| Date | City | State | Employer | Body Part | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2021-11-01 | Dallas | Tx | Start Kleen Legacy | Head | Contact with hot objects or substances |
| An employee was cleaning a drain when a thermal reaction between sodium hydroxide and hot water occurred. The employee sustained thermal and chemical burns to the head and was hospitalized. | |||||
| 2021-10-17 | Evadale | Tx | WestRock Company | Eye(s) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was cleaning a copy machine. While trying to open the filter compartment to finish the cleaning by rinsing with water, the pressure exerted on the lid caused a solution with possible traces of a sodium hypochlorite to spray into the employee's eyes, resulting in eye irritation that required hospitalization. | |||||
| 2021-08-23 | Kansas City | Mo | ZECO | Eye(s) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was changing a product transfer hose. Sodium hydroxide splashed onto the employee's face, eyes, and torso. The employee sustained chemical burn to the eye(s). | |||||
| 2021-08-10 | Nampa | Id | Lactalis American Group, Inc | Multiple lower extremities locations | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was pouring a sodium hydroxide solution into a wash tank. Some of the chemical splashed onto the employee's pants and into his boots, causing chemical burns. | |||||
| 2021-07-25 | Enid | Ok | Environmental Management, Inc. | Leg(s) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was climbing out of a containment basin after closing a valve on a sodium hydroxide tank. The legs of his chemical protective suit slid up, allowing a small amount of sodium hydroxide solution to run down his legs and burn them. | |||||
| 2021-06-20 | Valliant | Ok | International Paper Company | Mouth | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was unhooking a hose on a chemical reel car. The employee was sprayed with sodium hydroxide and suffered chemical burns to the mouth. | |||||
| 2021-05-26 | Palmetto | Fl | Allied New Technologies | Face | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was disconnecting a plant process hose carrying 32% liquid sodium hydroxide. The employee was exposed to the chemical under his face shield. The lower part of his face was exposed and he suffered a rash/burn. | |||||
| 2021-04-27 | Ave Maria | Fl | Ave Maria University | BODY SYSTEMS | Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode |
| An employee inhaled sodium hydroxide fumes and was hospitalized. | |||||
| 2021-04-14 | Searsport | Me | GAC Chemical Corporation | Eye(s) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was removing a hose after unloading sodium hydroxide. The hose had residual pressure in it and sprayed the employee in the face, resulting in chemical burns to the eyes. | |||||
| 2021-02-25 | Onida | Sd | Ringneck Energy Ethanol Plant | Nonclassifiable | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was filling a container with sodium hydroxide when the sodium hydroxide splashed out of the container onto the employee, resulting in chemical burns. | |||||
| 2021-02-05 | Auburndale | Fl | Love's Travel Stops & Country Stores, Inc. | BODY SYSTEMS | Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode |
| An employee was cutting fruit at a fruit station and had difficulty breathing. The employee lost consciousness after being exposed to sodium hydroxide that was used to clean the hood and was hospitalized. | |||||
| 2020-05-23 | San Antonio | Texas | Bottling Group, LLC | Multiple mouth locations | Ingestion of harmful substance |
| While conducting a taste test, an employee mistakenly grabbed a sample cup that contained sodium hydroxide, incurring chemical burns to the mouth and lip. The employee was hospitalized. | |||||
| 2020-03-18 | Reserve | Louisiana | CBSL Transportation Services | BODY SYSTEMS | Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode |
| A cleaning technician was cleaning a tank trailer that contained residual sodium bisulfide. As he was cleaning the tank trailer with hot steam, he began to experience shortness of breath. | |||||
| 2019-08-28 | Bayonne | New Jersey | IMTT-BAYONNE | Multiple face locations | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| Two employees were removing a flange blank from a pipeline when they were sprayed by a 50% sodium hydroxide caustic solution. They were hospitalized with third degree chemical burns to the eyes and face. | |||||
| 2019-08-23 | Savannah | Georgia | International Paper Company | Leg(s) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was opening a valve when the hot caustic (main component: sodium hydroxide) from an adjacent valve that was open sprayed him. The piping was shut down for maintenance and the injured employee was restoring it to service prior to the incident. The employee sustained a second degree burn on 2% of the right leg surface. The employee was hospitalized. | |||||
| 2019-08-12 | Clarksville | Arkansas | Water Tech, Inc. | BODY SYSTEMS | Exposure to environmental heat |
| An employee was unloading 50 percent sodium hydroxide from a tanker truck when he became hot and sat down to cool off and drink water. He was hospitalized for possible heat exhaustion. | |||||
| 2019-04-07 | Gooding | Idaho | Glanbia Foods, Inc. | Multiple body parts | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| Two maintenance workers were servicing an electronic fill button on a nearby 12 to 17 percent sodium hypochlorite chemical day tank. A 1-inch chemical line became dislodged and sprayed both employees, causing chemical burns on their chests, torsos, and arms. Both employees were hospitalized. | |||||
| 2019-04-06 | Parma | Ohio | AMAC ENTERPRISES, INC. | Eye(s) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee went to fill the day tank and was sprayed in the face with sodium hydroxide, requiring hospitalization. | |||||
| 2019-03-01 | Marcus Hook | Pennsylvania | Rain For Rent - Western Oil Fields Supply Company | Lower extremities | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee stepped into a chemical spill guard filled with water and sodium hydroxide. The chemical got into his boot, causing a burn. He was hospitalized. | |||||
| 2019-02-07 | Utica | New York | UTICA METAL PRODUCTS, INC. | Face | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was splashed in the face with sodium hydroxide while repairing a transfer pump, suffering chemical burns to the face. | |||||
| 2018-09-14 | Luxemburg | Wisconsin | S & S Jerseyland Dairy LLC | Abdomen, except internal location of diseases or disorders | Ingestion of harmful substance |
| An employee was delivering feed to a site when he picked up a gallon jug of an odorless cleaning chemical (sodium hypochlorite) and drank it. He suffered internal burns from the corrosive chemical requiring hospitalization. | |||||
| 2018-09-13 | Bristol | Connecticut | Metal Finishing Technologies, LLC. | Knee(s) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| A maintenance employee was replacing a ball valve on a pump in a wastewater treatment system when she knelt in a puddle of 20% sodium hydroxide and sustained caustic burns on her right knee. | |||||
| 2018-09-07 | Franklin | Ohio | ChemGroup, Inc. | BODY SYSTEMS | Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode |
| An employee was delivering sodium hypochlorite (bleach) to a customer by tanker truck. The customer directed the employee to the incorrect unloading station, and the sodium hypochlorite was unloaded into a hydrofluorosilicic acid tank. The chemicals were incompatible and produced chlorine gas, which the employee inhaled. | |||||
| 2018-08-24 | Janesville | Wisconsin | QPS Employment Group, Inc. | Knee(s) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| While an employee was sanitizing hard candy tumblers, a bucket of sodium hydroxide cleaner spilled and the chemical splashed onto the legs of his coveralls and jeans. It soaked through, burning his knees. He was hospitalized. | |||||
| 2018-07-23 | Gardiner | New York | Tuthilltown Spirits, LLC. | Ankle(s) and leg(s) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was carrying a pitcher with a heavy-duty caustic liquid cleaner (containing 50% sodium hydroxide) to a large drum. The liquid spilled onto his legs, causing third-degree chemical burns to his ankles/shins. He was hospitalized. | |||||
| 2018-07-17 | Geismar | Louisiana | Westlake Vinyls Company, LP | Multiple body parts | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was adding a bag of sodium thiosulfate to a storage tank containing sodium hypochlorite and a weak caustic solution. The bag fell into the tank and the liquid in the tank splashed onto the employee causing second degree burns to the right and left thigh, abdomen and left hand. | |||||
| 2018-05-14 | Paducah | Kentucky | James Marine | BODY SYSTEMS | Exposure to environmental heat |
| At around 10 a.m., on 5/14/2018, an employee was weed-eating in a shipyard when he experienced a headache, dizziness, and cramps. He was hospitalized due to dehydration and low sodium levels. | |||||
| 2018-04-25 | Dalton | Georgia | PHOENIX CHEMICAL COMPANY | Multiple face locations | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was unloading a railcar to a tanker truck when 50% sodium hydroxide splashed in the employee's eye and face, causing chemical burns. | |||||
| 2018-03-22 | Longview | Texas | Alpha Omega Recycling, Inc. | BODY SYSTEMS | Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode |
| An employee was introducing a new chemical (copper sulfate) into a 6,500 gallon tank of sodium hypochlorite when a chemical reaction occurred, exposing the employee to a gaseous reaction (chlorine gas). Respiratory protection was not worn at the time. | |||||
| 2018-03-14 | Gurnee | Illinois | Averus, Inc. | Multiple face locations | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was mixing cleaning chemicals to clean a filter when sodium hydroxide splashed in his face, causing skin and eye irritation. | |||||
| 2017-07-20 | Lewiston | Idaho | US Forest Service | BODY SYSTEMS | Exposure to environmental heat |
| An employee experienced seizures at night after fighting a fire during the day. The employee suffered a sodium imbalance due to heat exposure. | |||||
| 2017-06-03 | Middletown | New York | Revere Smelting & Refining Corporation | Foot (feet) | Contact with hot objects or substances |
| An employee was returning to his station at a molten lead kettle when a coworker added a sodium hydroxide treatment too quickly to the molten lead, causing it to react and spill over onto the injured employee. He suffered second degree burns on his left foot and was hospitalized. | |||||
| 2017-03-27 | Catarina | Texas | Seventy Seven Energy, Inc | Mouth | Ingestion of harmful substance |
| An employee accidentally drank sodium hydroxide, believing it was a bottle of water. He immediately spit out the fluid and suffered minor chemical burns to the mouth, requiring overnight hospitalization. | |||||
| 2017-03-16 | Pasadena | Texas | CH2M Hill | Multiple trunk locations | Ingestion of harmful substance |
| An employee was performing PH analysis on water using sodium hydroxide. The employee ingested some of it and was hospitalized for a burned esophagus and stomach. | |||||
| 2017-03-15 | Hot Springs | Arkansas | Newsome Trucking Inc. | Multiple face locations | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was providing assistance to a customer while using a caustic tank. The customer product inlet line had no shutoff valve and the product hose had a downward angle to the truck tank unloading pad. When the employee blew down the product hose, he was sprayed in the face by caustic sodium hydroxide solution, resulting in burns to his mouth, lips, and face. | |||||
| 2016-09-02 | Cambridge | Nebraska | Nebraska Corn Processing LLC | Upper and lower limb(s) | Contact with hot objects or substances |
| An employee hooking up the fermenter was sprayed with hot sodium hydroxide when the hose was disconnected. The employee suffered second degree burns to the top of the feet and first degree burns to the right shin, arm and thumb. | |||||
| 2016-08-23 | Eastlake | Ohio | Conn-Selmer, Inc | BODY SYSTEMS | Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode |
| Excess sodium hypochlorite was added to a treatment tank causing the pH of an adjacent tank to spike. Sulfuric acid was added to the adjacent tank in hopes of lowering the pH. Eight employees were taken to local hospitals for exposure to chlorine gas. Two were hospitalized for respiratory irritation. | |||||
| 2016-05-13 | Miami | Florida | Sentry Industries, Inc. | BODY SYSTEMS | Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode |
| An employee had connected sodium hypochlorite to the hydrochloric acid tank thinking it was acid. When the two mixed, gases formed and the employee was overcome by gas inhalation. | |||||
| 2016-04-27 | Huntington | West Virgini | Caledonian Alloys | Multiple body parts | Contact with hot objects or substances |
| On April 26, 2016, at approximately 6:00 p.m., an employee was changing a filter basket that removes fines from the alkaline cleaner. The employee unscrewed the lid and was struck by hot water and detergent (sodium hydroxide mix) under 26 psi, causing second and third degree burns to his upper torso, arms, and back. He was wearing a hard hat, eye protection, hearing protection, boots, and nitro gloves at the time. Chemical resistant clothing was not worn, and lockout/tag-out was not performed, w | |||||
| 2016-03-22 | Valdosta | Georgia | Union Tank Car Company | Multiple body parts | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was neutralizing an empty railcar that had carried sodium hydroxide. While the employee was cleaning the tank, sodium hydroxide splashed on his face and arm, causing 2nd degree chemical burns. | |||||
| 2015-12-07 | Scottsville | New York | SABIN Metal Corporation | Multiple body parts | Fall on same level due to tripping over an object |
| An employee tripped and fell over a bucket containing a sodium hydroxide (10-15%) solution. The employee suffered chemical burns to the arms, back and legs. | |||||
| 2015-10-01 | Hereford | Texas | White Energy | Foot (feet) | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| An employee was washing down sodium hydroxide that was leaking off a pump. During the washing process, caustic material soaked into the employee's steel toe boots through the laces, causing second and third degree burns to the tops of the employee's feet. | |||||
| 2015-08-06 | Marion | Ohio | POET Biorefining | Nonclassifiable | Contact with hot objects or substances |
| One employee was hospitalized after a sample port on a sodium hydroxide line failed, showering the employee with sodium hydroxide at 190 degrees Fahrenheit. | |||||
| 2015-07-31 | Ridgewood | New Jersey | PSE&G Services Corporation | BODY SYSTEMS | Exposure to environmental heat |
| An employee was overseeing a natural gas line repair contractor at the intersection of West Glen 7 North Monroe, Ridgewood, New Jersey. The employee experienced dizziness and light-headedness and was hospitalized for treatment of dehydration and low sodium. | |||||
| 2015-07-28 | West Haven | Connecticut | UPS | BODY SYSTEMS | Exposure to environmental heat |
| Employee admitted to ICU. Employer indicated he was low in sodium. | |||||
| 2015-07-14 | Robins A F B | Georgia | U.S. Air Force | BODY SYSTEMS | Exposure to environmental heat |
| An employee was admitted to the hospital after suffering from low sodium symptoms. | |||||
| 2015-03-10 | Wilmington | Delaware | United Water Delaware | Upper and lower limb(s) | Other fall to lower level |
| An employee installing electrical conduit in a room with sodium hypochlorite piping fell from the ladder that he was working on and onto the piping. The hazardous chemical splashed on his left leg and arm. The employee was admitted to the hospital. | |||||
| 2015-03-04 | Naples | Florida | UNITED MECHANICAL, INC. | BODY SYSTEMS | Exposure to other harmful substances |
| An employee was exposed to steam that contained sodium sulfate, tetrasodium pyrophosphate, and potassium hydroxide while working on an HVAC system in the basement/mechanical room of the hospital. | |||||
| 2015-01-13 | Rockford | Illinois | Cintas Corporation | Multiple face locations | Exposure through intact skin, eyes, or other exposed tissue |
| On or about January 13, 2015, a maintenance employee of Cintas received a chemical spray of sodium hydroxide to the eyes and face requiring hospitalization. The incident occurred during offloading of the sodium hydroxide from a contracted delivery service's truck (Hydrite). | |||||
| 2015-01-12 | Holly Hill | Florida | Transportation Services Unlimited, Inc. | BODY SYSTEMS | Inhalation of harmful substance-single episode |
| An employee delivering sodium hypochlorite attached the hose to a tank containing sulfuric acid, causing a reaction. The employee was admitted to the hospital with respiratory distress. | |||||