Catawba mill worker burned while inspecting boiler

CATAWBA, S.C. — A worker at the Resolute Forest Products mill in Catawba was burned while working on a steam boiler earlier this week, according to company officials.

Channel 9's partners at The Herald reported that the accident happened about 4:15 p.m. Tuesday during maintenance on a recovery boiler, which generates steam by burning by-products of the pulping process.

According to officials, the recovery boiler had been shut down and two employees working on the equipment approached an adjacent tank that was being rinsed.

One of them opened an inspection port on the top of the tank to view the inside. Apparently, while inspecting the tank, the agitator was turned off, allowing the hot rinse water inside to splash on the employee's arm, elbow and thumb.

Officials said that employee immediately went to a safety shower to wash off any remaining rinse water from inside the tank. He was then taken to the hospital. The employee, whom the company did not identify, is undergoing skin grafting on the burns at the North Carolina Jaycee Burn Center in Chapel Hill, N.C.

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WSOC