A federal investigation of a May death at Amalgamated Sugar's Nampa plant unearthed fewer safety violations than in previous Idaho sugar-plant employee deaths and resulted in much lower fines than one earlier Nampa death.
Between 1985 and 1995, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigated five worker deaths - two each at the sugar plants in Nampa and Twin Falls and one in Paul. The death of Mario Munoz at the Nampa plant this past May 15 was the first Amalgamated workplace fatality in more than 14 years, according to OSHA records.
Amalgamated conducted "a critical review of its safety practices" after 1995, spokeswoman Sydney Sallabanks said Friday. In a prepared statement Thursday, CEO Vic Jaro said the company is "committed to taking the steps that will make our operations even safer and, if possible, further minimize any risks in the future."
Asked about Amalgamated's efforts to improve safety, OSHA area director Jerry Hockett told the Idaho Statesman: "They have a very active safety program. They've dedicated a lot of resources."
Findings in the latest sugar-plant death were released last week. The OSHA investigation found three serious violations and fined the company $6,300 for each - a total of $18,900. The company reportedly paid the fines and fixed the problems - all related to how the 45-year-old man was pulled into an auger and killed while working alone cleaning a silo.
In the last Nampa plant fatality - the August 1994 suffocation of a 26-year-old man engulfed in sugar when he entered a silo to clean it - OSHA fined Amalgamated $200,000 for 20 serious violations, 22 willful violations and two other violations. Those are by far the highest violation counts and fine amounts of any of the fatal accidents reported at Amalgamated plants since 1985.
And that was the only one of those six fatalities in which investigators found willful violations, which Hockett said means the violations of standards were known to management.
Here are the other four fatal accidents at Amalgamated plants since 1985, and the resulting violations and fines, as detailed in OSHA records:
® February 1995, Twin Falls: A 29-year-old man bled to death after his arm was pulled off at the shoulder by a conveyor belt when his arm, hand or sleeve got caught in a "nip point" between the belt and a pulley. The investigation found 13 serious violations and fined Amalgamated $18,000.
® December 1991, Paul: A 40-year-old woman was electrocuted after she slipped on a wet floor and touched an unguarded 342-volt circuit. The investigation found nine serious violations and one other violation. Amalgamated paid $8,750 in fines.
® December 1985, Nampa: A 24-year-old man started a motor without removing a crank from the end of the shaft. The crank was thrown from the shaft and struck the worker in the head, fracturing his skull. One serious violation was found, and the company paid a $1,000 fine.
® August 1985, Twin Falls: A 43-year-old woman was crushed when a huge lump of compacted sugar fell on her while she and other employees were working to remove sugar buildup from silo walls. Investigators found one serious violation and fined Amalgamated $420.
Hockett would not comment on how Amalgamated stacks up against other area industries in terms of serious incidents, violations or fines. He said such comparisons are unwise because each business is different.
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