J.R. Simplot Company: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Oct 9, 2007: Two employees burned when molten sulfur ignited

At 3:00 p.m. on October 9, 2007, two employees were working at a fertilizer manu facturing facility in Lathrop, California. At the time of the accident, Employee #1 and Employee #2 were attempting to clear a sulfur plug out of a steam conden sate line located at the sulfur plant. The steam condensate line was heated with a rosebud torch, starting from the bottom of the pipe and working upwards. The two employees successfully heated and cleared a sulfur plug, but were not aware that a second sulfur plug had formed above. While continuing to heat the steam c ondensate line, water that was trapped above the second plug became overheated, converting to steam. When the steam pressure increased to a critical level, the steam condensate pipe failed, and steam with molten sulfur sprayed out of an ope ning that formed. The molten sulfur ignited as it covered the two employees, cau sing their shirts to ignite as well. Employee #1 suffered second-degree burns to his right arm and face. Employee #2 suffered second-degree burns to his right h and and face. The two injured employees were taken to Kaiser Permanente Manteca Medical Center in Manteca, California, for treatment.

Incident on Aug 23, 2006: Employee suffers chemical burn during pressure testing

On August 23, 2006, Employee #1 was pressure testing a railcar, containing H2SO4 . The cap of the railcar blew off and sprayed Employee #1 with H2SO4, resulting in chemical burns on his left leg. Employee #1 was hospitalized and treated for his injury.

Incident on Nov 18, 1997: Employee deluged by chemical release

On November 18, 1997, Employee #1 of J.R. Simplot Transportation Division was in jured from a sudden release of Ammonium Hydroxide, (Aqua Ammonia), from a tank h e was filling at Kirkwood Resort Company. He suffered chemical burns to his left eye, mouth, and throat and was hospitalized. He claimed the chemical goggles an d full face shield he was wearing were knocked off by the sudden release.

Incident on May 29, 1997: Employee injured when caught between control panel and beam

At approximately 11:00 a.m. on May 29, 1997, Employee #1 was working alone using an aerial lift elevated approximately 19.5 ft. He was replacing return rollers on the bottom of the Number 1 product conveyor in the pellet plant. Employee #1 maneuvered the lift into position replacing one roller at a time. When he needed to move the unit, he would relocate and reposition the lift for each roller cha nge located along the conveyor line. There were no witnesses to the accident, bu t workers responded when it was observed that the unit was still in gear. Employ ee #1 was not conscious and was slumped over the control lever holding it in the drive position. His chest was caught between the control panel of the unit and a steel I-beam conveyor support. The lift basket was lowered and emergency medic al response followed. Employee #1 was taken to the hospital.

Incident on May 21, 1995: Employee's finger amputated when ring catches on rack

At 10:00 a.m. on May 21, 1995, Employee #1, of J.R. Simplot Co., was delivering sacks of fertilizer to a rice farm. He had removed a metal rack section from the right side of a Ford 1-ton flatbed truck and was on the truck bed hand lifting and carrying 80 lb sacks of fertilizer from a pallet to the edge of the truck be d. Employee #1 attempted to get off the truck bed by stepping on the edge of the right rear tire. He either slipped or just stepped down and his ring caught on the metal edge on an adjacent section of metal rack. The force degloved the empl oyee's little finger at the bottom joint and amputated the finger at the main kn uckle. Employee #1 was taken to Stanford Medical Center, where the finger was re attached.

Incident on Dec 7, 1994: Employee amputates finger while cleaning machine

On December 7, 1994, Employee #1, an experienced tablet machine operator and war ehouseman for a large national company, was cleaning the pockets in a die table. The machine was running. One of his fingers became caught and was amputated in the machine. He was hospitalized. Cleaning with the machine in operation is a sp ecific violation of the employer's written lockout procedure for this machine. A lockout device was available at the disconnect, 10 ft away. Employee #1 might h ave been distracted by grief over the death of his son, whose funeral was the da y before. A general violation of 8CCR3314(a) is being cited.

Incident on Jun 22, 1991: Employee injured by falling stack of strawberry crates

Employee #1, of J. R. Simplot Co., was removing crates of strawberries from pall ets and dumping the strawberries into a sorter machine. A coworker driving a for klift brought a pallet of strawberries, 6 stacks of 12 crates each, to Employee #1's work station. The coworker set the pallet down and, as he pulled the forkli ft away, one of the stacks of twelve 17 lb crates of strawberries fell over agai nst Employee #1's back, causing him to fall against the sorter machine. Employee #1 was not seriously injured. A broken back corner of the pallet caused the sta ck to fall over. The coworker could not see the broken pallet when he picked it up with the forklift. The pallet had come in from the field broken.

Incident on Apr 1, 1991: Employee's finger partially amputated in pulley

Employee #1, of J. R. Simplot Company, Guadeloupe, CA, was assigned by his super visor to help a coworker lift pieces of plywood to the top of a 40 ft high stora ge tank. They were using a cable that went over a pulley tied to the guardrail a t the top of the tank, down to another pulley, and then connected to a forklift. The forklift pulled the cable out and lifted the plywood attached to the other end. As the plywood reached the top of the tank and Employee #1 grabbed it, the wind blew the plywood around, and his little finger became caught in the nip poi nt of the cable and pulley. His finger was amputated up to the first joint. The pulley was unguarded.