Sleepy Eye chemical plant accident leaves worker with burns over most of body

SLEEPY EYE, Minn. — An industrial mishap in a chemical plant in this small rural community left a man with life-threatening burns after 1,000 gallons of high-pressure 200-degree water scalded him.

The June 3 incident at the Balchem plant in Sleepy Eye occurred after two employees attempted to fix an industrial dryer machine with “severe clogging,” according to a report the company submitted to Minnesota Occupational Safety and Health Administration and released Monday through a state public information request.

The Sleepy Eye plant is one of 20 manufacturing sites owned by New Jersey-based Balchem, which employs about 1,300 people worldwide and makes chemicals and nutrients for health care and agricultural products.

The accident, which occurred in the early morning hours, left Juan Montemayor, 51, with second- and third-degree burns on 65% of his body, as well as a dislocated shoulder, he and his family said.

The report by Balchem, the result of an internal investigation sent to state regulators on June 10, identified seven steps the plant can take to prevent a repeat of the mishap. This includes a review of how to prevent severe clogging and buildup in the dryers, better ways to secure the bottom of the machine and seeing if the temperature of the water is too hot.

The Balchem report is considered “satisfactory,” and no further action is required of the company, a spokesman for the Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry’s Occupational Safety and Health Division said.

The Balchem report to OSHA said the two men used unapproved techniques such as opening the equipment. The report also faulted the two men for not contacting higher management.

But Montemayor and his supervisor the night of the accident, Guy Jennings, said they were following standard procedure. Jennings, who said he was fired last week, and Montemayor’s wife, Celese, pushed back against the report.

Jennings said he is speaking out because he wants the company to be better and prevent accidents in the future. He said the technique they were using to unclog the machine was common practice at the plant.

Montemayor said he has worked at the plant for 20 years under Balchem and ownership by other companies. He was known as the most experienced worker on his shift and a “workhorse,” Jennings said.

The two men said they were fixing a cone dryer, a machine that processes powders. That night, the machine was filled with magnesium, which is more prone to clump up than other materials, they said.

“We had a lot of issues with the magnesium; it’s really sticky,” Jennings said.

The pair said they tried to clean the inside walls of the machine with hot water, hoping to melt the material clogging it up. They said they tried to fix the clog by using a rope to open a part of the dryer.

Sometime after 3 a.m., Jennings said he heard a boom. That’s when he said he saw a torrent of scalding hot water pouring onto his co-worker. Montemayor said he had to jump down from a 7-foot ladder, and he fell into more hot water on the floor. The flowing hot water pushed Montemayor some 30 feet across the plant that night, Jennings said.

The incident was first reported by the Sleepy Eye Herald-Dispatch.

Mitch Gardner, Balchem’s vice president of manufacturing, said in a statement that the company is “deeply saddened by this incident and our thoughts and prayers go out to the employee and his family.”

The company did not respond to further questions.

Montemayor is now healing and able to walk a few steps, his family said, but they added that they expect his road to recovery to be a long one.

When Montemayor arrived at Regions Hospital Burn Center, doctors told him he had a 60% chance of survival, his daughter Maurissa Montemayor said. Over the coming weeks, he endured immense pain, a fever and two skin-grafting surgeries.

Celese Montemayor has been singing to her husband of 35 years as he drifts in and out of consciousness this past month. She said she has been reading him Bible verses.

“The thing that I’m most grateful for is that Juan is alive, and we’ve seen the power of God working through him,” she said.