RIP
Worker fatally crushed by mill machine had called for help 4 times, WA officials say

Helena Wegner
Thu, October 3, 2024 

A mill worker tried to call for help four times before he was fatally crushed by a packaging machine in Washington, officials said.

His death could have been prevented, labor officials said.

Now, Georgia-Pacific is being fined $648,292 for violating safety rules, the Washington State Department of Labor & Industries said in an Oct. 2 news release.

The company did not immediately respond to McClatchy News’ request for comment on Oct. 3.

The 32-year-old man was operating a packing machine alone on March 8 at the Georgia-Pacific Camas Mill, officials said.

He called for help four times within an hour to get help operating a machine that stacks boxes for shipping, officials said. But no one responded.

Boxes started piling up on the conveyor belt, so a co-worker went to investigate. The worker found the man crushed between the machine’s metal arms that help move the boxes onto the conveyor belt, officials said.

What safety rules were violated?

Labor officials said they discovered the machine’s safety guards had been removed in 2017. A fence was put around the machine, but it doesn’t keep workers from accessing parts of the machine that could cause serious harm, officials said.

“Two years ago, Georgia-Pacific’s own analysis showed that they needed doors guarding this machine that would not unlock unless power to the machine was shut off,” officials said in the release.

A machine can unexpectedly turn on if connected to a power source. This can be dangerous or even fatal if a worker is near the machine when it turns on, officials said.

Lastly, the company was fined for not following rules that protect employees working alone, officials said.

Anyone working alone at a pulp or paper mill needs to be checked on every two hours, officials said. Workers said they knew this policy, but it hadn’t been enforced in years, officials said.

“Tragically, our investigation found this fatal incident could have been prevented,” said Craig Blackwood, assistant director for L&I’s Division of Occupational Safety & Health. “They knew what needed to be done to make this equipment safer, but didn’t take action that could have prevented this worker’s death.”

Georgia-Pacific is appealing the decision from Labor & Industries.

Camas is about a 20-mile drive northeast from Portland, Oregon.