New York Paperboard Company to Pay $175,000 in OSHA Penalties

OSHA and Carthage Specialty Paperboard Inc. have a reached a settlement agreement to improve efforts to prevent safety and health hazards in their Carthage, New York, facility.
The company will pay $175,000 in penalties.
OSHA cited the Carthage-based paper milling company for 62 safety and health violations in June 2017.
The agreement requires the company to enhance efforts to prevent hazards associated with machine guarding, lack of fall protection, hazardous energy control, confined space entry, emergency response, and electrical and structural safety issues.
The company will also train employees to recognize hazards, make safety and health evaluations a part of management performance appraisals, hire two full-time safety and health staff, perform weekly safety audits, submit periodic abatement progress reports to OSHA, and consent to monitoring inspections for two years.
United Steel Workers and USW Local 276, which elected third-party status in the case, also signed the agreement. Judge Dennis L. Phillips of the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission signed the order approving the settlement on Jan. 3. It became a final order of the commission on Feb. 8.
“This settlement confirms that the company acknowledges the necessity of improving safety and health practices, as well as fostering a culture that supports safety among employees,” said OSHA Regional Administrator Robert D. Kulick.
Regional Solicitor of Labor Jeffrey S. Rogoff added, “This resolution reinforces the critical importance of the company’s planning for workers’ safety and health and making it an essential part of the mill’s day-to-day operations.”
Due to various financial problems, Carthage Specialty Paperboard Inc. filed for bankruptcy on Feb. 28 but hopes to reopen.

Many companies face challenges when it comes to putting appropriate machine guarding procedures in place. Be sure to register for CBIA’s March 14 program, Machine Guards and the New Silica Standard, from 8:30 to 11:30 a.m. at the CBIA Conference Center in Hartford.