On July 5, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) issued its findings in regards to the 2022 death of Evan Kilpatrick, a 20-year-old Rex Lumber worker at its Troy, Alabama, facility. On July 7, the DOL issued a correction to a part of its press release.
In the original statement, the Department of Labor incorrectly attributed previous violations from a different Rex Lumber to the company that owns the Troy location. The Rex Lumber that owns the Troy location also owns sawmills in Mississippi and Florida, while the other Rex Lumber owns sawmills in Virginia, Massachusetts and Connecticut.
The DOL issued a corrected press release removing the violations attributed to the other company. The DOL, however, stands by its investigation into the Troy facility.
The agency said that it stands behind its findings. Kilpatrick was part of a six-member crew trying to clear a jammed roller at the Troy, Alabama, sawmill. He was crushed when stored energy caused the infeed unit to close on him.
After its investigation in Troy, OSHA assessed the company with $184,385 in proposed penalties. Since 2019, the agency said it has cited the sawmill operator and its subsidiaries for 12 violations, according to OSHA.
According to the agency, OSHA issued a willful citation for allowing workers to perform maintenance on equipment without controlling hazardous energy sources. The company also failed to review its energy control procedures regularly to ensure compliance and did not train employees on how to isolate stored energy in hydraulic accumulators.
The incident follows tragedies in 2021 and 2020 related to improper machine operations at two Rex Lumber sawmills in Florida. At the Graceville location in March 2021, an employee trying to fix a machine’s faulty hydraulic valve suffered crushing injuries when they were caught in the machine’s wheels and pulleys. In December 2020, a worker suffered an amputation injury — and died in a hospital days later — after their hand came in contact with the nip point of a conveyor’s roller at the Bristol, Florida, location.
Rex Lumber said that it is devastated by the December death of the sawmill worker. "We respect OSHA's need to police the industry, but we vigorously disagree with the findings."
The Troy plant was cutom built and equipped by leading industry manufacturers and contractors in 2018. "We maintain professional safety staff, involve managers, employees, and obtain guidance on best safety practices. We maintain procedures for complicated processes and routinely update them. We have cooperated with OSHA and learned from every experience, and we've had fewer workplace accidents than most such mills," the company said in a statement.
"If necessary, we'll defend the company in court, but rest assured that we will also continue to constantly improve our workplace, as well as to cooperate and partner with OSHA as opportunities permit. Both Rex and OSHA want safe workers."
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