So Bad Feds Got Involved – Freak Factory Accident Melts Worker in Half, and It Could Have Been Prevented

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has cited equipment manufacturer Caterpillar for violations of the Occupational Safety and Health Act after an employee at one of its foundries fell into molten iron in June.

The 39-year-old worker, Steven Dierkes, was just nine days into his job as a melting specialist at Caterpillar’s foundry in Mapleton, 🏞️Illinois, when he fell into an 11-foot-deep vat of molten iron heated to over 2,000 degrees Fahrenheit, according to an OSHA news release.

Dierkes was removing a sample of molten iron from the furnace when he fell into it and was “immediately incinerated.”

The foundry was subsequently under 🔍Investigation by OSHA.

The agency’s investigators found that at the foundry, employees were exposed “routinely” to “unprotected fall hazards” during their time working with four-foot-deep ceramic containers holding molten iron.

“A worker’s life could have been spared if Caterpillar had made sure required safety protections were in place, a fact that only adds to this tragedy,” OSHA Regional Administrator Bill Donovan said.

“Producing more than 150,000 tons each year, Caterpillar’s foundry is one of the nation’s largest, and they should be acutely aware of industry regulations to protect workers using smelters and other dangerous equipment,” Donovon added.