Wisconsin Paper Mill Cited after Fatality

The company was previously cited in 2012 for machine hazards, according to OSHA.

After a machine operator suffered fatal injuries while servicing a high-speed conveyor belt in a paper mill, an OSHA investigation has led to citations for one willful, one repeat, and two serious safety violations.

OSHA previously cited the company, Cellu Tissue-City Forest LLC, for inadequate machine safety procedures at the same facility in Ladysmith, Wis.

"Workers at the Clearwater Paper mill were exposed to dangerous machine hazards on a daily basis because their employer failed to properly prevent contact with operating machinery," said Mark Hysell, OSHA's area director in Eau Claire. "This man's death is tragic and was preventable." He said "machine hazards continue to be one of the most frequently cited federal worker safety violations. It takes just minutes to stop and put safety first."

According to the agency's news release, the investigation found employees at the mill routinely work under high-speed conveyor and sheet-fork sections of the wet-lap machine during production mode.

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