Abstract: Employee #1 had completed a relief assignment in an adjacent work area and when he returned, he found it necessary to unplug a surge tank. After removing a plug from the tank's rotary valve, he asked the relieving operator to lock out the electrical controls. Believing this had been done, he placed his right hand into the lower tank. The rotating valve sheared off the fingers on his right hand. He was administered first aid, taken to Woodland Memorial Hospital, and then transported to U.C. Davis Medical Center. He endured 12 hours of surgery, but his fingers could not be reattached. Employee #1 had his own padlock and key.