"employee burned on the foot by molten aluminum...."

Footwear in our workplaces is sometimes overlooked. Our workplaces are so focused on safety clothing that we sometimes fail to see what footwear is being worn. Nor what are the condition of the footwear. Here is a recent incident highlight the importance of footwear in a workplace.

The work accident occurred one afternoon in November 2023, in the middle of the afternoon. The 30-year-old, working at (aluminium plant), was seriously injured by high-temperature aluminum.

Aged around thirty, the employee of the aluminium company, in (town name omitted), was reportedly hit by splashes of molten aluminum, in the area of ​​one foot, while he was carrying out a cleaning operation. Despite wearing safety equipment and shoes, he suffered significant burns. Rescued by his colleagues, he was then taken care of by the city's firefighters.

First hospitalized in (local town), the doctors finally made the decision to transfer him to a University Hospital (45 kilometers away).

The victim was alone in the workshop at the time of the incident and no direct witness would have witnessed the accident. An investigation was entrusted to the local police.

We pray that the injured recover fully from their injuries. We know that the worker’s employer requires molten metal footwear. With that there are only a few options on what had occurred. The worker was not wearing the proper footwear, the footwear not properly tied or strapped on, the workers pants legs did not go over the top of the footwear, or the footwear was damaged or worn. If not one of those scenarios occurred we are at a loss for how molten metal got into the worker’s footwear.

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