Centrex Plastics, LLC: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on May 21, 2020: Employee's arm is crushed inside press

At 2:45 a.m. on May 21, 2020, Employee #1 was troubleshooting the Milacron Maxima Plastic Injection Press # 91 (Product # MPS-1100; Serial Number M7001AB010099). The parts were sticking inside the press because "air poppets froze up." Employee #1 went inside the press to "free poppets" with a brass hammer. Then, Employee #1 asked another a coworker to activate air inside the press. While Employee #1 was standing inside the press, and the doors of the press were closed, the coworker pushed the "mold close button" instead of the "air blow button." The mold inside the press closed, pinching the right arm of Employee #1. Employee #1 sustained a crushing injury of the right elbow; the elbow was removed, and a piece of metal connecting Employee #1's upper and lower arm was installed. Employee #1 was hospitalized.

Incident on May 17, 2020 (fatal): Employee is electrocuted while cleaning wires

At 1:25 a.m. on May 17, 2020, Employee #1, a 43-year-old employee, was working as a maintenance technician for a manufacturer of plastics products. He was cleaning or repairing electrical wires on a Toshiba model number IS650FA3-59A plastic injection molding press, with serial number 41705. It was plastic injection molding press number 51 at the facility. During the course of the machine's operation, plastic would "blow back" toward the heating elements. The wires would have to be cleaned of the plastic. After the cleanup and repairs had been completed, the employee called the process technician to come in and start the press. When the process technician arrived at press number 51, the employee was found unresponsive on the ground on the backside of the press. The employee did not have any obvious signs of an injury. He was pronounced dead by medical personnel. During the investigation, the company's maintenance manager "noticed broken wire on the back side of the press; one end of the wire was freshly taped, and another end of that wire was not insulated." That wire was for one of the heaters on press number 51. The heaters operated using 480-volt, three-phase power. According to the autopsy report, the employee had "electrical burn injuries on left thumb and index finger," and the cause of death was electrocution.