Exposure through intact tissue · Chemical burns, corrosions third degree or higher
At a glance
Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at Schmidt Transportation, 205 E Florence Rd, SAINT JOSEPH, MISSOURI 64505
on — Chemical burns, corrosions third degree or higher, affecting the Head and trunk.
Final narrative
An employee was transferring sulfuric acid into a customer's tank. They connected the transfer hose to the receiving tank and attached the compressed air line used to pressurize the trailer. An air valve opened during unloading and a small amount of sulfuric acid got under the employee's face shield and onto their face. The employee suffered third-degree chemical burns to their face, right ear, and chest.
An employee was pressure washing a trailer exterior. As he was holding the hose, it slipped and water from the pressure washer nozzle grazed his left hand. The employee sustained a quarter-inch laceration to the palm side of the left middle finger.
An employee was removing a hose from a chemical tank after filling the tank with hexamethylenediamine (HMD). He checked the line to ensure that the hose was clear, then disconnected the hose at the connection. Residual chemical sprayed onto his face, causing a second-degree burn. He was hospitalized.
A shipping/receiving operator was working on a loading rack, loading a railcar. A 2-inch discharge cap failed and released pressure along with sulfuric acid from the railcar. The acid sprayed onto the employee, who suffered burns to the chest and the lower facial area. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was pressure washing truck scales when they were splashed with water and an unknown chemical on their leg and immediately experienced a burning sensation. The employee was hospitalized with a chemical burn and required surgery.
An employee was on a ladder disconnecting a 1-inch hose, known to have last carried acrylic acid that had been drained. When the hose was disconnected, residual acid dripped onto the employee's shoulder/arm area, causing a second-degree chemical burn.
Employees were removing scaffolding that was used to repair an ion exchange tank. The line was undergoing the regen process when a piece of scaffold struck a PVC pipe that transported hydrochloric acid (HCl). The injured employee was placing material inside a scaffold rack when he was sprayed in the face with HCl and sustained chemical burns to his eyes, face, chest, right arm, and left leg.
More severe injuries in this industry (NAICS 484220)
An employee had dumped a load of hot mix (tar) and was cleaning the interior walls of a belly dump trailer onsite. The employee was scraping the walls of the trailer when the doors articulated, breaking the securement pin and pinching the employee's legs. The employee sustained crushing injuries and severed tendons and arteries to both legs and was hospitalized.
An employee was working to adjust a misfed pallet board that was entering the pallet board collection point. His left middle fingertip became caught between the board he was adjusting and other boards already stacked in the collection area. This resulted in amputation of the fingertip.
On July 22, 2025, at approximately 4:30 a.m. after the previous day's shift, an employee was hospitalized with a kidney injury caused by heat-related illness. The employee had worked several consecutive days delivering packages in high outdoor heat and humidity without cooling gear.
On July 18, 2025, an employee was tarping a load on a flatbed trailer in the yard. He fell approximately 13 feet off the loaded trailer and landed face-down on a gravel lot. The employee sustained facial cuts, abrasions, scrapes, fractures to their face, as well as several fractured ribs. He was hospitalized.
An employee's semi truck was being filled at the quarry. He noticed another truck was having issues with its airline and went to assist with a clamp that was present in their side door compartment. This dislodged a screwdriver that was also in the compartment. He was exiting the cab of the semi truck and planted his foot on the sidestep but stepped on the screwdriver, which caused his foot to roll off the step. The employee fell to the ground and sustained a fractured left ankle requiring surgery.
An employee was readjusting a safety hook to remove hardware from gang forms when his feet slipped. He fell to the ground, resulting in a broken left arm and wrist.
An employee was on a step ladder in a store aisle, making room on shelving for merchandise. She fell from the step ladder to the floor, suffering two fractures in her left leg. She was hospitalized, requiring surgery.
An employee was closing the side cargo door to a company van. The tip of his finger got caught between the door and the door jamb, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee lost his footing while climbing an inclined ladder. He stumbled down one step and was able to stabilize himself by holding the railing and twisting his body, but he suffered an internal abdominal injury and was hospitalized.