailgate of the pickup truck and the spotter's right hand was struck by the transformer, resulting in amputation of the ring fingertip.
An employee was wearing full PPE while emptying a 55-gallon drum of phosphorus pentoxide and fainted, collapsing and striking their head against the ground. The employee was hospitalized and it is likely that heat caused by wearing full body PPE contributed to fainting.
An employee was troubleshooting a plug in the super-absorbent polymer line. The employee opened an inspection port and their right hand was caught in a rotary valve, resulting in the amputation of four fingers between the knuckle and the first joint.
An employee was conducting a quality control measure by taking a chemical sample for lab analysis. When the employee was opening the sample point, it broke off and crude 2-Ethylhexyl thioglycolate (EHTG) shot out at 265 degrees, and it covered the employee's legs and right arm and splashed the right side of their face. The employee was hospitalized with first- and second-degree burns to their right thigh, lower right knee, inner left thigh, and upper left forearm.
An employee was operating a battery-powered broom to clean demolition debris off the top of the outermost bridge girder. The girder was approximately 11 feet above the demolition scaffold below. The employee fell approximately 8 feet to wind bracing below. The employee was hospitalized with a pelvis/tailbone fracture. Fall protection was in place at the time.
An employee slipped while descending in a stairwell, fell, and suffered multiple contusions/bruises to the head, neck, shoulders, knees, and back. She was hospitalized.
An employee was directing trucks as they entered and left a highway work zone. A vehicle struck them, resulting in multiple fractures and other injuries. The employee was hospitalized.