Exposure to electric arc · Electrical burns any degree
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Ellwood City Forge Company, 800 Commerical Ave, ELLWOOD CITY, PENNSYLVANIA 16117
on — Electrical burns any degree , affecting the Multiple body parts n.e.c..
Final narrative
Employees were troubleshooting an electrical issue with a piece of equipment. An employee was using a volt meter to check voltage at the fuses when an arc flash occurred, burning the employee's chest, neck, arms, and face.
Hospitalized Multiple body parts n.e.c. Switchboards, panels, fuses
More severe injuries at Ellwood City Forge Company
An employee was cutting a piece of steel on a horizontal band saw. The saw blade got caught on the piece of steel and broke. A piece of the saw blade struck the employee's face.
An employee was rigging a steel bar with double leg sling chains. The hoist was raised while he was holding one chain leg by hand, and the chain leg on the floor caught under the roller table the bar was resting on. The chain pushed the bar off the rollers, and it broke the employee's ankle.
An employee was positioning a lifting magnet (weighing approximately 500 lbs.) onto a piece of steel to move the steel to another location. The magnet slipped off the steel and the magnet's safety bar caught the employee's fingers against the steel amputating his left middle fingertip and crushing the left ring finger.
An employee was terminating cables in a junction box. A loose ground wire came into contact with the bushing, causing a flash that burned the right side of the employee's face and his right hand.
An employee was using a bucket truck hoist to raise secondary aerial wiring. The wire made contact with the primary wire, causing an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to both hands and was hospitalized.
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.
Two employees were removing a circuit breaker. The injured employee was using wrenches in the removal process. One of the wrenches contacted an adjacent door, resulting in an arc flash. The employee suffered burns to their neck, face, and ear, as well as momentary vision loss due to the flash.
An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.
An employee was working to close a furnace door. The hydraulic mechanism that opens and closes the furnace door was non-operational and had been disconnected to allow the furnace door to be opened manually. As the employee was releasing the pins that held the door open, the door and the hydraulic cylinder fell, pinching their left hand between the hydraulic cylinder's base plate and the furnace. The employee suffered amputation of the little fingertip.
A rolling mill was shut down due to a cobble between two mill stands. The injured employee was cleaning the cobble from the delivery side of stand A, while another employee went to the control panel to move stand B and stand A moved instead. The injured employee's right thumb got caught between the delivery guide of stand A and the looper trough. The tip of his thumb required surgical amputation to the bone to allow for stitches.
An employee was helping another employee load stock material onto a press brake when the stock slipped. The injured employee's right index finger was caught between the press brake die and the stock, resulting in amputation at the first knuckle.
An employee was walking into the motor control center (MCC) room when his right ring finger was caught in the hinge of a doorway. He sustained an open phalanx fracture, which resulted in a partial amputation above the first knuckle.
An employee was changing the spacing on a telehandler's forks. A fork slipped, and the employee's left index finger was caught between it and the mast. The fingertip was medically amputated at the first knuckle.
An employee was pulling down a broken skid with a forklift. When the employee backed up the forklift to get the forks out of the skid he pulled down, he contacted the forks of another parked forklift, fracturing both of his legs. He was hospitalized.
An employee was carrying cups back to the kitchen when her foot got caught on a cart and she fell face-first. During the fall, a piece of glass from a cup cut the inside of her mouth, severing an artery. She also sustained a laceration on her lower lip. The employee was hospitalized.