St. Mary's Cement -Dixon Metal/Non-Metal

Supervisor intentionally bumped into ee as Sup. walked past, causing the ee to lose balance. As the ee attempted to catch fall ee banged rt elbow on the table next to the scale & twisted right knee. There were no witnesses, claim is still under investigation. The ee did seek medical treatment for a swollen knee & was placed on lite duty. Sup denies any physical contact was made.

Two EEs were using a torch, working on cylinder at quarry crusher. EE passed the torch, still burning, hose attached to torch got caught. Torch tilted in the EE's hands as it was passed off, shooting flame up other EE's shirt sleeve. Injured EE incurred a 2nd degree burn to right forearm. EE was prescribed a topical ointment and pain medication. EE released to full duty.

EE was walking down the stairs the ID fan tripped. EE went to get a rod and noticed one of the port doors was ½ way open when ID fan started back up, the door blew open, along with hot cement dust that blew out of the port door. EE was wearing safety glasses & face shield but some dust still got in eyes. Treated for corneal abrasion.

Employee was cleaning the preheater. EE was using a water lance to break up a chunk. When it broke loose, it hit the bar of the water lance. The lance was positioned under the employee's armpit and pointed upward. The impact jolted the water lance with intense impact on underarm. The employee was escorted to the ER where EE was treated for a dislocated shoulder.

The production crew was in the process of switching silos. EE was checking a leak on the #4 cooler when the transport line to the silo started blowing out cement dust. EE did not have respirator on. EE quickly put it on but had already inhaled some of the dust. EE reported burning in chest & shortness of breath. Sent to ER for medical attention.

There was a plug in the #1 separator chute. EE turned on air lance, picked it up, & just before EE went to put it in the trap door to work out the chunks, EE felt a zap go through palms & gripped the bar tighter. Another EE pulled the bar out of EE's hands. The area was tested for static issues and none found. Dr found no abnormalities. EE took pain meds so missed one day.

EE was unclogging a plug when an object struck his head. Another employee found him knelt over & wobbling when he stood up. The employee went for help & came back to find EE gone. EE left the worksite & did not report the injury. He sought medical attention approximately 1 1/2 hrs later & reported a concussion through dr notes on 12/30. Investigation is ongoing.

EE had plywood getting hoisted up preheater. It was windy & piece of siding started to bend. It snapped off & hit ee in forehead. EE was running winch. Plywood blew away from building. EE lost grip as he regained control guy on 5th floor saw siding loosen, snap & fall. Witness noted ee was unconscious when he got down to him. Paramedics said cuts on both front & back of head.

EE set up a ladder on uneven ground. He took his first step & ladder tipped over. He fell on a flight of stairs causing a sprain of ligaments, contusion & multiple fractures of ribs along right side of back.

The preheater elevator doors had to be manually closed. EE usually used a step ladder to reach the mechanism above the doors safely. The ladder was not in the elevator. There were accessible stairs, but EE chose to climb the escape hatch steps to try & reach the mechanism. As he was operating the manual closure he slipped off the steps & fell inside the elevator floor

Employee was investigating a leak on the Amerex return line. He was walking around some material spillage when he slipped on some clinker & twisted his right knee. He reported swelling, limping, and a pain level of 5 out of 10.

Employee was hammering the slide on the #2 clinker tank. He lost his footing and fell backward hitting his elbow on clinker chunks on the floor. Six weeks later on 11/0, employee stated he had also hit his back on same chunks when he fell as well. He was administered medical aid (back brace) & released with some restrictions of bending, twisting & jarring activities.

#1 Fan on #2 Cooler tripped, while resetting the fan, a process upset condition occurred allowing hot clinker to exit the #2 Cooler. This hot clinker exceeded the temperature rating for the belt. This created a chain reaction where #1 Clinker Belt, then #2 Clinker belt both caught fire. When #2 Clinker failed, it fell onto the Indine Fuel Transfer Belt, igniting it

#1Fan on #2Cooler tripped,while resetting,a process upset condition occurred allowing hot clinker to exit the Cooler.This hot clinker exceeded its temp rating. This created a chain reaction where #1Clinker Belt,then #2Clinker belt caught fire.When #2Clinker failed, it fell onto the Incline Fuel Transfer Belt,igniting it,which by a chain reaction ignited the Fuel Shuttle Belt.

Employee was walking on downhill grade and slipped on clinker balls (rocks)

The ground was damp & muddy. The employee was using a jackhammer to clean out the screens on the Southwest side of the plant, when the jackhammer got stuck in the mud. The employee attempted to pull it out. As he was pulling, he heard his back pop.

Employee was scaling tower #3 with air lance. Large chunk of material sloughed off and jarred air lance. Employee dropped air lance and tried to move away. Air lance handle hit employee above right knee. Employee did not notifiy anyone of incident until going to doctor on 10/16/2008.

Employee smashed middle finger on left hand between poke bar and air slide frame while trying to clear a clog from the raw mill air separator ports. Finger tip broken, stitches.

Employee was unplugging a clogged vessel by jabbing at the clog with a spud bar. The spud bar glanced off the clog and the employee's finger was smashed between the bar and the access door frame. Employee's smashed finger required 7 stitches.

On 7/30/08,EE slipped on mill feed floor where drag conveyor comes through floor.EE braced fall with right hand by placing on cement cooler, which injured hand.EE reported injury at start of shift on 7/31/08.Employee went to doctor on 8/13/08 and received physical therapy referral. Employee started physical therapy on 8/25/08.

Employee was walking around clinker storage area. Employee slipped on clinker and hurt left knee. Employee had MRI done on 8/4/2008 which indicated complex tear of posterior horn of medial meniscus.

Employee was checking the oil on a loader and misstepped, falling to the ground. He tried to catch himself with his right arm and ruptured a tendon.

Employee was using hand tools to clean frozen material from in and around quarrying equipment. Few hours after leaving work, employee started having pain in back and neck, probably due to overexertion.

On 9/17/2007, employee missed last rung on ladder while descending. Employee fell and hurt left shoulder. Employee went to doctor for evaluation. After doctors visits concerning continued soreness, employee was referred to physical therapy. Employee started physical therapy on 10/29/2007.

Employee stated that she had pain in both wrists/hands over the past few years. On evening of 5/21/2007, employee noticed severe pain in right wrist and later in left wrist. She went to doctor and received cortisone shots in both wrists on 5/30/2007.

Employee opened and closed screen gates to resolve oversized material flow issue. While closing gate, employee smashed and broke finger tip.

Employee tripped over D-ring anchor on floor and injured right leg on 3/28/2007. Employee reported incident on 4/2/2007. Employee went to doctor on 4/2/2007 and received restricted duty (avoid prolonged sitting/standing; change every 30 minutes).

Employee injured back (severe lower back strain) on 3/23/2007 while helping change center cable on superior crane. Employee went to doctor for examination of back on 3/31/2007 and had a follow up visit on 4/3/2007. Employee restricted from returning to work.

EE injured right knee while cleaning around equipment on 3/3/07.EE continued normal work activities. EE went to dr for exam of right knee on 3/12/07 and rec'd conditional full duty activity status(full duty indicated with not to wear splint/brace as directed).

Employee injured right thumb while poking to remove buildup in the preheater tower riser for kiln system #2. Employee's thumb was caught between the outside door latch and the air lance handle when he encountered a soft spot in the buildup.

Employee was using wedge to drop air slide section. After striking wedge with sledgehammer, the wedge flew out and impacted his nose.

Employee received secondary electrical discharge to both hands when equipment he was working on was struck by lightning.

Employee was air lancing #2 preheater feed shelf when a large chunk of material fell and hit the 3/4" x 18' long air lance and knocked the lance from his right hand. He held onto handle with left hand as air lance spun in a clockwise motion - twisting left arm out & around. Lance then came loose from left hand, spun and struck left wrist with other handle.

INJURED AND CO-WORKER WERE MOVING A GATE IN ROUND HOUSE THAT HAD A 14" VALVE ATTACHED TO IT. THE LEVER CAME LOOSE AND DROPPED SMASHING #3 & #4 FINGERS OF EMPLOYEE BETWEEN THE LEVER AND GATE.

Employee was poking a 3-4 ft bar into a large clump of solid cement - trying to break it loose. A large chunk broke loose hitting the end of the bar & pushing it into the employee's face - causing a cut to his nose and upper lip & resulting in 3 stitches to the upper lip.

EE was doing electrical work on an electrical box on the quarry conveyer belt, stripping a wire to make a connection, using a box cutter blade. Blade slipped off wire and cut left wrist, required 8 stitches to close.

removing barrel of colr identification powder. Barrel had tipped in transit. Trying to dislodge barrel, finger caught between barrel and pallet.

EMPLOYEE WAS LIFTING A COVER TO CHUTE THAT GOES FROM THE ELEVATER TO THE SEPERATOR.

USED BAR TO THROW A VALVE. BAR SLIPPED SMASHING HIS FINGER.

BRICKING KILN, BECAME OVERHEATED, APPEARED TO HAVE HEAT EXHAUSTION, TRANSPORTED TO E.R.

EE REMOVING CHUNK OUT OF SAND SCALE WITH SLEDGE HAMMER. CHUNK FELL OUT ONTO LEG. EE PUT ON LIGHT DUTY AFTER DR'S APPT ON 7/21/03.

DUST WAS BLOWN INTO EMPLOYEE'S RIGHT EYE.

EMPLOYEE KNOCKING DOOR ON #4 FINISH MILL WITH SLEDGE HAMMER STRAINED LEFT SHOULDER.

EE BECAME ILL WHILE WELDING IN AN ENCLOSED AREA.

CHANGING FLOW OF CEMENT FROM ONE SILO TO ANOTHER, PULLED SLIDE AND DUST BLEW UP IN EYES.

EE WAS CLEANING OFF DUST ON TOP OF COOLER WITH AIR LANCE. HE WAS WEARING A FACE SHIELD & SAFETY GLASSES BUT THE DUST BLEW UP UNDER HIS SHIELD & GLASSES INTO HIS LEFT EYE.

EE WAS MAKING HIS WALK AROUND ON #4 DUST COLLECTOR. TURNED AROUND AND CAUGHT HIS FOOT ON A TOE GUARD. TRIPPED AND FELL ON LEFT WRIST.

EE WAS GIVEN JOB ASSIGNMENT TO WORK IN DUST COLLECTOR. HE WAS ALSO INSTRUCTED BY SUPERVISOR TO WEAR GOGGLES IN THIS AREA. EE IGNORED THE SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS & WORE REG. SAFETY GLASSES. THERE WAS A MAJOR DUST FALL & EE GOT DUST IN EYE. 1ST AID WAS GIVEN 9:15AM. OVER WEEKEND EYE BECAME INFECTED AND INFLAMMED. DR. ON THE 28TH PUT EE OFF WORK UNTIL 11/4.

ANNUAL HEARING TEST REVEALED A 25 DB SHIFT IN RIGHT EAR. SEE ATTACHED COPIED OF TEST & LETTERS.

EE WAS TIGHTENING A SPANNER NUT WITH A HAMMER AND A CHISEL BIT FROM A CHIPPING HAMMER. PIECE OF THE CHISEL BROKE OFF AND PUNCTURED LEFT ARM OF EE.

EMPLOYEE WAS CLOSING TAIL GATE ON DUMP TRUCK AND CAUGHT FINGER WHILE GATE WAS CLOSING. SPLIT LEFT INDEX FINGER. SUTURES REQUIRED.

HOT CLINKER ON CONVEYOR BELT. TEMP SENSOR MALFUNCTION SHOWING A 300 READING WHEN ACTUALLY TEMP WAS 700 DEGREES. BELT WAS ON FIRE THAT LASTED MORE THAN 30 MINUTES. WAS PUT OUT WITH EXTINGUISHER S.

MANUALLY TURNING CRANE BUCKET HE CAUGHT LEFT THUMB ON METAL SPUR CAUSING A LACERATION OF THUMB.

EMPLOYEE WAS CLEARING A PLUG IN THE PRE-HEATER BUILDING THROUGH A POKE HOLE. HE WAS NOT WEARING THE PROTECTIVE COAT, FACE SHIELD & USING A SHORT AIR LANCE. THESE ITEMS WERE AVAILABLE FOR USE. HOT FEED BLEW OUT THE POKE HOLE & CAUSED SECOND DEGREE BURNS ON ARMS, BACK & FACE.

EMPLOYEE DRAGGED CHARGED AIR LANCE ACROSS FLOOR; VALVE OPENED; LANCE TOOK OFF & HIT SAFETY GLASSES & CUT FACE ABOVE RIGHT CHEEK.

EMPLOYEE CARRYING HEAVY TOOLS ON SHOULDER WHILE CLIMBING LADDER TO GET TO CRANE. RESULT WAS SEPARATION OF RIGHT SHOULDER.

EMPLOYEE HOLDING WRENCH FOR ANOTHER EMPLOYEE TO HIT WITH HAMMER. EMPLOYEE MISSED WRENCH AND HIT THUMB OF 1ST EMPLOYEE.

EMPLOYEE WAS WORKING ON ELEVATOR DOORS WHEN ONE OF THE TENSION BARS CAME LOOSE AND STRUCK THE EMPLOYEE IN THE BACK OF THE HEAD.

PICKED UP BEARING TO MOVE, SWUNG AROUND & SMASH-ED LEFT LITTLE FINGER AGAINST HANDRAIL.

EE WAS IN SILO CLEANING MATERIAL. AIR FLOW FROM HOLE IN BOTTOM WAS BLOWING CEMENT INTO EE EYES. PROPER PPE WAS NOT WORN.

EMPLOYEE WAS CUTTING CLINKER BELT WITH UTILITY KNIFE, CUTTING MOTION WAS TOWARD EMPLOYEE BLADE PIERCED RIGHT THIGH. 3 STITCHES WERE NECESSARY.

EMPLOYEE SWINGING SLEDGEHAMMER NUMEROUS TIMES RESULTING IN INJURY TO RIGHT SHOULDER. NO LOST TIME UNTIL SURGERY ON 12-5-01.

WHILE DRIVING BOBCAT, DUST BLEW INTO EYE, EMPLOYEE WAS WEARING SAFETY GLASSES, PRESCRIPTION MEDICATION GIVEN.

WHILE WORKING NEXT TO A WIRE/CABLE TRAY AND ENGAGED IN CLEANING A CATWALK OFF, A HIGH VOLTAGE FEEDER CABLE WENT TO GROUND CAUSING AN ELECTRICAL FLASH WHICH CAUSED 1ST DEGREE BURNS TO BOTH ARMS .

EE STEPPED ON A STEEL BALL WHILE SUPERVISING CLEANUP IN THE AREA, CAUSING HIS LEFT KNEE TO HYPER EXTEND. ON 5-22 AN MRI SHOWED A TEAR OF THE MEDIAL MENISCUS AND SURGERY IS NECESSARY.

WHILE REPAIRING CLINKER COOLER, EE DROPPED A GRATE STRINGER ONTO KNEE RESULTING IN BRUISE AND LOST TIME.

EE WAS ASSIGNED TO SWEEP FLOOR. HE MOVED A 10 LB GUARD AND CLAIMED IT INJURED HIS BACK.

WHILE REPLACING WORN BOLTS HOLDING BALL MILL LINERS, EE USED TORCH TO REMOVE ALL BOLTS INSTEAD OF LEAVING ONE IN TO SECURE LINER. WHILE ANOTHER EE USED A BAR AND HAMMER TO DRIVE OUT CUT BOLTS, EE ENTERED THE MILL AND STOOD ON A LADDER TO BRACE THE FREED LINER. COULDN'T HOLD IT AND IT FELL ONTO HIS SHOULDER RESULTING IN A BRUISE.