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Accident: 201149192 - Employee Suffers Serious Burns While Sanitizing Evaporator

Accident: 201149192 -- Report ID: 0950631 -- Event Date: 06/08/2007
InspectionOpen DateSICEstablishment Name
30929966711/01/20072099Conagra Foods
On June 8, 2007, Employee #1 was employed by a company that manufactured fruit jellies, jams and preserves, which entailed using various cooking, mixing and packaging processes. He was working in the cooking department that consisted of three separate cooking/processing lines located in the cooking department. In each of the cooking/processing lines there are three evaporators/kettles ( labeled E, F, and G ), which are used for cooking ingredients that are then transferred to three sanitizer/mixer units ( also labeled E, F, and G ) via steel pipes. Each of the evaporators has an approximate 450-gallon capacity. As Employee #1 was using Quorum Yellow II to clean/sanitize evaporator F, he suffered serious burns to the right side of his chest and right leg. To clean/sanitize the evaporators, the concentrated Quorum Yellow II liquid is added manually with a bucket to water in a 300-gallon tank to get an alkaline solution with PH level between 12.5 and 13.0. Then the solution is transferred into the evaporator via a closed automated system, where an approximate 150 gallons of additional water is pumped into the evaporator to fill it completely. Then, the solution in the evaporator is heated to 210 degrees Fahrenheit. During this phase in the sanitation process, for evaporator F, Employee #1 noticed that the sanitizer E was getting full with product that was being transferred from evaporator E. He knew one solution was to transfer the additional product from evaporator E into sanitizer F, which was not being used at the time. He began disassembling the transfer pipe from evaporator F in order to remove the transfer pipe attached to evaporator F and use it to extend the transfer pipe from evaporator E to sanitizer F. As he did this, Employee #1 inadvertently hit the lever on the valve behind the evaporator E to Sanitizer F connection, causing the hot cleaning chemical solution to squirt out and splash on him. Employee #1 was hospitalized and treated for multiple severe burns, some of which were categorized as third degree burns.
Keywords: burn, chest, food preparation, cooker, struck by, inattention, leg
Employee # Inspection Age Sex Degree Nature Occupation
1 309299667 Hospitalized injury Burn(Chemical) Food batchmakers

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