Nobody was injured in the spill at MeadWestvaco in Rumford.
By Terry Karkos
Staff Writer

RUMFORD – During annual maintenance work early Monday morning, MeadWestvaco had a large pulp spill that covered some equipment, a spokesman said.

“No employees were injured, but it made a big pulpy mess that we’ve been cleaning up since this morning,” spokesman Steve Hudson said late Monday afternoon.

Hudson said the incident occurred when workers were restarting equipment that had been shut down during annual outage work.

“There was a process control failure – not a hardware failure – that caused a piece of equipment to release pulp. It covered that equipment and adjacent equipment,” Hudson said, declining to release more specific details.

But despite the spill, he said normal start-up operations would still begin.

“This particular problem has not happened here before, but it has happened in mills elsewhere. Nobody got hurt and it will not impact our schedule,” he added.

While cleanup was under way, process control and pulp engineers were already following the failure’s cause and effect path back to what they hope is the root cause to prevent further such incidents, Hudson said.

The Rumford mill has not had any significant injuries “in a long time,” he added.

That’s why mill officials were elated to learn that Occupational Hazards magazine named MeadWestvaco Corp., as a whole, one of America’s safest companies earlier this month.

“Everyone here was pretty proud of it,” Hudson said.

According to a Sept. 4 MeadWestvaco press release, the corporation was one of 16 companies recognized for outstanding contributions to occupational safety and health.

Among the other companies were National Gypsum, DaimlerChrysler, DuPont, ExxonMobil Chemical, Johnson & Johnson, and Motorola Inc.

According to the magazine, the companies selected “treat safety as a business value. These organizations have demonstrated a commitment to employee safety and health that goes beyond compliance with minimum government standards.”

The companies were chosen based on recommendations by industry professionals, recognition by industry associations, participation in programs such as OSHA’s Voluntary Protection Program, and state and local awards.

Additional criteria included research by Occupational Hazards into the companies’ occupational health and safety philosophy and programs.

Occupational Hazards is a leading national publication for occupational health and safety professionals.

MeadWestvaco, which is headquartered in Stamford, Conn., is a leading global producer of packaging, coated and specialty papers, consumer and office products, and specialty chemicals. The company, which employs approximately 30,000 people, operates in 29 countries and serves customers in nearly 100 nations.

tkarkos@sunjournal.com

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