Paper Mill Fined After Worker Falls into Hot Pulp

paper factory

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries (L&I) has fined the Nippon Dynawave paper mill in Longview $77,800 over a March incident in which a worker fell into a hole filled with pulp at about 145 degrees.
L&I said a tank valve was left open, spilling the hot pulp and creating a four-foot hole in the asphalt. A worker waded through the three-foot-deep pulp to close the valve, then fell into the hole as he stepped back, coming dangerously close to being engulfed.
The company was cited for failing to protect workers from the extremely hot material and from the danger of being engulfed, and for leaving the paper machine pulp system out of its hazardous materials piping safety program.
The inspection was one of two L&I already had open when a white liquor tank failed at the mill on May 26, killing 11 workers. L&I’s investigation of that incident is ongoing.

A chemical incident at the Solenis tableting plant in South Charleston, West Virgina., sent a heavy cloud from the facility Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 28, prompting a shelter-in-place order for part of the city, including South Charleston Middle School.
Fire Chief Virgil White said the incident involved a 55-gallon drum of chlorine. Plant manager Ken Smith said grease came into contact with some of the pool tablets the plant makes, and the tablets decomposed and released a gaseous mixture as employees tried to remove the grease.
All employees were accounted for and no injuries were reported. The order was lifted before 3 p.m. after the chemical was contained, and crews stayed on scene to ventilate the building.
The West Virginia Department of Environmental Protection said it is working with the facility, which it identified as Solenis / Innovative Water Care, to investigate the incident and evaluate any potential environmental impacts.

Two contracted construction workers and a driver were killed Oct. 29 when a vehicle crashed into an active work zone on State Highway 71 in Bastrop County, Texas, according to the Bastrop County Sheriff’s Office.
Investigators said the vehicle was traveling westbound when it crossed into the restricted construction area and struck both workers. Jordan Foster Construction confirmed that the two workers were its employees. They were working on a Texas Department of Transportation project in a corridor that has been under construction since October, with the broader project slated to continue through fall 2028.
The driver of the vehicle died in the crash.

A construction worker was killed Oct. 27 when a pickup-style dump truck backed into him while he was bent down greasing the bucket of an excavator at Sonrise Christian Church, west of Cedar City, Utah. His identity has not been released.
The truck was operated by another employee of the same construction company. Intermountain Life Flight was dispatched but called off after officials determined the man had died from his injuries.
The sheriff’s office said the circumstances remain under investigation, but the incident appears to be an accident and no charges have been filed.