OSHA Accident Investigation · Summary #221471014
WASTE MANAGEMENT RECYCLING AND DISPOSAL SERVICES OF CALIFORNIA, INC
WOODLAND, CA·
Event description
Worker cleaning equipment is injured by high pressure air
Investigation abstract
At 10:40 a.m. on December 24, 2021, an employee was working as a heavy-duty not hospitalized. The fire department reported the accident to DOSH, as fire department personnel did not know that the injured employee was not admitted to the hospital. The employee had suffered barotrauma to his left hand from the high-pressure compressed air. mechanic for a firm that collected solid waste. He was using an air gun to clean a piece of electrical equipment. The air gun was running at line pressure of approximately 90 psi (620 kPa), without a safety tip. As he blew out the dirt, the high-pressure air entered a small puncture in the mechanic's ungloved left thumb. The air inflated the skin in his thumb and hand. The mechanic thought he was in trouble, his blood pressure increased, and he became dizzy. Emergency medical services were called, and the employee was taken to an emergency room for treatment. He was released a few hours later with a deflated hand. He was
Victim
-
#1 Non-hospitalized injury Age 47 M
- Event type
- 14
- Occupation code
- 516
Codes shown verbatim from OSHA's accident-investigation database. A human-readable decoder is coming in a future release once the accident_lookup2 dictionary is loaded.