OSHA Violations Roundup

Maine Pulp Mill Cited $794,456 After Two Fatalities

The month’s largest penalty went to Woodland Pulp LLC in Baileyville, Maine. On July 30, OSHA announced proposed penalties of $794,456 following two investigations.

On January 27, 2026, workers performing a cold weather shutdown were exposed to high concentrations of uncontrolled hydrogen sulfide gas. Two employees died. On March 7, 2026, a chemical fire started after the employer released 4,400 gallons of 50 percent hydrogen peroxide, which mixed with wood pulp accumulated on the ground.

OSHA issued four willful citations covering H2S exposure without proper alarms or breathing devices and overflow pulp buildup in storage areas, plus eight serious citations addressing lack of hydrogen peroxide training, failure to conduct medical evaluations and fit tests for respirator users, and failure to label chlorine and acid lines.

The history matters: the employer has been inspected thirteen times since 2017, including an inspection that began after fourteen employees were hospitalized following a chemical exposure in the same area covered by the current inspections.

Hydrogen sulfide is colorless, extremely flammable, and highly toxic. It is recognizable at low concentrations by its rotten egg odor, but at higher concentrations it rapidly deadens the sense of smell, which is why olfactory detection is never an acceptable control.

Confined Space Failure Costs Texas Distributor $264,380

FleetPride Inc. was cited for 16 serious and three other-than-serious violations at its Corpus Christi, Texas facility. OSHA opened the inspection January 7, 2026 after an employee asphyxiated while inspecting the interior of a tanker trailer. Investigators found no confined space program, gaps in respiratory protection, and electrical hazards.

A tanker trailer interior is a textbook permit-required confined space — limited entry and egress, not designed for continuous occupancy, capable of accumulating an oxygen-deficient or toxic atmosphere. The failure was not one of interpretation but of recognition.

Florida Roofer Faces $349,754 for Willful and Repeat Fall Violations

Orchids Builders LLC was cited for two willful and four repeat violations. On January 21, 2026, two workers were exposed to a 10-foot fall hazard installing sheathing on a sloped roof in Rockledge without fall protection. On March 10, a worker was exposed to a 9-foot hazard installing hurricane clips at another Rockledge site. OSHA also cited missing written fall protection training certificates, no eye protection with nail guns, and ladders whose side rails did not extend 36 inches above the landing.

The context elevates it: Orchids Builders has been inspected seven times since 2023, and every case involved fall protection violations.

Also of note: a Houston utility contractor fined $343,000 after an excavation collapse hospitalized a worker; Monro Inc. settling for $174,000 over seven violations at its Norwich, New York facility; and a San Antonio-area building contractor and staffing company cited after a worker suffered fatal injuries operating a mini-excavator in an elementary school crawl space.

The Pattern

In nearly every case the underlying failure was not missing equipment. It was a missing or unenforced written program — no confined space program, no documented fall protection training, no medical evaluations or fit testing. Equipment is visible; program gaps are not, which is why they persist until an inspector or an incident surfaces them.

The second theme is repetition. Willful and repeat classifications are not primarily about hazard severity. They are about whether the employer knew and continued anyway — the difference between a manageable penalty and one that threatens the business.