All MSHA-reportable accidents at Lafarge North America, Inc. operations in 2009. Fatalities appear first.
At ~ 10:15pm 2/7/09 a natural gas explosion/fire severely damaged the lab and office bldg. Natural gas leaked from either a heater or gas supply line to the heater. No injuries or fatalities resulted from the incident. The adjacent cemnet plant heard the explosion, called the fire Dept. and made the first MSHA notice. A second MSHA notice was made by Systech to (800) 746-1553.
EE was descending down a fixed ladder on a loader. The EE lost his grip on the ladder and fell to the ground. The EE injured his left foot as a result of the fall. Medical attention was sought and the EE was diagnosed with a fracture to his foot.
Ee was climbing down a ladder. Stepping off the ladder, he slipped on some water and turned left ankle. Ee reported his ankle was sore to his foreman and continued to work the remainder of his shift. The next day his ankle was swollen and he went to the doctor. The doctor noted hairline fracture to his fibula. The employee was placed in a walking cast and put on restricted duty.
2 guys were using 15 ton hydraulic pin pusher to remove WH78 drag chain. The injured was holding a hammer handle and the other millwright was applying pressure with the manual hydraulic pump. Replaceable end of hydraulic ram shattered striking injured on right side of face shattering lower jaw and fracturing upper jaw. He also suffered a three inch laceration on the right cheek.
Employee was in the stone silo to clear a feeder choke in CR5. Upon exiting the silo door, the employee fell to the ground coming down on his right knee. His knee hit the containment berm surrounding the door, an area which was muddy. This was reported as a First Aid but the level of follow-up treatment elevated this to a Medical, explaining the delay in reporting.
Employee was working on a trenching project on surface. He slipped on debris from the trench twisting his ankle resulting in a sprain. He is on modified duty and PT.
The hopper door was opened by an employee. The injuried employee had a piece of plywood he was going to prop the door open. Employee was going to go up the ladder when he looked up and dust fell. The dust landed on his right eyebrow and behind his safety glasses. Employee went to washroom and flushed his eye. Employee went to Doctor, was treated and put on light duty for five days.
EE was trying to close steerhorn and the feeder was jammed so he had to yank on it. The next day his back started hurting. Complained of back strain later and visited doctor on 11/16/2009.
Injured was unloading pet soil from truck. After unloading, He put both hands on top of dump gate and rocked the gate to empty out extra pet soil. The gare caught his left pinky and ring finger in a pinch point, causing two broken bones in fingers and receiving seven stitches.
Victim was emptying an aurora hopper, which was on a forklift. When returning the aurora hopper to the locked position, his left index finger got pinched between the hopper and forklift cage. Pressure was applied immediately and dressing was put on the finger to control bleeding. The victim was taken to the health clinic for medical attention, where he received stitches.
Three employees were replacing the canvas on an air slide. EE was attaching a chipping hammer to an air line to begin work while the other two employees were working on the opposite sides. When EE was connecting to the air line, the bottom piece of the air slide fell onto his left foot. His foot is not broken, but swollen and painful and he required an air cast.
Employee was working in man basket. He was hanging netting in the underground mine, work was above his head. He tried to straighten the netting out so that there was no slack and one side fell. Material was heavier than he anticipated and it jerked his arm and strained his shoulder. He sought treatment and is on 20 lb lifting restrictions. No Rx meds were prescribed.
operator was transferring waste tires from one truck onto a tractor trailer. The two vehicles were butted against each other, however there was a small 3 inch gap between the vehicles that allowed the operator's foot to get caught in the gap.
Employee was holding and inspecting a tip valve. The air cylinder retracted and caught his right thumb between the arm and the cylinder. He sought treatment at OHS Compare for avulsion of the nail and nailbed.
Employee was opening the mill, using the crossbar to break the hatch loose. He felt pain after he struck the hatch with the crossbar. Crossbar weighs about 100 lbs, and is bounced on the hatch to break it loose from the mill.
#75 screw was plugged. To unplug crew was planning to dump screw. As we were trying to restart screw dust silo above flushed through the restart screw. To stop flush we were attempting to close a quickopen door, during the attempt dust blew upward into faces. Employee received dust into left eye and immediately went to eyewash station to clean out eyes.
Our technician was tightening a bolt on a torque head convertor. The wrench slipped off the bolt and he hit his hand on the convertor cover cutting the middle finger on his left hand.
Employee was helping clean out the raw mill. He went to lower a bucket to another employee and felt discomfort in his elbow. Pain was not relieved and employee south treatment at OHS on 2/23/10. He was returned to full duty and is receiving physical therapy 2x week for 3 weeks. Return to OHS scheduled for 3/9/10.
Employee was cutting the sidewall of a tire and as he cut, the knife slipped off the tire and punctured his thigh. Employee was driven to clinic by on-site supervisor where he received three stitches to close the wound.
Employee slipped on a step going to the Washhouse lunchroom. He did not report the incident. Friday morning he reported off sick. At 4:00pm that day, he reported to the Plant Admin that he injured left hand and shoulder. He has gone to his family doctor that day & doctor determined that he chipped a bone in his left wrist.
Employee welding on overhead collector pipe in raw grind. Felt burn near right eye. Took off mask and wiped spark away, washed eye with saline. Incident reported to supervisor. Days later eye became irritated and employee sought medical treatment. Doctor removed residue from small piece of metal and employee given prescription for medication.
Mobile mechanic was installing new handrails on portable steps. While he was tightening bottom support on handrail, the wrench slipped off bolt causing his hand to come back, striking chin. This caused two chipped teeth and one fractured tooth. Dentist repaired the two chipped teeth.
While cleaning the preheat tower, a chunk of material broke loose from above. Then material fell below, hitting the Woma gun the employee was using to clean the Preheat Tower and the Woma gun handle hit employee in the lip, causing a laceration.
During routine chain maintenance for our shutdown an employee got his finger caught in between the drag chain and the tooth of the sprocket on the C6 drag line. The employee received 6 stitches and returned to work the next day. All equipment was locked out and non-operational at the time of the incident.