On or about 11am, on 4/9/2015, a pipe fitter was working off an 8 ft. A-frame ladder about 5 feet off the ground, trying to loosen a valve on the nitric acid line. The valve broke loose spraying liquid onto the employee. As the employee attempted to block the spray, he lost his balance and fell off the ladder, cracking an L3 vertebrae. He was hospitalized.