A federal investigation into a deadly gas leak at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville in January and a fire two months later found a dozen violations, for which the company has been fined $794,456.
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration reported that workers were performing a cold weather shutdown on Jan. 27 that exposed them to “high concentrations of deadly, uncontrolled, hydrogen sulfide gas.”
The gas leak killed Kasie Malcolm, a 20-year-old chemical engineering student from the University of Maine. A second employee, 26-year-old Allen Hornberger, died three weeks later from exposure to the gas. Eight other workers were exposed to the chemical but not hospitalized.
OSHA also investigated a chemical fire on March 7 at the mill that started after the company released 4,400 gallons of 50% hydrogen peroxide, which mixed with wood pulp that had accumulated on the ground, according to the agency.
In total, OSHA issued four “willful” citations ($165,514 per violation) to Woodland Pulp LLC for “exposing workers to deadly hydrogen sulfide gas levels without proper alarms or breathing devices and allowing overflow wood pulp to build up in storage areas,” the Department of Labor announced Thursday.
OSHA also issued eight “serious” citations ($16,550 per violation) to the company for “lack of worker training on hydrogen peroxide risks; failure to conduct medical evaluations and fit tests for respirator users; and neglecting to label chlorine and acid lines, or control hydrogen sulfide exposure risks.”
Previously, the Woodland Pulp mill was inspected by OSHA 13 times since 2017 resulting in 13 citations. One of those inspections followed a 2017 incident in which 14 employees were hospitalized after chemical exposure in the same area as January’s gas leak, according to the Department of Labor.
Woodland Pulp has 15 business days to comply, request an informal conference with OSHA, or contest the findings.
