Struck by running powered equipment during maintenance, cleaning, testing · Fractures
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Cargill Inc., 101 South Chisolm Trail Drive, ROUND ROCK, TEXAS 78681
on — Fractures , affecting the Wrist(s) and arm(s) n.e.c..
Final narrative
An employee was conducting preventive maintenance on a decline conveyor, spraying lubricant on its tension rollers, when his left arm was caught by the conveyor system and pulled between the roller and the belt. He suffered a fracture to the wrist and two fractures to the forearm.
Hospitalized Wrist(s) and arm(s) n.e.c. Conveyors belt, slot, chain
An employee was bringing a filter online. When the employee opened a valve to initiate flow through the filter, the gasket on the filter housing failed, spraying a water/erythritol mixture (heated to about 175 degrees Fahrenheit) toward the employee. The employee moved back quickly and their chemical suit caught on something, causing it to open. The mixture burned the employee's abdomen and left arm.
An employee was replacing the exhaust fan above the scalding area when their finger became pinched in the exhaust fan shroud. The employee sustained amputation of the distal tuft of their right middle finger with bone loss.
On July 17, 2024, an employee was trying to retrieve his knife from the bottom of a sterilizer. Water in the sterilizer, heated to 180 degrees, entered the employee's right glove and burned his palm and the top of his hand. He was hospitalized.
An employee was waiting for the elevator to get to the floor that he worked on. The employee went to step through the elevator door, but the elevator lift was not there, causing him to fall 20 feet to the basement below. The employee sustained fractures in both legs, the right heel, and lower vertebrae. He was hospitalized.
On May 11, 2023, at 8:15 PM, an employee was unloading a railcar. The car had been steamed and the top was vented. The employee connected the unload hose to the bottom of the car and when the railcar valve was opened to begin the unload process, pressure from the unload piping surged back into the railcar. This caused 200-degree F oil to spill out of the top of the railcar, contacting the employee.
A temporary employee turned off a planer machine, opened the housing, and began clearing a jam. The machine's spinning blade caught his right hand and degloved the index finger.
An employee was using a tool to remove a rag from a roll on the tube mill. The roll pulled the tool and the employee's right hand into the roll, resulting in a partial amputation of the little finger and a fracture to the index finger.
A production sanitation employee was pre-rinsing an incline conveyor and noticed cheese stuck between the belt idler. The employee went to remove the cheese and their glove got caught and pulled their left forearm into the conveyor. The employee's arm was fractured. The machine was not locked out/tagged out at the time.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 311612)
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was using a de-clipping machine to cut the metal clips off of sausage sticks. As the employee put a link of sausages into the machine, their hand slipped into the point of operation. A piston pinched the employee's left index finger, causing a partial amputation.
An employee was operating a small tabletop grinder in a food safety quality assurance lab. She was stuffing meat down the grinder's chute when the grinder caught her right hand. Its auger caused an amputation to her middle finger and a partial amputation to her index finger.
A maintenance employee was removing an inspection plate from an industrial cooker. Hot liquid spilled onto him and burned his hands, arms, and torso area. He was hospitalized.
After cutting a slab of beef short ribs, an employee turned to grab the pieces he had cut and his right hand contacted the saw blade. The employee sustained an amputation to his right index finger.
An employee was unloading a carpet pad from a truck when they fell from the truck dock to the concrete below, resulting in five fractured ribs and an injury to their left lung.
An employee was walking up a walkway to enter a building through the back entrance when she tripped over the lip of the cement ramp. The employee fell and sustained a fractured right hip.