Sanitation worker hit in eye by shrapnel after garbage truck explosion caught on camera

MILWAUKEE, Wis. (WISN) — Milwaukee police are investigating after a garbage truck explosion injured a sanitation worker.

Surveillance video captured the moment a sanitation truck’s compactor triggered the explosion that officials say was caused by improperly disposed oxygen tanks.

Two workers standing at the rear of the truck were also struck by the blast. One was knocked to the ground and suffered an eye injury and a concussion.

Rick Meyers, the Department of Public Works sanitation manager in Milwaukee, said the crew had just begun their shift when the blast occurred.

“As the crew started to move the packing blade, that pressure caused an explosion,” Meyers said. “And we came to find out that there were two oxygen tanks that exploded. There were an additional two that were recovered from the hopper as well.”

Meyers said a piece of shrapnel lodged in the injured worker’s eye but was successfully removed.

“We are very fortunate that he was wearing his safety glasses, and that’s something that we train everybody to do,” Meyers said.

Placing pressurized canisters, including oxygen and propane tanks, in the trash is strictly prohibited, officials noted.

Similar incidents have occurred across the country, including one in Ohio last year.

A comparable oxygen tank explosion occurred in Milwaukee two years ago, though no injuries were reported in that case.

Meyers said this most recent blast could have been worse.

“The carts in that case were still on the end of the truck where it took some of the blow, but even with that, he was blown back many feet, and the shrapnel, so a very dangerous situation,” Meyers said.

Officials said residents with oxygen canisters should contact the medical supply company that provided them to arrange a pickup rather than placing the tanks in the trash.