BERKELEY, Mo. — A St. Louis County recycling center was cited for dozens of safety violations after an investigation launched following the death of a worker in October of 2021.
OSHA issued 24 violations to Central Paper Stock Inc., which is located in Berkeley, Missouri. The company was issued $260,508 in fines and placed into OSHA's severe violator enforcement program.
According to the investigation report, an employee fell into a paper baler and was crushed to death while trying to clear a jam. A paper baler is a large machine that compresses recycled paper into compact bales that can be picked up.
The report said the company didn't build guards or barriers to prevent workers from falling into the machine, leading to a $68,266 fine, the largest of the individual fines.
Other violations included workplace sanitation, cleanliness and other issues that could result in slips, trips or falls.
Central Paper Stock buys and sells scrap paper, plastics and metals to mills around the United States. The company recycles 20,000 tons of paper and plastic each year, according to its website.
The company has 15 working days form the time they receive the citation and notification of penalty to request a conference with OSHA, contest the penalties of pay the fines. The citation and notification of penalty document was dated April 25.
Central Paper Stock was also placed in OSHA's severe violator enforcement program, which "concentrates resources on inspecting employers who have demonstrated indifference to their OSH Act obligations by committing willful, repeated, or failure-to-abate violations."
As part of the program, Central Paper Stock could be subject to mandatory follow-up inspections, increased company awareness of OSHA enforcement, enhanced settlement provisions and federal court enforcement.
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