Incident date: 2025-08-12
NAICS industry code: 331110

At about 7:30 p.m. on August 12, 2025, an employee was using a backhoe to excavate accumulated slag and debris from a furnace tap area and ladle pit. Residual water in the material had not fully evaporated; upon disturbance, it reacted violently, resulting in an explosion. The employee suffered first, second, and some third-degree steam burns, mainly to the arms and knees with additional burns to the hands and the back of the neck. The employee was hospitalized.

Hazard classification:
code_event: title: Explosion of nonpressurized vapors, gases, or liquids
code_source: title: Molten metal, slag
code_nature: title: Thermal burns  third degree or higher
code_body: title: Multiple body parts  n.e.c.
severity: moderate