Abstract: At approximately 8:00 a.m. on April 6, 2009, Employee #1, an animal technician, was working at a research facility. Employee #1 and a coworker began setting up the cage washer (a large industrial automatic dishwashing machine) to clean animal cages. There is a clean out pipe on the side of the machine where there is a filter used to catch solid debris. The clean-out pipe was cleaned the Friday before. It has a clamp which holds the lid in place over the pipe. Employee #1 turned on the machine to heat up the water. Once the water reached 185 degrees Fahrenheit at the rinse side, he turned on the pump. As Employee #1 was getting ready to load the machine he went to move a rack of bottles toward the front of the machine. The cap on the clean-out pipe blew off. The pipe sprayed hot water and steam on Employee #1, hitting him in the groin and upper right thigh, causing second-degree burns. Employee #1 was not wearing an apron or boots at the time. Employee #1 was hospitalized for approximately ten days.