Leonardite Products Mine&Mill Operation Metal/Non-Metal

Employee was hooking a bag to a forklift and gave the all clear. The straps started to shift off the end of the fork so employee tried to readjust and got finger caught between the fork and bag strap.

Employee was working in shop where lighting was good. He was hammering to remove a bearing from a case. He was wearing shaded safety glasses when he pulled them down on his nose to see better. He struck the bearing and a small piece of metal struck the eye.

The electrical service in that area was shut off. 1 pallet had deep burns. It appears spontaneous combustion occurred in a bulk bag filled with 1/4 inch leonardite and soda ash. The moisture of the leonardite was approx 28%, higher than we recommend. We believe the combination of moisture, leonardite and soda ash caused an exothermic reaction. A chemist said this is possible.

Cause is unknown at this time. There is only one shift per day from 8am - 4pm so no one was there at the time of the fire. Grinding equipment was damaged and a wood building was destroyed. Also, there was some damage to an adjoining steel storage building. There were no injuries.

The fire started sometime after 10 00 pm.It was discovered at 5:30 am on May 17 & was reported to the fire dept. They were on the scene at 5:50 am. & remained until 2:00 pm. They were recalled at 4:00 pm & remained until 7:45 pm.The fire seemed to be out at the time. The fire chief suspects possible electrical cause, but it is yet to be determined for sure.

PICKED UP A 50LB BAG AND STARTED WALKING UP THE STAIRS, FELT SOMETHING LIKE A SHARP POKE IN THE LOWER BACK. EE THOUGHT IT WOULD GET BETTER, SO FINISHED OUT THE DAY. WENT TO THE CHIROPRACTOR, THEN WENT TO DR WIENS

EMPLOYEE WAS MIXING. THE GRINDER BECAME PLUGGED. HE CAUGHT HIS THUMB IN THE GRINDER. HIS THUMB WAS CUT ACROSS THE TOP AND DOWN ONE SIDE AND HE TORE HIS THUMBNAIL OFF. HE SAW A DOCTOR IN THE E.R. HE WILL HAVE A RE-CHECK 11/19/04 AND IS SCHEDULED FOR AN X-RAY.

EE WAS MIXING, STACKING 50LB BAGS.

WAS STACKING BAGS ON A PALLET, BENT OVER AND FELT SHARP PAIN IN THE LOWER BACK.

EE WAS PUTTING SHRINK WRAP ON PALLET. BACK POPPED. HE SAW A DOCTOR ON FRIDAY & HAS ANOTHER APPT WITH HIM THIS WEEK.

EMPLOYEE WAS CARRYING A SHEET OF PLYWOOD W/HIS RARM. AS HE WAS LIFTING THE PLYWOOD, HE FELT SOMETHING PULL BEGINNING AT THE R. SHOULDER AND ACROSS THE BACK DIAGONALLY AND DOWN THE L. LEG. HE INITIALLY SAW A CHIROPRACTOR SEVERAL TIMES. HE RETURNED TO WORK 10/29/01 TO 11/12/01. ON NOV12TH HE INJURED IT AGAIN BY BENDING OVER. THE DRBELIEVES HE MAY HAVE PULLED HIS SCIATIC NERVE.

CLEANING OUT A COAL GRINDER GOT DUST IN HIS RT.EYE & THEN RUBBED HIS EYE HE SUSTAINED MODERATE INJURY TO RT.EYE WITH 70% OF EPIT HELIUM GONE HE WAS ADMITTED TO THE HOSPITAL FOR THREE DAYS WHEN RELEASED FROM HOSPITAL ON DEC.23 1988 HEALING OF RT.EYE WAS 99% COMPLETE