SSCC Fined by OSHA

Smurfit-Stone Container Corp. (SSCC) was cited a fine of $19,325 from the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for violations stemming from the apparent electrocution of a worker at its containerboard mill in Fernandina Beach, Fla., The News-Leader reports.

OSHA issued a citation and notification of penalty Aug. 28 on the mill following an inspection that lasted four months. They received 16 safety violations, of which 14 were serious.

Five of the violations had to do with electrical hazards, such as not de-energizing live parts that can be exposed to employees and not properly marking covers for electrical boxes.

One of the violations read that an employee reached inside a panel box that he did not de-energize, exposing himself to a 2,400-volt electrical hazard.

A full investigation of the incident and the mill won’t be available until Sept. 29, says Jacksonville area OSHA director James Borders.

According to a co-worker in March, Daniel Madison Bowen Jr. was taking cooling fans out of service by disconnecting the power to the circuit breaker. It was a procedure that should not have exposed him to high voltage, according to the police report, The News-Leader reports.