Mill Owner Disputes $794K in Citations Tied to Worker Deaths
- Main-based Woodland Pulp LLC is contesting four willful and eight serious Occupational Safety and Health Administration citations levied in August, along with $794,456 in proposed penalties, following two separate incidents at its Baileyville, Maine mill. The case now goes before the U.S. Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission, an independent agency that adjudicates contested OSHA citations.
- The most serious incident occurred Jan. 27, when two employees died after being exposed to high concentrations of uncontrolled hydrogen sulfide gas during a cold-weather shutdown. OSHA alleges the company failed to provide proper alarms or breathing equipment and allowed wood pulp to accumulate in storage areas.
- A second investigation examined a March 7 chemical fire triggered when roughly 4,400 gallons of 50% hydrogen peroxide leaked and mixed with accumulated wood pulp. OSHA also cited the company for inadequate training on hydrogen peroxide hazards, failure to conduct required medical evaluations and respirator fit testing, and improperly labeled chlorine and acid lines.
- OSHA noted Woodland Pulp has been inspected 13 times since 2017, resulting in 13 serious and one other-than-serious violation, including a 2017 inspection triggered after 14 employees were hospitalized in a chemical exposure in the same area.
OSHA Investigating After Heavy Machinery Fatally Crushes Worker
- A worker was killed Wednesday morning around 10 a.m. when heavy machinery fell on him at a construction site on Paseo del Norte in Northwest El Paso, Texas, according to police.
- The El Paso Police Department’s Crimes Against Persons unit is leading the investigation into the death, while the Occupational Safety and Health Administration is conducting a separate, simultaneous investigation at the scene.
- Medical examiners and a tow truck later arrived at the site to remove a construction vehicle involved in the incident.
- Police said they are withholding the victim’s identity and notifying his family until the investigations are complete; Detective Oviedo noted multiple parties, including businesses and OSHA, are involved, and extended condolences to the families affected.
Worker Killed After Support Apparatus Fails, Tour Bus Collapses on Him at Wolf Trap
- The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has opened an investigation after a worker was killed when a support apparatus holding up a tour bus gave way and the bus collapsed on top of him in a parking lot at Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts in Fairfax County, Virginia on September 3.
- S. Park Police said officers were called around 5 p.m. after the incident. The worker died, and Wolf Trap canceled its scheduled performance that night.
- OSHA confirmed it has six months to complete its investigation into the incident.
- The U.S. Park Police is conducting a separate investigation focused on whether any criminal element was involved in the death, while noting that questions about proper safety precautions or equipment malfunction fall under the responsibility of the worker’s employer.