Safety Incidents

An employee was removing parts for replacement during equipment maintenance. His right forearm was exposed to a mixture of silicon dioxide (silica) and trichlorosilane that caused an exothermic reaction and chemical burns. The employee was hospitalized.

An employee was unloading sodium hydroxide from a tanker car. The hose connecting the tank and the tanker truck ruptured. The chemical sprayed onto the employee, who suffered burns to the face and legs.

An employee was unloading and depressurizing a railcar filled with sulfuric acid. The employee turned the valve to disconnect the hose when sulfuric acid released and sprayed upward via the standpipe. The employee was hospitalized burns.

An employee was loading trash into a rear-load trash truck from a residential trash can. The hopper of the truck was nearly full so the employee compressed the trash with the blade of the truck to make room in the hopper. As the trash was compressed, a black liquid sprayed out from the truck and onto the employee. The liquid was later determined to be a highly concentrated sulfuric acid that was in a plastic container inside a paper bag in a trash bin. The employee was hospitalized with chemical burns to their face, arms, and abdomen.

An employee was walking between two tanks when he stepped into a sump pit that was missing its metal grate. His leg was submerged in sulfuric acid, and he suffered chemical burns to the lower part of his right foot. The employee was hospitalized.