Paper Mill Settles Lockout-Tagout Fatality Case after Years of Appeals

 |  from Occupational Health & Safety

In January 2004, 38-year-old Mark Greenland, an employee of Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging Inc., died after being caught inside a paper cutter when another employee inadvertently started it up. A Washington State Department of Labor and Industries (WSDLI) investigation initially resulted in a proposed penalty of $203,100 and company citations for three willful violations and one "serious repeat" violation of lockout-tagout procedures. The company appealed. Now, a settlement agreement has been reached.