Deltic Timber Corp. has been fined only $13,500 for three serious safety violations at its sawmill near Waldo after a fire last August 9th killed one worker and critically injured two others. OSHA listed the three violations as "serious," the designation for violations having a substantial probability of death or serious physical harm.
Sawmill worker Darrell Richards suffered burns on most of his body and died September 1 at the Regional Medical Center in Memphis. Co-workers Andy Emerson and Billy Pope were injured and hospitalized in serious condition at LSU Health Sciences Center in Shreveport. All three men were listed in critical condition, and Emerson and Pope have not yet been able to return to work.
Deltic Timber, which had net income of $11.1 million on net sales of $128.25 million in sales last year, is contesting the $13,500 fine. The corporation, based in El Dorado, owns more than 400,000 acres of timberland in Arkansas and northern Louisiana, operates sawmills in Waldo and Ola, Arkansas, and is engaged in real estate development in Little Rock and Hot Springs.
1 comment:
Deltic Timber also received a minimal fine of $2,200 dollars in 2004 for death of 19 yr old working at their Ola plant. Companies will not have any incentive to follow regulations as long as they continue to receive (and contest) these small amounts.
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