Inspection Detail

Inspection: 304529928 - Americhem Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Department Of Labor, Licensing, And Regulation Division Of Labor And Industry Maryland Occupational Safety And Health

Investigation Summary

Employee #1 was working for a firm that compounded plastic resins. He was using a "Berger Belt," a belt grinder made by the Heinz Berger company, which was used to make pellets from nylon resin for carpet fibers and other products. In the manufacturing process, resin was mixed with pigment, heated for bonding purposes, and then passed through a trough where water was used as a coolant. The product was then moved into an extruder for shaping purposes, cut into pellets, and carried up into a tote located over the drying belt. The tote weighed approximately 409 kg, and it had a maximum capacity of 909 kg of material per batch. The pellets were then dropped onto a belt and sent under nine quartz lights used as heat lamps, with two bulbs each, for drying. This phase of the process put a coating on the product to prevent the pellets from sticking together. The belt was approximately 610 millimeters wide and 4.1 meters long. The manufacturing operation took approximately 2 to 8 hours. Employee #1 was taking a sample off the belt to check the dryness of the pellets. When he touched one of the light frames and a grounded piece of equipment (a chiller) at the same time, he received an electric shock. Employee #1 was taken to the hospital for observation and treated for first-degree burns on his right hand. He returned to work the next day. A maintenance technician checked the frame at the point of exposure and got a reading of 279 volts (presumably AC). He deenergized the lights one bank at a time and found that during assembly of the frame, a wire nut had become pinched and had melted. The wire nut was stuck to the side frame. The "Berger Belt" was connected to the facility's wiring system through a cord and plug. When the plug was checked, a loose connection was found at the feed end. The Berger Belt machine had been assembled offsite and transported to the plant, where it had been in operation for 3 years without incident.

Keywords: ELECTRICAL, E GI VII, LIGHTING FIXTURE, ATTACHMENT PLUG, GROUND FAULT, EQUIPMENT GROUNDING, PLASTIC MFG, ELECTRIC SHOCK, HAND