Contact with hot objects or substances · Thermal burns degree unspecified
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Mercury Plastics, Inc. dba Felpak, 11550 King Street, FRANKLIN PARK, ILLINOIS 60131
on — Thermal burns degree unspecified, affecting the Multiple body parts n.e.c..
Final narrative
On July 29, 2025, at approximately 1:15 PM, an employee was cleaning a vent on an extruder machine. He was breaking a hardened plastic clog by hitting it with a mallet and a screwdriver. When he broke through the first layer of plastic, hot liquefied plastic that was under the hardened surface splashed onto the employee causing burns to his face, neck, arms, and hands.
Hospitalized Multiple body parts n.e.c. Hot or molten materials n.e.c..
More severe injuries at Mercury Plastics, Inc. dba Felpak
On May 9, 2022, at approximately 9:30 p.m. a temporary employee was working on a thermal forming machine. When the employee bent down to reach for a plastic tray, she lost her balance and the moving platform came down on her right hip and fractured it. The machine was unguarded at the time.
While attempting to clear plastic from the die of a plastic molding machine, an employee's hand was caught in the die. The employee suffered a severe laceration to the hand and thumb.
An employee pulled out a bucket of hot oil from under the fryer. The employee then stood on the table to clean the back wall. He stepped down into the bucket of hot oil, resulting in third-degree burns to his left leg.
An employee was performing maintenance under a kettle. When he removed a tri-clamp on a transfer line, the hot fat and broth material in the kettle poured out onto his arm. The employee was hospitalized with burns.
After completing a run with an oil distributor truck, an employee was working to return (suction) the hot oil to the tank of the truck. When the employee opened one of the valves, hot oil (approximately 385 degrees) sprayed their face, resulting in first-, second-, and third-degree burns.
An employee was filtering a fryer with a fryer filter machine. After going around the corner and then returning to the fryers, the employee stepped into the filter machine. The hot oil burned the employee's right ankle, and the employee was hospitalized.
An employee was using a water hose to clean debris out of the outfeed of a log conditioning vat. Water began entering the vat from the adjoining vat through a void in the separation wall at the infeed of the vats. As the employee was exiting the vat he had been working in using the access opening at the outfeed, hot water exiting the access opening entered the top of his protective hip wader. It pooled at the bottom of the wader and burned his left foot and ankle.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 325211)
An employee was monitoring a rotary press when his left hand became caught in the machinery. The employee's left middle finger was amputated at the distal interphalangeal joint.
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.
An employee was working on a pastillator machine, which processes resin-based materials into solid pastilles. His right hand became caught between the feed roller (operating at approximately 350 F) and the cooling belt. The employee s glove and shirt sleeve adhered to his arm due to the heat. The employee sustained third-degree burns to his right hand and forearm, requiring hospitalization and surgery.
An employee was troubleshooting a leak on a low pressure (less than 50 PSI) condensate line in the oxidation area of the plant. He was working to remove insulation around a valve when either the valve or the line failed, and hot condensate contacted his right arm, right abdomen area, and the front of both legs, resulting in second- and third-degree burns.
An employee was replacing a fan on a cooling unit. As he went to adjust a pump, the unit caught his right hand and the fan blades severely lacerated his index finger. He underwent a medical amputation to the finger.
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.