Washington Paper Mill Fined Nearly $650K in Machine Operator Death

The Washington State Department of Labor & Industries cited and fined a mill operator in Camas following an investigation into the death of a worker who was crushed by a packing machine that had no safety guards in place.

The company, Georgia Pacific, also reportedly failed to follow basic procedures to make sure machinery would not accidentally turn on.

L&I cited and fined the company $648,292 for violations of fundamental safety rules that contributed directly to the worker’s death, along with other safety issues identified at the site.

On March 8, a 32-year-old Georgia Pacific machine operator called four times in one hour to ask for help troubleshooting a large piece of equipment for stacking boxes in preparation for shipping.

Before anyone responded to assist him, co-workers nearby reportedly noticed boxes backing up on the conveyor belt and went to investigate and found the man crushed between the large metal arms that help feed the boxes through the machine and the conveyor belt.

Management and workers told inspectors that the permanent machine guards that attached directly to the equipment were removed in 2017. They were replaced with a fence built around the machine that failed to prevent physical access to parts of the machine that could cause serious injury or death.

Georgia Pacific’s own analysis reportedly showed that they needed doors guarding this machine that would not unlock unless power to the machine was shut off. Construction for the installation of the doors was not completed until after the machine operator was killed on the job.

Georgia Pacific was also cited for failing to follow rules protecting employees who are working alone in an isolated area. Safety rules require pulp and paper mills to periodically check-in with these workers. Employees at the mill reportedly told inspectors they were aware of a policy requiring a lead to check in with employees working alone every two hours, but said it hasn’t been enforced for years.

The company is appealing L&I’s decision.