Buffington Plant — Accidents

Total: 124 accidents | Fatalities: 1

Date Classification Injury Days Lost Narrative
09/22/2025 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 26d restricted Injured was clearing dust chamber with a shovel when hot material entered EE's boot causing a burn to EE's ankle.
09/19/2025 HANDLING OF MATERIALS ALL OTHER CASES (INCL 1ST AID) None While using water hose to clean under belt in stone tunnel, mud splashed onto hand.
09/23/2024 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Employee was assisting in removal of kiln 1 man door. Employee raised employee's glasses to wipe away sweat when something entered employee's eye. Employee flushed the eye and continued working. On...
06/30/2023 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None Operator was having Kiln 5 baghouse challenges so they slowed down kiln system to assist. When kiln system was slowed down, the cooler fan kicked out which ultimately resulted in hot material being fe...
05/05/2023 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured Person stated while picking up tools for shift end, IP felt a nick on hand and during the next shift the right hand swelled. IP reported the incident to supervisor on 5-6-2023 at 7:00 am and w...
11/02/2022 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Lab Technician was discarding a LECO crucible using tongs when the crucible dropped to the counter. Technician attempted to prevent crucible from falling to floor and received a burn to the thumb.
08/02/2022 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 3d restricted Injured was cleaning K1 coating pocket when hot material entered EE's boot.
06/01/2022 DISORDERS (REPEATED TRAUMA) OCCUPATNAL ILLNESS NOT DEG 1-6 None On 5/5/2022, annual audiometric testing revealed a potential reportable shift. Employee was re-tested on 5/20/2022. On 6/1/2022, Audiologist reviewed and confirmed that retest was a reportable shift...
12/28/2021 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured received 2 small burns when hot dust from ID fan contacted lower leg and foot.
07/22/2021 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 3d restricted Injured was lifting a 40lb grease barrel into truck bed when finger was cut by one of the tabs on the barrel lid.
06/28/2021 MACHINERY NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured was starting up 6 feeder in 4 baghouse. The feeder started up and the drive started jumping flinging grease which landed on hard hat and glasses. Some of the grease entered left eye.
12/31/2020 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 24d lost, 83d restricted Due to inclement weather the previous evening, injured donned ice grippers prior to going to work. While stepping up a step on coal silo, gripper caught on the stair grating which caused IE to fall,...
10/25/2020 OTHER NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured was walking north along kiln 1 at 3-4 pier when they noticed something in right eye. EE went to the shop and and washed out right eye. The following morning they still felt like there was som...
08/26/2020 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None At 7:45am the main Innofuel storage bin doors were opened to investigate the cause of a CO2 system discharge. When doors were opened, smoke was observed and fire department was contacted. No injurie...
08/15/2020 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None At approximately 11:32am on Saturday 08/15/2020, BU cooler belt (5 belt) ignited. Plant personnel attempted to extinguish the fire using portable extinguishers and the GFD was contacted for assistance...
04/23/2020 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 42d lost, 149d restricted Assistant Kiln Operator (injured) and Kiln Operator were removing the kiln gun from Kiln 1 after shooting. When attempting to remove the gun from the hood bracket and place it onto the storage rack,...
01/03/2020 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None At 2:15pm, smoke was observed coming from the area behind the coal tent. Upon further investigation, flames were observed coming from the scrap wood dumpster. The fire department was called at 2:20...
09/03/2019 MACHINERY DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 78d lost, 120d restricted Injured was drilling holes to fasten down skirt rubber on a conveyor. When exiting the conveyor hood cover, injured felt pain in left shoulder. Injury became reportable on 09/20/2019 when injured wa...
08/22/2019 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 16d lost Injured was attempting to remove a smaller steel pipe from Kiln 4 analyzer pipe. Employee attempted to use water to loosen up lodged pipe when hot water/steam splashed back into their face.
03/19/2019 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None Third party trucking company's service pickup truck caught fire while driving through the facility at approximately 12:10pm. MSHA hotline contacted at 12:22pm. Occupants exited the vehicle and clear...
02/07/2019 IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST ACCIDENT ONLY None In an attempt to dry out refractory in Kiln 1, 3 natural gas torches were inserted into the hood at a low gas flow rate. At 7:10am, a loud noise was heard by plant personnel. Following a more thorou...
05/15/2018 MACHINERY NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured was using an electric jackhammer to remove hard pan material from S-106 feeder in the hical tunnel. While using the jackhammer, the injured felt pain in shoulder. The injury became reportab...
05/11/2018 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured was opening L-400 feed screw gate with a pipe wrench to adjust material flow when EE felt pain in lower back. Incident was reported on 5/11 and medical treatment was requested on 5/17 when co...
05/10/2018 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None At 1:20pm flames and smoke were observed coming from the top of #6 concrete coal silo. The GFD was contacted at 1:25 and arrived on site at 1:35. When the GFD arrived on site, there were no visible fl...
04/04/2018 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured was installing new bag house reducer (approximately 15 lbs.) on 1/2"" studs side mounting and felt pain in back. Injured reported the incident on 4/4 and requested medical treatment on 4/16 w...
01/01/2018 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None Employee was applying heat with a natural gas torch to attempt to free up a frozen flop gate at the top of #3 stone silo. In the process of heating the flop gate, employee inadvertently ignited the a...
12/06/2017 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None Employee noticed smoke coming from the top of #6 coal silo. Further investigation revealed a smoldering coal fire inside the silo. Site personnel installed a fire hose and began quenching with the p...
06/04/2017 IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST ACCIDENT ONLY None At approximately midnight on 6/4/2017 several small fires were noticed in the new alternative fuels system. Personnel extinguished the fire using fire extinguishers and called GFD as a precaution. U...
05/17/2017 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 52d lost, 178d restricted Injured was assisting changing a head pulley bearing when they pulled on a pry bar and felt pain in the shoulder. Incident was reported immediately but did not become reportable until 08/24 when an MR...
04/17/2017 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 238d lost, 56d restricted Employee sustained a fractured right tibia when foot caught an e-stop cable while stepping down from L-357 conveyor dust collector structure causing EE to fall awkwardly onto the walkway.
04/05/2017 POWERED HAULAGE NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None While cleaning K-121 belt in the cooler pit, a temp employee noticed a troughing roller between 4 and 5 kiln coolers that was stuck and not turning. EE starting clearing material away from center roll...
08/20/2016 POWERED HAULAGE DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 622d lost, 220d restricted Injured had removed a 3' section of DCR screw conveyor cover in an attempt un-jam it. To clear material, EE ran the screw in reverse. The employee then walked to the screw to observe progress when r...
06/21/2016 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 12d lost The employee was in the process of opening the Draco Inspection Door for the #5 Hopper in the #5 Bag House. Once the door was opened material came out of the hopper onto the employee who was position...
05/13/2016 MACHINERY NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None The employee was cutting a metal plate with a hand grinder equipped with a cutting wheel to get it to fit. There was some pressure on the plate that caused the grinder to kick back and when it did, th...
01/25/2015 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 3d restricted Injured was striking a hopper with a hammer to get material to flow when finger was pinched between hammer handle and handrail.
12/22/2014 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 1d lost, 17d restricted Employee was in the process of changing sprays for #4 kiln. After removing spray and placing on catwalk, the spray bar caught on kiln and pinched his foot between the bar and catwalk.
11/26/2014 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS AWAY FROM WORK ONLY 4d lost Rainy and warm conditions turned cold rapidly causing injured to slip and fall while walking to lab from loadout. Due to previously warm and rainy conditions, employee did not anticipate slippery con...
08/21/2014 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 64d restricted Injured reportedly was climbing a ladder and grasped a rung awkwardly causing him to ""tweak"" his elbow. Injured reported incident on 8/21, requested medical attention on 9/9, and was given work rest...
07/16/2014 HANDTOOLS (NONPOWERED) NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured was using hammer and chisel to remove a stripped out allen-head bolt on coal mill fan seal ring. Chisel slipped and finger contacted sharp edge of seal ring causing small laceration.
02/19/2014 FIRE ACCIDENT ONLY None JLB Trucking (contract coal hauler) was on site preparing to dump a load of coal. Driver said he heard a pop and then smoke and flames entered the cab of his truck (#22.) Driver used his portable fi...
12/20/2013 IGNITION OR EXPLOSION OF GAS OR DUST ACCIDENT ONLY None At approximately 10:00am on 12/20/2013, Kiln 4 coal weigh feeder was undergoing a belt cut which required the temporary removal of the coal feed to the mill. During this time, the coal dust inside the...
11/13/2013 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 9d lost, 12d restricted Injured was attaching hose to the vac truck while standing on the work platform approximately 5 1/2 feet off the ground, when he lost his footing and fell. Employee was wearing fall protection, includ...
09/23/2013 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured employee was assisting another maintenance employee in removing the electric motor from a fines screw. During this activity, injured received several minor lime burns to the back of his wrist...
06/13/2013 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 8d restricted Injured and a second employee were in the process of changing L443 Weigh Belt. Injured was holding up the tail pulley take-up as employee 2 unscrewed the take-up bolts. When the bolts were removed th...
03/25/2013 HANDLING OF MATERIALS NO DYS AWY FRM WRK,NO RSTR ACT None Injured was permanently mounting a 15 lb. oxy-acetylene rack in the shop truck. When attempting to relocate the rack, he felt a sharp pain in his lower back. Injured requested medical treatment on 3...
03/23/2013 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 210d restricted Injured was opening manual overhead door (chain-operated) when he felt pain in his right elbow. Injured requested and was provided medical treatment on 3/23, but wasn't given work restrictions until...
08/18/2012 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 17d restricted Injured was walking down a flight of stairs at the end of his shift when he felt a pop in his left knee. Injured requested medical treatment the following day.
08/07/2012 OTHER DYS AWY FRM WRK & RESTRCTD ACT 1d lost, 3d restricted Injured noticed swelling in his right elbow at break time. Injured reported to his supervisor that he must have bumped something during the day that caused the swelling. The following day 8/8, injur...
07/06/2012 SLIP OR FALL OF PERSON DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 187d restricted Injured was cleaning out Kiln 5 coating pocket when he thought he smelled something burning and went down into the cooler pit. Injured walked to Kiln 2 and turned around to exit after inspecting the...
05/17/2012 HANDLING OF MATERIALS DAYS RESTRICTED ACTIVITY ONLY 27d restricted Employee was removing ash material from lime kiln. A large piece of ash material became lodged in the man way opening. EE tried to dislodge the material from the opening by placing his left hand betwe...