A second person has died following a chemical release at Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville last month.
The worker, who has not been publicly identified, was confirmed deceased Tuesday afternoon, according to mill spokesperson Scott Beal. Kasie Malcolm, a University of Maine junior interning at the mill, died the morning after the exposure on Jan. 27.
The workers were exposed to hydrogen sulfide while in the facility’s bleach plant, officials have said. The bleach plant remains closed.
Two federal agencies are investigating the deaths: officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration arrived at the mill the day after the incident and the U.S. Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board opened its own review Feb. 9.
In addition to the two fatalities, eight other workers were exposed to the chemical, according to the chemical safety board.
“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,” agency officials said in a statement.
Malcolm was laid to rest Tuesday at a private funeral service in Bangor with his mother, brother, girlfriend and classmates in attendance, his mother’s lawyer Elizabeth Kayatta said.
