Innovative Chemical Technologies

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.

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.

An employee was working to dilute and refill a spray bottle of antibacterial all-purpose cleaner. Some of the corrosive chemical spilled on the employee's shirt that was already wet from water. The employee sustained a bacterial infection and chemical burn to their abdominal area, requiring hospitalization.

On October 1, 2025, at approximately 9:50 p.m., an employee was removing a sack of debris from a dust collector when four of his right-hand fingers were severed by a rotary valve. The employee was hospitalized and underwent surgery to amputate the four fingers at the knuckle.

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.

On May 8, 2025, an employee developed a cough while cleaning up chemical sewage from the floor. He was hospitalized, having suffered an allergic reaction to chemical product vapors.

An employee was loading a magazine of tubes into a machine to fill. As they raised the door into position, the door dropped onto the employee's right hand and amputated their right index fingertip at the nailbed.

An employee was operating a forklift in the shipping warehouse. Carbon black residue along with moisture caused the concrete flooring to be slippery. When the employee applied the brakes, the forklift began to slide. As the employee turned the forklift to avoid striking a vertical support beam, his left hand was caught between the support beam and the support bar of the forklift cab. The employee sustained fractures to four fingers and two bones in the palm, as well as a laceration in the palm area.

An employee was helping to lift the grating from a floor draining system when the grating slipped and landed on his hand, resulting in the amputation of his right middle finger at the first joint.

A casting machine jammed. An employee's hand was caught in the machine, where a belt line caught and amputated the tip of his finger.

During a workshop meeting in a hotel, an employee heard a drilling noise, so he walked outside to see what it was. An explosion occurred (possible gas line) and his face, ear, and hair were burned. He also fell and sustained a pelvic fracture.

An employee slipped on condensation on a walkway in a parking garage. She fell and suffered a closed fracture to the neck of the left femur.

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.