Cog Marketers Ltd: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Oct 16, 2019: Employee sprays and burns foot with pressure washer

At 2:00 p.m. on October 16, 2019, an employee was working as a laborer or operations associate for a firm that manufactured fertilizer. He had gone from his home work station with his site manager and a truck driver that morning to a farm. The farmer sold related products, but he did not work directly with the three employees. The three employees were power washing an outdoor concrete containment. This was not a routine task. There were circular tanks inside the containment area. The operations associate operated the pressure washer. The truck driver was sucking the water out of the containment area. The site manager was watching the hoses and had overall project responsibility and oversight. The site manager directed work activities for the day. The pressure washer was owned by the farm owner. The employee was using an Aaladin model 14-430-SS pressure washer, with serial number 103409, that was owned by the property owner where the containment was located. The Aaladin washer had an 8 HP (6 kilowatt) engine. It operated at a pressure of approximately 3,000 psi (20,700 kilopascals). It could work at a water temperature as high as 210 degrees F (99 degrees C), but on this occasion the water in the spray was at a temperature of 156 or 160 degrees F (69 or 71 degrees C). The sprayer was set to wide band output. The water was delivered via a 3/8 inch by 15 foot (0.375 inch by 15 foot, or 9.53 millimeter by 4.6 meter) hose and a trigger gun control. The employee ran the water spray across his right rubber boot. The water jet stream punctured a hole in the rubber boot and the employee's right foot. Hot water was injected inside the foot and boot. The employee suffered third-degree burns to his right foot. He was hospitalized. Most adults will experience third degree burns within two seconds of exposure to water at temperatures of 150 degrees F (66 degrees C). The make, model, and rating of the boot were not known.