Wrens Plant Metal/Non-Metal

The employee was deemed to have had a massive heart attack.

Employee was observed slumped over in equipment seat. After examination it was determined that they was having trouble with their blood sugar level and EMS was contacted. Employee's sugar was 32 and EMS administered IV glucose and patient was taken to their personal residence by Safety Manager so that they could consume food and rest.

A chemical driver delivering Sodium Metasilicate to the Mine plant was sprayed in the face with residual chemical from the unloading line while unhooking the hose from the tank unload line at the Mine blunger building.

A Dredge mechanic operator was maneuvering work skiff to free a dredge pipe hung on a silt curtain in the plant impound. EE had to pass under a travel cable on the dredge. While maneuvering under the cable, operator thought they were clear of the cable but raised up too soon and the cable struck them in the face causing a laceration to nose from their safety glasses.

The employee was on a step ladder when the employee lost footing causing employee to fall 25". This caused the employee to hit the concrete floor which caused a whiplash effect. The employee struck the back of their head.

OTR Truck Driver splashed bucket of chemical on right pants leg and boot.

At approx. 5:40a.m. employee went to get a slurry sample from tank farm. At 6:08 a coworker realized they had not made it back with sample and went to look for them. While checking tank farm they discovered the employee on the ground unresponsive. CPR was administered until EMS arrived. Employee was taken to hospital and later pronounced dead.

Employee was cutting a bolt(S) off chassis, was wearing safety glasses, but got some debris in eye.

Employee was changing magnets on bagger. While placing magnets on pallet, magnets came together pinching employees left ring finger. 1st aid was given and employee returned to work. On 2/24/20 employee requested medical attention due to finger swelling.

While checking impound level, employee unknowingly stepped in a saturated area where employee's leg sank about 18" into mud causing employee to hyperextend knee. Thought simply tweaked it knee but continued to experience some discomfort & requested a medical evaluation on 1/24/20. Prescript meds given. Report filed late due to employee initially reporting injury as First Aid.

On 9/25/19 around 1:30 am, operators were filling one-ton bags on and bag shifted out of position after filling. Forklift operator was attempting to hook the straps of the bag on the forklift bullhorns when the end of the bullhorn hit and broke the plastic airline connector that operates the cylinder. Part of the plastic connector hit the injured employee in the upper shoulder.

The employee was moving a tote of chemical with a forklift, but failed to disconnect the hose from the system. The employee got off the forklift and walked in front of the tote to try and close the valve and came into contact with the chemical during this process.

Employee hit their foot on railing while riding on a golf cart. The employee has a closed fracture of distal end of fibula with subluxation of left ankle.

Employee was getting out of EE's vehicle when EE felt a pain in the lower back. The terrain was smooth with no obstacles, but may have been slightly uneven.

Driver ran over bumps traveling in and out of the mine. The driver was driving an 18 wheel tractor trailer. Driver complains of back and leg pain and is under doctors care at this time.

An employee filled a tank with liquid propane at the propane station. After disconnecting the hose from the tank, the employee was sprayed in the eyes under the safety glasses with propane when employee's shirt got caught on the handle that controls opening and closing the line, allowing the propane to spray out of the fueling line.

Employee was removing metal racks from a trailer. They dropped metal rack to ground, it bounced back up and cut into their leg.

Driver stated: I was leaving the Loader, due to how narrow the road way was I hugged the berm too much and flipped on the side of the truck.

Employee was taking a sample from the caustic line in the blunger building at the mine plant. Crystallization had built up in the line causing reduced flow. After taking the sample, the employee reached down to close the valve right as the crystallization broke free in the pipe causing caustic to be sprayed out.

Employee was stung on the face twice by a wasp.

Jack knife on entrance ramp to cut area.

Employee conducted annual audiogram re-evaluation on 3/28/17. Results indicated a reportable STS in the right ear. Results received on 4/10/17. Investigation is still on-going due to baseline results; however, we wanted to report per protocol initial findings.

Mechanic was getting tools from the tool box in the back of the truck, foot slipped off trailer hitch, and employee fell to the ground on back. Employee is complaining of pain in lower back and shoulders.

Employee was trouble shooting a problem with clay not going to the Makedown tank. Instead of getting a ladder, employee climbed up on the equipment. Employee reached for radio and left hand slipped off and employee fell to the platform grating striking the right side of head receiving a laceration that required three stitches.

Pulling bottle jack from underneath intermodal trailer and felt pain in left shoulder

While the EE was walking between 19 & 21 filters, the center grating on the walk way broke. EE right leg fell between the end of the grating and bottom support beam.

Pipe being removed was covered in insulation. Corrosion of pipe was more than thought due to not being visible. Weight of upper end of pipe was heavier than expected due to kadin build up. When pipe was lifted with crane it broke in to 3' below the crane rigging which transferred the majority of weight to the upper side which was being stabilized by a rope as a safety measure.

Employee was turning from cabinet and his right foot slid out possibly due to mixture of rain with clay on boots. He caught himself against equipment to keep from falling to the floor but felt a pulled muscle in his right upper thigh or groin area.

While operator was performing on a smoothing bucket unit, the bucket struck a buried metal pipe on the ramp which caused the unit to stall which forced the operator forward causing his left cheek to strike a mounted CB radio.

While the operator was checking his tractor for a leak in a hose, his left index finger was pinched between the hose and the frame of the tractor. This operator has been hospitalized for an infection in the left index finger.

A Maintenance Mechanic was rebuilding an atomizer in the maintenance shop. While putting the atomizer together, the wrench slipped and struck the mechanic in the mouth breaking 2 teeth.

Employee was stacking 50# bags onto a pallet and as he put the last bag on the pallet and turned around, he hit his right hand on the handrail that goes around the palletizer.

EE and his co-worker were preparing to Nitrogen purge the Helium system at the magnets, when a sudden loud pop noise was heard. EE walked away due to having severe pain in his left ear and was taken for medical treatment. He was given a pain reliever, anti-inflammatory and steroid medication and released.

While backing spot truck under container trailer, employee backed and bumped trailer too hard, causing pain in neck. Also states pain was aggravated by opening trailer doors on 8/30 and 8/31.

Employee was on his knees trying to get a piece of equipment to seat down properly on a shaft. The equipment dropped before the employee expected it to and it bruised and cut his left thigh.

While employee was exiting the company break room trailer, he reached behind himself to grab the door handle and missed the second step while descending the stairs. The employee reported that he twisted his ankle and refused first aid treatment.

EE was loosening a 2" gate valve (with pipe assembly attached) to drain water from a boiler. The gate valve came off unexpectedly allowing hot water to contact the top of the EE's left hand leading to a "mild" 2nd degree burn. Boiler had been shut down, pressure released and locked/tagged. EE did not follow instructions, turned the valve too far leading to the valve coming off.

After backing a set of rail cars in on track #5, an employee was dismounting steps on the rail car when his foot slipped, causing him to have to catch himself to prevent falling. In the act of catching himself while holding onto the handrail, the employee felt a sharp pain in his lower back.

A Maint. operator was checking on repairs made to railcar loadout pump. The loadout operator prepared to load railcar by lowering a 4" alum pipe inside railcar. The Maint. operator didn't see flow going into railcar and was told manual valve was closed. Upon opening valve, the 4" pipe came out of railcar striking the maint operator's fingers that were on the valve.

Employee was operating forklift loading kaolin onto a trailer. As employee was backing off trailer, trailer shifted away from dock, causing back wheels of forklift to become lodged between trailer and dock. Jolt of the forklift caused the trailer to shift further resulting in the forklift falling approximately 5 feet to the ground with employee on the forklift.

EE reported as he was grabbing the handle to get up on the forklift, he hit his knee on the corner of the lift just below the seat. After going home knee became swollen. He reported incident to his supervisor and was taken to ER for observation. He was released to full duty w/o restrictions and given prescription for ibuprofen.

Amputation of index, second, and third fingers on right hand/first joint up.

EE was attempting to pull a welding trailer approximately 9 feet to the pickup truck hitch, in anticipation of moving to another worksite. Uneven ground caused trailer to roll out of control, which caused EE's hand to become caught between receiver hitch and the tailgate, resulting in laceration to the left hand.

Two employees where engaged in horse play, one employee went to lay the other employee down and while doing so it broke his left fibula and ankle.

After cleaning off build up on a cookie roll, the employee went to descend and slipped on the step 2 ft from the floor, causing him to fall to the floor. During his fall, his head hit the expanded metal below, causing a 2 inch cut to the back of the head and needed stitches.

Employee was cleaning off a table to begin work on a shaft. Another employee then picked up the shaft to put it on the table. While putting the shaft on the table he dropped it on the tip of the employees middle finger who was cleaning off the table. This caused a smash/break.

On 1/19/09 at 5:30 pm a maintenance employee was working on top of a hopper car under 35 silo clearing lumps. While descending from the ladder on hopper, his right foot slipped off the rung causing his toes to bend upward. On 1/21/09 at 8 AM, the employee reported incident and swelling to his supervisor and expressed the need to seek medical attention.

Employee was walking through an area that was muddy from an accumulation of clay mixed with rocks to close hopper doors. Employee lost his footing and his right foot slipped from under him. The employee twisted his right knee.

Employee was going to get a clay sample to check solids on #3 blunger tank and found the float was stuck in the open position. He tried shaking it to release it and when the float unlodged, it fell down pinching his hand and glove between the float shaft and the float shaft housing causing a laceration between his thumb and index finger.

Employee went to assist a co-worker in starting up the burner on the #1 spray dryer. After burner was started, the sight glass to the burner was opened to check the flame. The flame was not burning correctly, so the co-worker went to check the exhaust fan and while waiting for co-worker to return, the flame blew back out of the sight glass and burned employee on his right arm.

Truck was traveling across an area that had recently been wet with the water truck. The truck began to slide. The driver turned the truck to the right. The truck hit a dry area of the road and overturned. The truck's cat walk, hand rail, mirror, door & window were damaged.

A production employee was going to switch pumps at the sulfuric acid system. He put his chemical gloves on, but did not put his chemical suit and face shield on. When he switched to the backup pump, acid sprayed from a weakened connection on the pump and caused several small burns to his back. He was prescribed an antibiotic to ward off infection.

Employee was cleaning out lumps of clay from a rotary valve; the employee stuck his hand in the rotary valve, while it was running, and lost the very tip of his third finger on his right hand.

Gasket failed and hot water spewed onto employee, causing burns to side of face, neck, and abdomen. Employee had skin grafted to small area on abdomen and some area of abdomen scraped.

Mechanic was repairing defective links in chain on bucket elevator. He was using a steel punch to unlodge the pins; the steel punch got stuck in the groove and when he jerked it out, the blunt end hit him in the lip. He received 4 stitches on the outside of his lip and 1 on the inside.

Mechanic was removing tape from a stainless steel clamp that was on a rubber hose. When he pulled the tape from the clamp, the end that was protruding from the clamp caught between his arm and glove and cut him on the inside wrist on his right arm. He was treated at McDuffie Hospital and received 7 stitches.

THE HIGH OUTLET TEMPERATURE INTERLOCK FAILED AFTER FEED WAS LOST TO THE ATOMIZER IN NUMBER 2 SPRAY DRYER BAGHOUSE. IT CAUGHT FIRE AND BURNED 4 OF THE 7 COMPARTMENTS. WE HAVEN'T BEEN ABLE TO DE TERMINE WHAT CAUSED THE INTERLOCK TO FAIL. DAMAGE IS ESTIMATED TO BE BETWEEN $200,000 TO $250,000.

EE WAS CHANGING OUT A 8' FLOURESCENT LIGHT BULB.HE WAS TRYING TO PUSH THE COMPRESSION END OF THE BULB IN, BUT IT WAS DIFFICULT. THE BULB BROKE &CUT THROUGH THE EE'S GLOVE CUTTING HIS RT. THUMB . HE WAS TAKEN TO THE HOSPITAL TO RECEIVE MEDICAL TREATMENT. HE RECEIVED 5 STITCHES TO HIS THUMB.

EE WAS TIGHTENING BOLT ON A SCREW. AS WEIGHT WAS APPLIED TO WRENCH IT SLIPPED CAUSING EE TO CUT UNDERSIDE OF RIGHT FOREARM ON BLADE OF SCREW.

EMPLOYEE WAS REINSTALLING A DISCHARGE ROLL USING A TOW MOTOR TO MANEUVER IT. ANOTHER EE WAS OPERATING ANOTHER TOW MOTOR TO GUIDE AND SUPPORT ROLL. AN ADDITIONAL TOW MOTOR WAS USED TO STABILIZE ROLL. ROLL HIT EE'T TOE MOTOR. IN THE PROCESS,HE PUT HIS HAND UP ON CAGE OF TOW MOTOR AND HIS HAND CAME IN CONTACT WITH SHARP EDGE OF ROLL. IT CUT HIS HAND.

EMPLOYEE WAS UNLOADING WOODEN PALLETS FROM A FLATBED TRUCK. HE TRIPPED OVER A PALLET THAT WAS ON THE GROUND AND FELL BACKWARDS, LANDING ON THE PALLET. HIS LEFT WRIST WAS INJURED RESULTING IN S LIGHT SWELLING AND MINOR PAIN. AN ICE PACK WAS APPLIED TO REDUCE THE SWELLING.HE WENT TO ER THAT NIGHT FOR X-RAYS AND A HAIRLINE FRACTURE WAS DIAGNOSED. HIS ARM WAS PLACED IN A SPLINT.

WHILE CHANING THE MECHANICAL SEAL ON THE EVAPORATOR SECOND EFFECT PUMP AND REMOVING THE BEARING HOUSING, THE EE S INDEX FINGER WAS MASHED.

THE EMPLOYEE WAS DESCENDING A SET OF 6 STEPS WHICH WERE WET PAINTED CONCRETE WHEN HE SLIPPED AND FELL BACKWARDS ONTO THE EDGE OF A STEP.