OSHA Fines Woodland Pulp $794,456 After Gas Leak Killed Two
Federal investigators issued a dozen citations, including four willful ones, after a hydrogen sulfide leak killed two workers and a separate fire followed two months later.
Federal regulators fined Woodland Pulp LLC $794,456 after finding a dozen safety violations connected to a fatal gas leak at its Baileyville mill and a fire that followed two months later, the U.S. Department of Labor's OSHA announced on July 30, according to the Bangor Daily News. Investigators said employees were carrying out a cold-weather shutdown on Jan. 27 when uncontrolled hydrogen sulfide gas exposed them without alarms or breathing protection in place; eight workers were affected but did not require hospitalization. Kasie Malcolm, a 20-year-old University of Maine chemical engineering student, died in the leak, and coworker Allen Hornberger, 26, died three weeks afterward from the same exposure. A separate probe covered a March 7 fire that broke out once 4,400 gallons of hydrogen peroxide the company had released mixed with wood pulp that had piled up outdoors. OSHA issued four willful citations at $165,514 apiece for exposing workers to the gas without proper alarms or breathing equipment and letting wood pulp pile up in storage areas, plus eight serious citations at $16,550 apiece for gaps such as missing hydrogen peroxide training and skipped medical evaluations for respirator users. The agency has inspected the mill 13 separate times since 2017 and issued 13 citations in that span, including one from a 2017 episode that sent 14 employees to the hospital in the same part of the plant. Woodland Pulp now has 15 business days to fix the problems, ask for an informal meeting with OSHA or dispute the citations.
This story was first reported by Bangor Daily News.
