Laundry Employee Dies in Conveyor/Dryer Mishap
Police and fire units responded to a call on May 8 involving an incident that claimed the life of a 42-year-old employee of EcoDirect, a laundry and dry-cleaning company in Niles, IL, according to news reports.
Emergency personnel found the victim, Pascual Gonzalez, caught between a dryer and a conveyor system. A review of surveillance video indicated that Gonzalez had attempted to remove a towel that was hanging from a dryer in front of the conveyor system. Gonzalez, a Chicago resident, apparently got stuck between the dryer and conveyor when it moved up, according to police.
Another employee noticed that the machines weren’t working and went to investigate. He found the victim’s body and contacted police around 10:41 p.m. Gonzalez was taken to the Cook County medical examiner’s office. After a preliminary investigation, police concluded that the death was accidental, pending the findings of toxicology tests.
A Wednesday autopsy concluded that Gonzalez died of head injuries. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting an investigation into the incident.
EcoDirect did not respond to requests for a comment on the incident.
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Below are TRSA safety resources, including archived webinars that are available to assist operators in incident-prevention efforts on topics including:
- 13 Ways to Improve Your Safety Program
- The Four Cornerstones of OSHA Compliance
- Job Hazard Analyses and PPE Assessments
- Real World Practices for Reducing Workplace Injuries in Laundries
- Injury Prevention
- Injury Prevention through Accident Investigation
TRSA also offers other online safety resources in areas such as:
In addition, TRSA has safety videos on topics, including:
- Control of Hazardous Energy – Lockout/Tagout (English)(Spanish)
- Managing OSHA Inspections
- Precautions for Protection: Handling Soiled Healthcare Linen (English)(Spanish)
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Click here for general information on safety available on TRSA’s website, including details on the association’s annual Safety Summit that’s slated for May 17 in St. Louis.