Cemex: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Jan 14, 2013: Employee gets broken fingers and lacerations from conveyor

At approximately 7:30 a.m. on January 14, 2013 Employee #1 of Cemex sustained a hand injury while in the course of his normal work duties as a laborer. Employee #1 was cutting a damaged section of a conveyor belt when the conveyor started p ulling his hand in between the metal flashing and the toughing rollers. Employee #1 has hospitalized as he sustained broken fingers and lacerations to his right hand.

Incident on Oct 18, 2010: Employee is injured in fall from scaffold plank

On October 18, 2010, Employee #1 fell from a scaffold plank at the Cemex batch p lant. He was hospitalized for treatment of unspecified fractures.

Incident on Jun 27, 2007: Employee finger is caught between cement truck chutes

On June 27, 2007, Employee #1, a cement truck driver, arrived at a construction site with a load and backed his truck up to a pumper. A coworker lowered a chute on the rear of Employee #1's truck, thinking the driver would want it lowered. The coworker swung it so he could secure it and the chute struck a position abov e and fell back down. Employee #1's right thumb was caught between two hinged ch utes. Employee #1 was able to lift the chute up and free his hand and was hospit alized. He was released from the hospital, not agreeing with their course of tre atment. He later sought treatment elsewhere where his thumb was surgically reatt ached.

Incident on May 7, 2007: Employee's eye is cut when struck by boom

On May 7, 2007, Employee #1 was standing on a ladder on his cement truck, when h e was struck by a concrete pump boom from another cement truck. He sustained lac erations under his eye and was hospitalized.

Incident on Jan 31, 2007: Employee injured by falling forklift forks

On January 31, 2007, Employee #1, the lead mechanic, and an assisting mechanic w ere replacing a bearing on a forklift. Employee #1 was removing a hydraulic line from the forklift being repaired while standing underneath the fork assembly. T he fork assembly was supported approximately 10 feet above the ground by a nylon sling looped over the fork of a separate forklift. The assisting mechanic was j acking the forklift up a few inches to allow placement of a waste oil catch pan. During this operation, the nylon sling around the spare forklift slipped off. T he fork assembly of the forklift being repaired dropped onto Employee #1, knocki ng him to the ground. He was hospitalized with a fracture of his left foot, head lacerations, and bruises on his forearm and several ribs.

Incident on Aug 26, 2006 (fatal): Employee is found dead of apparent heart attack

At approximately 2:00 a.m. on August 26, 2006, Employee #1, a laborer, started w ork and was assigned to screen mills, monitor the conveyors, and clean up tunnel s #11, 12, 13, and 16. Between 4:30 a.m. and 5:00 a.m., the mill operator asked Employee #1 to go to tunnel #13 to check the feed. At approximately 7:45 a.m., t he mill operator and a laborer found Employee #1 face down at the end of a 110-f t long tunnel, underneath a gravel quarry next to the wall of the tunnel and the tail pulley of conveyor #13. Employee #1 was cold and discolored and had no pul se. The fire department arrived at the scene, but could not resuscitate Employee #1. The coroner examined the body and could not find any apparent trauma. The c oroner suspected that the deceased may have collapsed due to a cardiac arrest or some kind of medical condition.

Incident on Mar 24, 2006: Employee's leg is amputated by conveyor

At approximately 1:00 p.m. on March 24, 2006, Employee #1, a heavy equipment ope rator, climbed onto a conveyor belt after pulling the emergency stop cord locate d along the conveyor walkway. When the conveyor started, he was thrown over the conveyor head pulley and became caught in the pinch point between the head pulle y and the belt. He was hospitalized for an amputated lower left leg. The cause o f this accident was failure to lock out/tag out the conveyor. An additional sign ificant factor was the lack of an interlocked conveyor start-up warning horn.

Incident on Jan 6, 2005: Employee is injured from water jet

At approximately 1:00 a.m. on January 6, 2005, Employee #1, was working as a pro duction utility helper working for Cemex in Apple Valley, CA. The employee was m oving a water blaster gun to an elevated work platform when the gun was inadvert ently activated, causing a high pressure water jet (800 psi) to strike the palm of his right hand. The activation of the water gun's high pressure water occurre d when the unguarded trigger contacted the guard railing on the higher level. Th e trigger guard around the gun's trigger had been removed prior to the accident and its removal was contrary to the recommendations of the gun's manufacturer. E mployee #1 was hospitalized, where he was treated for laceration to his right ha nd.

Incident on Aug 16, 2003: Employee burned with premature discharge of compressed gas

On August 16, 2003, a Production Supervisor of Cernex was attempting to unplug a K-3 Preheated Tower, Cardox. The Cardox tube prematurely discharged compressed gas, burning the Production Supervisor on the chest and neck. He was hospitalize d and treated for chemical burns.

Incident on Dec 22, 2002: Employee struck by haulage truck

A coworker was driving a Ford F150 pick-up truck, License Number 3U31853, when h e pulled out from a stock pile to the front of the opening to the Primary Crushe r. At the same time Employee #1 was descending on to the roadway toward the prim ary Crusher driving a loaded CAT 777 haul truck. Employee #1 saw his coworker's truck and he started to slow down. The Plant Operator, observing the movement of the coworker's truck, moved to his right, thinking that Employee #2 would steer to Employee #1's left. Employee #1 also moved left and the vehicles collided. T he left front wheel of Employee #2's truck contacted the left side of Employee # 1's at the front of the driver's door. Due to the momentum of the pick-up's truc k forward motion, the wheels of haul truck skidded along the door, rolled over t he top of and behind the cab of. Employee #1 received minor injuries and was tak en to the hospital where he was treated and released.

Incident on Aug 8, 2001: Employee's fingers amputated after they became stuck in rope

Employee #1, a maintenance mechanic for a cement processor, was directly involve d with repairing a crack on the second level of a pre-heat tower. His fingers be came entangled in a .375-in. rope that was drawn into the back of a 36-in.Z Blad e operating at 1750 RPM Hartzell Fan, Model No. 23-36-NH3. Employee #1 suffered the amputation of his left fourth fingertip and was hospitalized.

Incident on Mar 11, 1998: Burn - electrical fault

A plant operator, who was also assigned to do routine electrical work, had insta lled a new electric motor on the plant's main feed belt. When he tested the moto r, he discovered that the rotation was wrong. He went to make the phase change a t a fused disconnect switch. Working on the energized side of the switch, he had two phase conductors out. They contacted each other, causing an electrical faul t. The ensuing electric arc burned the back of the employee's hands and arms. (H e was wearing safety glasses, which protected his eyes.) He was treated for seco nd-degree burns.