Nova Group, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Dec 16, 1997: Employee's fingertip amputated by drill bit

Employee #1 was using a hole saw in a Hougen magnetic-base drill press to a make a hole in the box section of a metal fence post. He was working in front, and t o one side, of the press, with the plug of drilled steel attached to the hole sa w and spinning around. Employee #1 was moving his hands to shut off the machine with the stop switch at the back when his glove caught on the spinning plug. His hand was pulled between the bit and the machine frame, amputating the end of hi s right ring finger to the last knuckle. The employee had misjudged the clearanc e in reaching close to the drill bit.

Incident on Aug 2, 1993: Employee using torch near flammable liquid burns body

At approximately 9:00 a.m. on August 2, 1993, Employee #1, a mechanic, was burne d in an acetone flash fire. Resin had coagulated inside the resin pump on the fi lament winding unit due to nonuse and it would not pump. Employee #1 removed the pump and took it to the drum storage area to disassemble it. He tried to remove the pump's cylinder, but it was stuck. He tried dissolving the resin with aceto ne, but he was unsuccessful. So he moved the quart container of acetone with its lid approximately 5 feet away from the pump (which was leaning against two full 55-gallon drums of flammable styrene monomer) but did not replace the lid on th e quart can. Employee #1 then attempted to free the cylinder by heating it with a propane torch. The resin and the acetone residue caught fire in the pump top. Employee #1 went to get a fire extinguisher and as he passed the acetone contain er it "flashed." Employee #1 suffered burns on his right arm, shoulder, and face . The accident was caused by the combination of an open flame torch in use on th e same site as an uncovered container of flammable liquid.