Potential Industries Inc: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Apr 25, 2006: Employee is crushed between containers

At approximately 9:15 p.m. on April 25, 2006, Employee #1, a sorter, was perform ing end of shift cleanup in the narrow space approximately 2 ft wide, between a semitrailer container body and a large rolling dumpster. The dumpster was part o f a set of receptacles spaced under the overhead conveyor to receive sorted and dropped recycling materials during the end of shift cleanup procedures. A forkli ft, Toyota model 5FG30, Serial Number 7568, struck the dumpster, forcing it into the container body. The forklift operator noticed Employee #1's legs sticking o ut from under the truck, and alerted the foreman, who immediately called paramed ics. Employee #1 was transported to County UCLA Harbor General Hospital, where h e was treated for multiple fractures and internal injuries. He was later transfe rred to Kindred Hospital for long- term rehabilitation, and discharged to home c are on June 15, 2006.

Incident on Jun 16, 1999: Employee's toe amputated by falling vehicle door

At approximately 5:30 a.m. on June 16, 1999, Employee #1 was loading a delivery truck. As he was closing the door, it came off a broken hinge and fell on his ri ght toe, partially amputating it. Employee #1 was taken to St. Mary's Hospital i n Long Beach, where he underwent surgery and was hospitalized for two days. At t he time of the accident, he had been working since 1992 for Potential Industries of Wilmington, CA, a waste materials processor.

Incident on Jul 24, 1997 (fatal): Employee killed by falling bale of cardboard

Employee #1 worked at a recycling yard where recyclable materials were brought i n by city vehicles and private waste-hauling trucks to be sorted, sold, and sent overseas. Stored in the yard was a pile of cardboard bales that was 25 ft wide at its south end by 105 ft long on its east side and 53 ft long on its west side . It consisted of 80 in. long by 30 in. wide by 32 in. high bales stacked up to six high, with each bale weighing approximately 1,000 lb. There were five bales, three stored lengthwise and two stored widthwise. Motor vehicle traffic was all owed on the west, east, and south perimeters of the pile. At the time of the acc ident, a coworker's truck was approaching the pile from the west side. The cowor ker was attempting to make a left-hand turn around the pile to exit the yard jus t as a city driver was pulling his truck up to the southeast end of the pile. In anticipation of driving his vehicle into the sorting area, he swung out wide to make the right-hand turn around the pile. As he got past the end of the pile, h e saw the coworker's vehicle coming directly at him. The city driver backed up h is vehicle to avoid being struck. Because he had swung out wide, he was at an an gle to the pile and he backed straight into it. A maintenance man who was walkin g in the yard saw the city driver go forward and turn right. As he was making th is turn, his truck struck the pile again, causing it to fall over. At this time, Employee #1 was walking north toward the sorting area to inspect the contents o f a truck along the west perimeter of the pile. The city driver struck the south east corner of the pile, and the impact caused it to domino to the west. Employe e #1 was struck by a falling bale of cardboard and sustained traumatic injuries to his head and chest. He was transported to Harbor General, where he died as a result of his injuries. Causal factors to this accident include the employer's f ailure to delineate in the yard the area between the pile and motor vehicle traf fic, and the employer's failure to train its workers in techniques of defensive driving and how to approach uncontrolled intersections.