Workers Have a Right to Safety, No Matter Who Owns Riceboro’s Paper Mills

The paper and timber processing facilities on Interstate Paper Road in Riceboro, Georgia have operated under several names, and their true ownership remains in a state of flux today.

Most know the paper plant as Interstate Paper, and the accompanying sawmill as RB Lumber. The whole complex also sometimes goes by Newport Timber, or St. George Timberland. All of these brands belong to a corporation called IRI Group, but the confusion doesn’t end there.

In 2017, an English packaging company, DS Smith, purchased a controlling 80% share of IRI, making itself effectively the owner of those mills. And now, in 2024, an even larger U.S packaging company, International Paper, is in the process of purchasing DS Smith and all of its holdings.

To make matters even more complicated, Suzano, a Brazilian paper company, also attempted to purchase International Paper this year. That last deal has fallen through, at least for now.

Of course, when multinational companies are negotiating over the ownership of industrial facilities, the lives of the people who actually work in those facilities are rarely a main focus.

Every part of the Riceboro wood and paper complex has a history of serious accidents and code violations. The workers there deserve for the company — whichever company that may be in any given moment — to put all necessary attention into guaranteeing a safe work environment.

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These Mills Have Been Cited Repeatedly for Missing Safety Guards

Falls from heights and body parts becoming entangled in machinery are two of the most common types of industrial accidents.

Usually, these kinds of accidents can be completely avoided with the use of simple physical guards. Staircases, elevated walkways, and elevated workspaces should always have sturdy handrails on all open sides. Likewise, machines that pose an amputation or entanglement risk, such as saws or pulleys, should have physical shields between those hazards and areas where people will be working.

These are not informal or obscure rules. They’re spelled out in some of OSHA’s most-publicized regulations, and some are also covered in the International Building Code. Yet the IRI plants on Interstate Paper Road have failed to provide necessary handrails and machine guards, even after direct warnings.

OSHA cited the company for these violations in 2011, and then again in 2015. The second set of citations came with a proposed penalty of $60,000 for failing to address the problem.

Mishandling of Wood and Paper Can Lead to Fires, and It Has

Some of the hazards OSHA identified during those 2011 and 2015 inspections had the potential to be deadly in multiple ways. In addition to the amputation and entanglement hazards, inspectors found unguarded electrical circuits, and uncontrolled wooden debris flying through the air from a planer machine.

Alone, these conditions could obviously lead to electrocution and eye injuries. Put together, they create a serious risk of fire.

Any company that works heavily with wood and paper should know how important it is to keep these materials away from potential ignition sources. IRI Group in particular has no excuse to be cavalier with fire safety, considering how many fires the Interstate Paper complex has already been through.

Specifically, from 2006 through 2011, the RB Lumber plant’s drying kilns caught fire no less than three times. At least two of those incidents were due to issues with the kiln’s natural gas heater. The third time this happened, the plant had its own staff try to fight the fire alone for some time before finally reporting the incident. Even when firefighters did arrive, they had difficulty bringing the blaze under control due to the lack of water sources near the plant.

Interstate Paper’s problems with fire did not end after the DS Smith purchase, either. As recently as February 2022, a fire started inside a woodchipper in the paper plant side of the complex. It took firefighters almost four hours to extinguish the flames.

A Forklift Accident at the Interstate Paper Plant Killed a Visiting Driver

Incredibly, there have been no deaths associated with Interstate Paper’s repeated equipment fires these past two decades. The same cannot be said, unfortunately, about all heavy machinery accidents at the complex.

In 2013, a truck driver was killed in a forklift accident while making a delivery to the Interstate Paper plant. Witnesses to the incident agree that the victim asked for assistance removing a defective mudflap from his truck, and that a plant employee tried to help with the use of the forklift. What happened next is unclear, but somehow, the victim ended up between his truck and the forklift clamp, and was crushed to death.

During the ensuing lawsuit, Interstate Paper reportedly tried to withhold the site supervisor’s report on the incident, as well as the bulk of its communications with OSHA, and had to be compelled to share those documents with the court.

Whether DS Smith’s influence will make the Interstate Paper plant any more forthcoming in future investigations remains to be seen.

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Victims of Accidents at the Riceboro Wood and Paper Mills May Be Able to Sue

All victims of accidents at the Interstate Paper complex deserve respect and transparency. When the accident can be traced to unsafe conditions or policies — as most industrial accidents can — victims should be able to expect fair compensation and a guarantee that the mistakes that hurt them will not be repeated.

Unfortunately, worker’s comp law gives employers immunity against almost all workplace accident lawsuits. The wrongful death suit concerning the forklift accident was only possible because the victim did not work directly for the plant where he was killed.

If you are employed by Interstate Paper, RB Lumber, DS Smith, or any of the other companies or brands associated with the wood and paper plants on Interstate Paper Road, you won’t be able to sue those companies after an industrial accident.

What you can do instead, however, is sue any third-party companies that might have contributed to your injuries. For example, valid defendants for your case might include:

• The manufacturer of any defective equipment. If a paper plant machine doesn’t have proper safety guards, or a piece of protective gear doesn’t perform as advertised, it’s not necessarily the plant’s fault. Manufacturers of factory equipment share responsibility for making sure their products are as safe as possible.
• Maintenance companies that worked on the equipment. If a repair crew fails to notice an obvious safety issue with a machine, or creates an issue by defeating one of the machine’s built-in safety mechanisms, the repair company can be held liable for resulting accidents.
• Safety consulting services. Companies that advertise themselves as safety experts have a duty to deliver on their promises. If a safety consultant signs off on a clearly hazardous work environment, the consulting company may share responsibility for the consequences.

To learn more about your options for justice after an accident at the Interstate Paper complex, reach out any time for a free consultation with an Atlanta-based accident lawyer.