Heated sludge fatally burns new worker inspecting a noise, feds say. Company is cited
A new employee inspecting a noise near a steam line was fatally burned after heated sludge piled onto him at a chemical manufacturing facility in Georgia, federal officials said.
The 52-year-old’s death happened during his second month on the job in June — and could’ve been prevented by his employer, Chemical Products Corp. in Cartersville, according to a U.S. Department of Labor investigation.
When the worker opened an air intake valve to check out a noise “coming from a barium sulfide wash cone with a steam line that was left open the day before,” cold air surged and “created a bubble that pushed up heated sludge onto the worker,” officials said in a Dec. 1 news release.
He died of chemical and thermal burns all over his body as a result, according to Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigators.
As OSHA investigated the death, investigators discovered another employee was left with second-degree burns after a tank with sodium hydroxide solution overflowed onto him below, officials said.
The employee was burned 25 days after the 52-year-old’s death as he inspected a leaking gasket underneath the tank, according to OSHA.
The agency has cited Chemical Products Corp. with five “serious violations” after the worker’s death, the release said. OSHA has also proposed $55,403 in penalties for the company.
McClatchy News contacted the company for comment on Dec. 5 and didn’t receive an immediate response.
“Our investigation found that Chemical Products Corp.’s failure to make employee safety a priority allowed conditions that cost a worker his life,” OSHA Area Office Director Jeffery Stawowy, of the Atlanta-West region, said in the release.
“Two serious incidents just weeks apart show that the culture at Chemical Products Corp. must change to emphasize worker safety and health,” Stawowy added.
The five violations are:
Thermal and chemical risks from not having energy control procedures in place
Not inspecting energy control procedures at least once a year
Slip and trip risks from not addressing corrosion at the facility’s mid-tier catwalks
Entrapment risks from a lack of marked emergency exits
Not providing employees safety data sheets “for hazardous chemicals”
The chemical manufacturer, which employs about 136 people, has 15 days upon receiving the citations and penalties to either comply, request to meet with OSHA or contest the findings, the release said.
Meanwhile, the circumstances surrounding the second employee’s burns are under investigation, officials said.
“OSHA will continue to monitor and hold the company accountable until there are changes,” Stawowy said.
Cartersville is about 45 minutes northwest of Atlanta.
This story was originally published December 5, 2023 at 10:50 AM with the headline "Heated sludge fatally burns new worker inspecting a noise, feds say. Company is cited."
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