Abstract: Employee #1, a maintenance worker at a meat packing plant, was attempting to replace an electric hoist motor over an open surface tank, measuring 4 ft wide by 32 in. long by 32 in. deep and containing 175 gallons of sodium hydroxide cleaning solution heated to 175 degrees. He had placed a piece of 1/2 in. plywood, 4 ft wide by 5 ft 8 in. long, over the tank to stand on top of and was putting the new hoist into service when the board slipped from beneath him and he fell into the tank up to his waist. He was immediately pulled out of the tank and was flushed with water until medical help arrived. He was transported to Cumberland Memorial Hospital, where it was determined that the 2nd- and 3rd-degree burns he suffered from his navel down were a result of the heat and not the sodium hydroxide in the solution.