Poly-Tainer, Inc.: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Jun 24, 2020: Employee lacerates thumb tip when turning grinder blades

At 7:55 p.m. on June 24, 2020, an employee working as a floor assistant for a plastic bottle manufacturer was helping operators clean the grinders when the screen got clogged. The employee was a regular employee of the employer. The employee was cleaning Viper 12 series Granulator Grinder 17 on the production floor. The grinder was off and had been deenergized. The rotating blades within the grinder turn about the axis of a cylinder and as the rotate, the blades grind/cut plastic pieces into saw dust like shavings. These shavings must go through a mesh in order for them to leave the grinder and be suctioned into the vacuum. If the mesh gets clogged, the plastic shavings will remain in the grinder blade chamber and will melt onto the blades due to the abrasion friction from the blades. When the employee was changing the mesh, he noticed that the blades had melted glue on them. He removed the glue and as he was replacing the mesh back into the chamber, the mesh would not seat properly. He then turned the blade to make sure there was no obstruction. In turning the blade, he struck his thumb tip on the blade. Despite the employee assisting a coworker, the coworker was not nearby at the time and did not witness the incident. The employee was not wearing cut resistant gloves to turn the blade. The employee received medical treatment without hospitalization for a laceration to his thumb tip.

Incident on Jul 18, 2006: Employee fractures arm while using milling machine

At approximately 9:00 p.m. on July 18, 2006, Employee #1, a cleaning technician, was performing a regularly assigned task of cleaning the extrusion screw. This was Employee #1's first time using the lathe to clean the screw. Employee #1 rem oved the extrusion screw from the injection molder and brought it to the shop to clean the remaining plastic from the screw. The screw was still hot (approximat ely 280 degrees Fahrenheit) from production, and required the use of gloves to h andle the screw. Employee #1 cleaned the screw a few times by hand; other employ ees had used the lathe. On this occasion Employee #1 used the lathe to clean the screw. No one trained Employee #1 to use the lathe. Employee #1 placed the scre w in the lathe, placed the lathe in slow speed of approximately 1,250 revolution s per minute. Employee #1 was using scrapers and hand soap to clean the screw. E mployee #1's supervisor came by the shop and observed him cleaning the screw on the lathe with the scraper and hand soap, and wearing gloves. When Employee #1 r eached the end of the screw, away from the lathe chuck, his right glove and hand were caught by the screw. Employee #1 tried to free his right hand with his glo ved left hand, and it too became caught on the screw. Another employee heard Emp loyee #1's screams, went to the shop, turned the lathe off, and notified the sup ervisor. Employee #1's right arm was wrapped around the screw resulting in multi ple compound fractures to his right arm, and lacerations to the left hand. Emplo yee #1 was hospitalized.

Incident on Apr 27, 1995: Employee injured tripping over hose line

At 2:21 a.m. on April 27, 1995, Employee #1, a machine operator for a plastic bo ttle manufacturer, stood up to go to another machine and tripped over a high pre ssure hose line. There were no witnesses. Employee #1 was transported to Simi Va lley Hospital for treatment of head and neck injuries. The employer abated the h azard by relocating the high pressure hose overhead. A general citation for the violation of T8CCR 3273(a), tripping hazard, was issued.