Caught, entangled in running powered equipment normal operation · Amputations involving bone loss
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Birla Carbon U.S.A., Inc., 370 Columbian Chemicals Lane, CENTERVILLE, LOUISIANA 70522
on — Amputations involving bone loss, affecting the Thumb(s).
Final narrative
An employee was using a metal scoop to pull a product sample from an enclosed conveyor belt. The scoop became caught on the conveyor and the employee's left thumb was pinched between the conveyor housing and the scoop. The distal phalanx of the thumb was amputated.
An employee was operating a metal roller machine to roll a small piece of metal. The employee's right index finger became caught between the metal and the machine, and the fingertip was amputated.
An employee was working on a production line. The employee went to retrieve parts that came out of the parts holder, and their left hand became caught between a chain and a sprocket. Three fingers on the hand were amputated.
An employee was hooking up bundled tie-downs with a chain. While he was holding a hook, the other hook was unlocked. This caused the employee's hook to slide down and pinch his right index finger between the chain and the shackle. He suffered an amputation to the fingertip (without bone loss), as well as an open fracture.
An employee was operating a pad printer. The employee's finger was caught in the printer and they suffered a fingertip amputation. The part of the printer that caught the employee's finger was unguarded at the time.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 325182)
An employee was attempting to open the lid on a oil car from a fixed ladder approximately 11-12 feet above the ground. The employee slipped and fell off the ladder to the ground below, resulting in a torn muscle in their right arm and an oblique fracture in their right leg.
An employee was removing a damaged boiler door using a chain hoist. The door slipped off the hinge and pinned the employee's left thumb, crushing and partially amputating the tip. The employee was hospitalized and another part of the thumb was surgically amputated.
An employee was helping a forklift operator stack empty sacks on a pallet. The forks of the fork truck were raised, and the employee's right index finger became stuck in an open hole in the fork, amputating his fingertip.
A driver was exiting his vehicle outside the plant gate when his foot slipped on the top step of the truck. He fell to the ground, landed on his left hip and elbow. The employee was hospitalized with a fractured hip/femur.
A security employee was responding to an urgent call from staff regarding a violent patient. The employee tripped and fell on the floor outside of the stairwell. The employee sustained a closed head injury, contusion of the cerebrum without loss of consciousness, and a closed fracture of the distal end of the right radius.
A temporary employee was testing an electrical starter motor. He was placing tape on the starter while the breaker was not engaged, but the starter sent an arc flash that burned his hands and stomach.
An employee was walking on a sidewalk and stubbed his toe on an elevated portion of concrete, causing him to trip and fall. The employee's right knee was dislocated.