# Third or fourth degree heat (thermal) burns at UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
> OSHA SIR `2018043867` · 4/22/2018 · LA PORTE, TEXAS
## Severity
- **1 hospitalization**
- **Body part:** Nonclassifiable
- **Nature of injury:** Third or fourth degree heat (thermal) burns
## Cause
- **Event:** Explosion of nonpressurized vapors, gases, or liquids
- **Source:** Molten or hot metals, slag
## Employer
- **Name:** UNION PACIFIC RAILROAD
- **Location:** 12444 Highway 225, LA PORTE, TEXAS, 77571
- **NAICS:** 482111
- **Jurisdiction:** 1
## Narrative

An employee was welding next to railroad tracks. He removed the slag pan, stepped across the rail, and down the ballast section to dump slag from the slag pan. The slag slipped out of the pan and into a ditch with water adjacent to the tracks, resulting in an explosion. The employee suffered third degree burns, requiring hospitalization.

---
*Source: [OSHA Severe Injury Reports](https://www.osha.gov/severe-injury-reports) · AI Analytics · CC0 1.0*