Northrop Grumman: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Aug 20, 2011: Electric shock - direct contact with energized conductor

An employee grabbed a conductor that he apparently thought was deenergized. Howe ver, it was energized, and the employee received an electric shock. He pushed hi mself away from the ladder to prevent further injuries. The employee was hospita lized for his injuries.

Incident on Jun 30, 2008 (fatal): Employee is found unconscious, later dies, not job related

At approximately 8:40 p.m. on June 30, 2008, Employee #1 fell unconscious while working in Building Number 915, Grit Blast Booth. Employee #1 had returned form his third scheduled break at 7:30 p.m. and begun donning his personal protective equipment, including his gloves, full face mask and supplied air line in prepar ation to continue sand blasting aircraft parts in the Grit Blast Booth. Employee #1 has started his shift earlier that day at 1:30p.m., took his first break at 3:30 p.m., and at 5:00 p.m. took his lunch break. Employee #1's supervisor state d that he saw Employee #1 donning his protective equipment as he left to supervi sor and attend to the other five employees who were working in the immediate are as in paint booths and paint and sanding preparation areas located inside the bu ilding. The supervisor stated that he discovered Employee #1 on the floor, unres ponsive, when he returned 15 to 20 minutes later to the Grit Blast Booth. The su pervisor stated that air was flowing in the air line when he removed the full fa ce mask from Employee #1. The supervisor stated that no sign of trauma was obser ved when he discovered Employee #1. Employee #1 was transported and admitted to the hospital at approximately 9:26 p.m. on June 30, 2008. Employee #1 died on Ju ly 5, 2008 in the hospital. An autopsy was performed on July 6, 2008, and it was determined that the cause of Employee #1's death was unrelated to his work envi ronment and work tasks.

Incident on Feb 15, 2008: Employee suffers burns while carbon arc welding

At approximately 11:15 a.m. on February 15, 2008, Employee #1, a contract welder , was working his employer's shop, carbon arc welding. During welding, a spark c ontacted his back and caught his shirt on fire. He managed to extinguish the fir e; however, he was taken to Valley Medical Center Burn Unit, where he was hospit alized and treated for second and third degree burns to his face.

Incident on Aug 27, 2007: Employee gets fractured foot from falling shelf

At approximately 5:30 pm, on September 27, 2007, employees were putting together supplies for a department picnic, Employee #1 climbed on the racking system to retrieve a needed item. As he was holding on top shelf it accidentally released from its supports and fell with him to the concrete floor. He suffered a fractur ed left foot and was transported to El Camino Hospital in Mountain View, CA.

Incident on Aug 18, 2006: Employee is injured when struck by grinding wheel fragment

On August 18, 2006, Employee #1, a welder, was grinding welds with a type 27 abr asive, 7-inch diameter grinding wheel mounted on an ARO number one straight pneu matic grinder. While grinding welds, the fiber reinforced abrasive disk broke in to two large pieces and one small piece. One of the large pieces struck the empl oyee on the left side of his chin, which resulted in a laceration and a broken j aw. The fragment of the wheel that struck the employee penetrated the face shiel d he was wearing. He was transported to the hospital and was released after five days.

Incident on Dec 15, 2002: Employee injured when struck by steel plate

On December 15, 2002, Employee #1 was working alone preparing a 4-ft-by-4-ft-by- 1-in.steel plate for a condenser housing. Employee #1 started grinding down one side of the plate for approximately one hour and was attempting to turn the plat e over using a floor pendant-controlled gantry crane rated at 3 tons. Employee # 1 was standing between the gantry crane rail and the load rigged alloy steel cha in to the gantry crane hook and a sling hook to the plate center opening. Employ ee #1 started lifting the plate approximately 12-in. above the wood cribbing. Th e plate started to shift and fall towards the Employee #1, and he began to run f rom the falling plate. Employee #1 tripped over the rail and the plate fell, bou nced, and struck Employee #1 on the lower leg. Employee #1 received a broken rig ht ankle and

Incident on Aug 9, 2000: Employee fractures leg in same-level fall over hose

Employee #1 was assigned to wash the dirty dishes that had accumulated in the di shwashing area. She used a 30 ft long water hose to rinse off some dishes and th en loaded them on a cart to transport them 25 ft to the intake of the dishwasher . She was starting to push the cart when she stepped on the hose, lost her balan ce, and fell on her left knee. She suffered two fractured bones in her leg, for which she was hospitalized.

Incident on Nov 4, 1996: Employee injured in jump when crane overturns

At 2:00 p.m. on November 4, 1996, Employee #1 was working at the Northrop Grumma n, Tejon Ranch test facility. He was using a P & H Omega 40-ton crane to lift a 5,128 lb pylon into a pit when the crane began to tip over. Employee #1 jumped a pproximately 10 to 12 ft to the ground, fracturing his right ankle, right wrist, and left knee, and suffering a dislocated left shoulder. The crane's boom was e xtended approximately 80 ft and the load radius was approximately 50 ft.; the ou triggers were not extended. On the basis of the load chart information, 4,500 lb was the maximum weight to be lifted without the outriggers extended. The load w as too heavy for the radius at which he attempted to lift it.

Incident on May 4, 1996: Employee fractures heel in fall from ladder

At approximately 11:45 p.m. on May 4, 1996, Employee #1, of Northrup Grumman Cor poration, was on a 12 ft stepladder removing a fiberglass protective device from the left wing rudder of an aircraft. He lost his balance and fell to the ground , fracturing his left heel. Employee #1 was taken to Lancaster Community Hospita l, Lancaster, CA, where he was treated until May 6, 1996.

Incident on May 31, 1995: Employee's leg fractured in fall from ladder

At approximately 11:20 a.m. on May 31, 1995, Employee #1 was grinding fiberglass parts on the Down Draft Fiberglass Unit. A battery-operated wall clock was moun ted on the wall behind the unit. Employee #1 noticed that the plexiglass top of the unit was dirty and decided to use a 6 ft wooden A-frame ladder, left in the area by a coworker, to clean it. While he was descending the ladder, Employee #1 missed his step and fell from an unspecified height. According to Employee #1, he fell approximately 2 or 3 ft. He twisted his right leg as he landed, causing a tibial plateau fracture to his right knee. Employee #1 was transported to Pres byterian Intercommunity Hospital. There were no witnesses to the accident. Emplo yee #1 and management indicated in interviews that slippery or obstructed condit ions were not a problem. Employee #1 stated that he used the two-hand method of ascending and descending. He had been trained when hired with later followup tra ining.

Incident on Mar 18, 1994: Employee injured in fall on slippery floor

At 12:20 p.m. on March 19, 1994, at Northrop Corporation, 8900 East Washington B oulevard, Pico Rivera, California 90660, while walking from a material handling floor area to her desk approximately 16 feet away, Employee #1 slipped on a thin pool of oil about 9 inches by 13.5 inches wide on a concrete floor, fell and br oke her right knee cap. She was taken to the company dispensary, and after some x-rays were taken, she was sent to Whittier Presbyterian Hospital, where she was discharged five days later.

Incident on Sep 2, 1992: Employee's hand crushed in malfunctioning press

Employee #1 was operating a Niagara 72 ton power press. When he reached into the press to remove a part, the press repeated a stroke, crushing his left hand and index finger and amputating his left thumb to the knuckle. In 8 months of opera tion at this location, with the same operator, the press had never repeated a st roke. It had been serviced and electrically wired to operate as a single stroke device, although the mechanical level indicating mode of operation was always se t in continuous stroke position. It is unknown why the press repeated.

Incident on Aug 6, 1991: Employee's thumb amputated by drill bit

At approximately 11:00 a.m. on August 6, 1991, Employee #1 was using a portable magnetic drill to drill a 0.625-in. hole in a 4-ft-long by 4-in.-wide by 6-in.-d eep aluminum plate. Employee #1 had been wearing a glove on his left hand while transporting the workpiece, tools, and equipment from the tool room to the work area. When Employee #1 cleared metal chips with his gloved left hand, the tip of the glove caught in the rotating drill bit, and his thumb was amputated.