A laborer at Oak Ridge National Laboratory worker suffered two broken legs and a broken right thumb in a March 31 accident in which a heavy piece of equipment tipped over while being loaded onto a truck and fell onto the worker. ORNL spokesman David Keim confirmed the accident and said the worker was taken by ambulance to the University of Tennessee Medical Center. The worker remains on medical leave, but is expected to fully recover, he said. The total weight of the equipment and moving cart was estimated at about 1,600 pounds, although the full weight of the physics equipment—referenced as a “scattering chamber”—may have been eased somewhat by some arms that extended from the chamber.
The accident occurred at an off-site facility on Union Valley Road in Oak Ridge as workers were attempting to load the equipment purchased at an ORNL surplus auction. An investigation of the incident is continuing. The equipment had reportedly been sold for about $350, but Keim said after the accident the lab gave the purchaser his money back and kept the piece of equipment.
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