LIVERMORE FALLS – The federal government cited a Livermore Falls pallet company for two violations after a Livermore Falls man had an arm amputated below the elbow by a saw in May.
Initially, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration cited PalletOne/Isaacson Lumber Co. Inc. for two serious violations, but one was later amended to an “other than serious” classification in an agreement reached June 14.
OSHA initially proposed $6,275 in fines for the two violations but the amount was later reduced to $3,000. The other violation, after amended, carried no fine, according to OSHA documents.
The company corrected the violations and paid the lesser fine received by OSHA on June 20, the documents show.
The serious violation was based on a barrier guard not provided on the main lumber line to prevent employees from entering the hazardous area, where a rotating wood feed chain and the end of a trimmer saw are located.
The company agreed to place additional guards in front of the saw log chains and install a new brake motor and a variable-frequency drive to stop the chain quicker.
The other violation was in regard to the sawmill and a rotating shaft not guarded on the board saw station transfer conveyor.
The Livermore Falls man, formerly of Texas, was hired by the pallet company on Dec. 6, 2004.
According to OSHA documents, on May, 5, the Livermore Falls man was in the process of piling shorter pieces of wood onto pallets when he saw a short piece of wood on the transfer conveyor. He started to remove the wood from the conveyor when another piece of wood struck him in the midsection and caused the employee to fall backwards onto a metal frame that is in front of the end of the trimmer saw.
As the employee was falling, his right arm was caught on the transfer lag and pulled his arm into the 24-inch trimmer saw blade. The trimmer saw operator saw what was happening and turned off the conveyor. When one conveyor is turned off it still travels about 12 to 14 inches. By then it was too late and the employee lost part of his right arm, the document states.
The victim was rushed by ambulance to a waiting helicopter and taken to a Portland hospital. The man’s arm could not be reattached.
PalletOne Chief Executive Officer Howe Wallace declined comment Monday on OSHA’s investigation because he had not seen the documents.
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