Worker Injured at Clarendon County Plant in South Carolina

CLARENDON COUNTY, SC- Wltx.com writes that one person sustained an injury in a fire at a Georgia Pacific facility located in Clarendon County, South Carolina. Earlier this week, a small explosion or flash fire took place, sending the worker to the hospital. The victim was performing ductwork at the time.*

The fire department arrived on-site and located a fire in the ducts. It took hours for the fire department to extinguish the flames. In total, between the county department and the Sumter department, there were 23 firefighters, six fire trucks, and two ladder trucks at the scene. Fire personnel was there for around four hours. 

The facility manufactures pulp, packaging, tissues, chemicals, and building products. The materials produced by these locations end up in paper towels, paper cups, and in aerospace and construction materials. There are seven locations in the state; the fire occurred at the Alcolu facility.

The company expanded recently and now employs about 1,400 people in South Carolina. 

The plant has stopped work while the company is investigating the cause of the injury.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) oversees workplace safety, including at factories. OSHA's site states that workers need to understand their rights and are able to report safety violations if they witness them in the workplace. The law provides whistleblower protections for workers who choose to report such violations. It is illegal for an employer to retaliate in the event that a worker exposes a safety or health issue at his or her place of work. Employees can contact OSHA with complaints or learn more about their rights to a safe work environment.  

Accident News is a safety and education initiative from Montlick & Associates, designed to help people better understand and thereby avoid common accident causes.  To learn more about our injury prevention programs, including iridesafe.com - click here. We hope you are never in an accident, but if you or family member are injured, call Montlick & Associates 24/7 for your free consultation at 1-800-LAW-NEED (1-800-529-6333) or use our live chat at Montlick.com.

Sources:https://www.wltx.com/article/news/local/one-injured-after-fire-at-georgia-pacific-plant-in-clarendon-county/101-94a6b7a9-9cfd-4e36-bdbc-3685fd77b2a6 and https://www.theitem.com/stories/contract-worker-injured-in-georgia-pacific-clarendon-plant-explosion,337784 and
https://www.osha.gov/workers/