Inspection Detail

Inspection: 310486717 - Hughes Brothers Aircrafters Inc

Inspection Information - Office: Long Beach District Office

Investigation Summary

On February 23, 2007, Employee #1, a trainee, and a coworker were filling molds with molten Kirksite using a piping system. The molds were held together with metal clamps and a slight leak began to stream a small amount of molten metal onto the floor, as the mold had been suspended on a hoist with a chain sling. Employee #1 did not have previous experience working around molten metals. Normal procedure at the foundry involved applying a very low pressure fine mist of water from an adjacent hose that is normally used to spray down sand used in other mold pouring operations. Employee #1 elected to pour a ring of water on the ground under the mold in an attempt to contain the mold. Employee #1 stated that he had elected to do this on his own, that no supervisory personnel were in the area to observe this and that he had been trained on proper procedures to arrest leaking molds. Employee #1 sustained a burn injury involving a small patch of skin on the right hand when water made contact with molten metal causing splattering of the molten material. Employee #1 was hospitalized.

Keywords: BURN, MOLTEN METAL, UNTRAINED, HAND, MOLD