Inspection Detail

Inspection: 125945212 - Nypro Americas

Inspection Information - Office: San Diego District Office

Investigation Summary

At approximately 8:00 p.m. on May 30, 2007, an employee, a Process Technician was clearing a blocked feed throat on a Toshiba Mold Injection Machine Model Number ISGS 390, Serial Number 761410, Toshiba Machine Company, Ltd. This particular plastic mold injection machine produced the plastic outer body of ball point pens. Plastic pellets were added at one end of the machine and then heated to approximately 590 degrees F to produce molten plastic. The molten plastic was then injected into molds in the shape of the outer body of a ball point pen. The liquid molten plastic cooled, causing it to go back to a solid state, and thus stopping the production of plastic pen bodies. Employee #1 and a coworker were both attempting to free the hardened plastic in the feed throat where a screw like device rotated and moved in and out through the control of buttons. Eventually, the hardened plastic material freed itself after repeated attempts of moving the screw by pushing different buttons on the control panel causing the rotation and back and forth movement of the internal screw inside the feed throat. When the feed throat was unblocked, it exploded molten plastic in both the vertical and horizontal directions. As the molten plastic was erupting, the employee turned to the left exposing his upper body to the flying molten plastic causing the extremely hot plastic to land on his face, nose, cheeks, upper lip, ear, arms, hands, and chest. The employee was transported to the UCSD Burn Center by ambulance. The employee spent four weeks in the hospital and one week in rehabilitation. At the time of the interview with the employee, it was uncertain when he would be able to return to work.

Keywords: BURN, CHEST, JAMMED, EXPLOSION, NOISE, STRUCK BY, ARM, FLYING OBJECT, FACE