United Paving: OSHA inspections and violations

Incident on Dec 18, 2019: Employee burns arms when sprayed with hot asphalt sealer

At 2:00 p.m. on December 18, 2019, an employee working as a heavy equipment operator for paving contractor was resurfacing a parking lot for a customer. The employee was working on a crew operating a Bear Cat sealer machine while completing the work. The employee began the task of shutting down the sealer machine, which included a procedure to clear the hose. This involved running the material through the hose into the tank and back through the hose. A coworker had shut off the valve and handed the hose to the employee, who opened the valve thinking he was closing it. The employee sprayed himself with hot asphalt crack sealer from the hose as a result. The employee sustained 2nd and 3rd degree burns to his upper arms and was hospitalized.