The bleach plant at Woodland Pulp mill, where a University of Maine student died from a chemical release last month, has been closed since the incident, according to a mill official.
Investigators with the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, one of two federal agencies reviewing the Jan. 27 incident, arrived at the Baileyville mill Feb. 9, Woodland Pulp spokesperson Scott Beal said.
Officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, which arrived at the mill the day after the gas leak, were also still on site as of Monday, Beal said.
UMaine junior Kasie Malcolm, a 20-year-old chemical engineering student and intern at the Woodland Pulp mill, died after being exposed to hydrogen sulfide at the facility’s bleach plant, officials have said.
The gas leak also left nine workers injured, one of whom remains hospitalized.
Two of the nine workers were “seriously” injured. One worker was still in the hospital as of Feb. 9, according to the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board, or CSB.
“According to initial information submitted by the company to the CSB, the incident may have involved the mixing of concentrated sulfuric acid with sulfurous compounds in an enclosed process sewer, resulting in the generation and release of hydrogen sulfide, a highly toxic gas, in the Bleach Plant area of the facility,” CSB officials said in a statement.
A local representative from the United Steelworkers Local 27, eight members of which were exposed to hydrogen sulfide on the same day of Malcolm’s death, did not respond to inquiries from the Bangor Daily News.
Malcolm’s mother and brother are represented by attorney Elizabeth Kayatta. Malcolm, who arrived in Baileyville to start his internship just two weeks before his death, grew up in Japan, where his mother and brother still reside, Kayatta said.
Malcolm was born in California when his late father, who was originally from Sanford, was based at Lemoore Naval Station. The family later moved to Japan, settling in a city south of Tokyo, Kayatta said.
Malcolm was an all-state athlete and earned a scholarship to study chemical engineering at the University of Maine. He was the first in his family to attend college, the family’s attorney said.
“Right now the family’s focus is on mourning the loss of their son and brother and making arrangements to bring him home to Japan. An investigation by OSHA is underway at Woodland Pulp, and we are hoping to get answers about how this terrible loss could have happened in such a closely-regulated facility.”
CSB is a federal agency that makes safety recommendations to companies, industry groups and other regulators but does not issue citations or fines.
“The CSB’s investigation will examine the circumstances surrounding the release, including the company’s chemical handling practices, process safety systems, and emergency response actions,” the agency’s press release said.
