OSHA fines Clearwater in fatality

A cover for a tail chute opening that allegedly had been “tied open” in apparent violation of Occupational Safety and Health Administration rules may have played a role in an industrial accident that killed a Clearwater Paper employee, according to OSHA.

Investigators discovered the apparent violation following an inspection the agency conducted after John A. Bergen III’s death at the Lewiston mill, said David Kearns, assistant area director of OSHA in Boise.

Clearwater Paper faces a fine of $14,000 in connection with that case and one other identified in its investigation, Kearns said.

The mill has corrected all the alleged violations in the two citations and is seeking an informal conference to mediate the issue, said Matt Van Vleet, a spokesman for Clearwater Paper in Spokane.

“Employees throughout the company are still very much feeling the loss of Mr. Bergen and our thoughts remain with his family and friends,” Van Vleet said.

No Clearwater Paper employee has faced internal discipline such as termination in connection with the June 30 incident, Van Vleet said.

Bergen, 35, was working on the No. 2 paperboard machine when he apparently fell through an access door and hit his head, according to law enforcement accounts.

He was carried down a large conveyor belt and fell into a 15,000-gallon vat of pulp, described by Clearwater Paper employees as having a temperature of 130 to 140 degrees Fahrenheit, according to previous law enforcement accounts.

Efforts by employees to rescue Bergen were unsuccessful. By the time emergency crews were able to remove him they were unable to revive him, according to previous law enforcement accounts.

The fines are the highest the agency leverages for “serious” alleged violations, Kearns said. OSHA still hasn’t released everything it knows about the accident, Kearns said. The accident report won’t be public until the agency and Clearwater Paper reach a final resolution on the citations.