Federal OSHA recorded a severe workplace injury
at CLEARWATER PAPER CORPORATION, 5082 HWY 4 N, ARKANSAS CITY, ARKANSAS 71630
on — Fractures, affecting the ankle(s).
Final narrative
An employee was operating a mobile crane when it overturned. The employee exited the cab and suffered a fractured ankle. The employee was hospitalized for surgery.
On July 22, 2024, at 10:30 AM, an employee was responding to a pulp mill manufacturing process shutdown. Pulp stock overflowed through an engineered overflow pipe resulting in a buildup of stock in a bermed area. The stock was 140 to 150 degrees. The employee went to the bermed area to close an air-actuated process valve. While closing the valve, pulp stock entered the top of his boots and caused second-degree burns to both of his lower legs down to his feet. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was removing a hard salt cake plug in a rotary dust valve on a precipitator in the utilities department. Their left ring fingertip was amputated by the rotary dust valve.
An employee was assisting three other employees to load a reel of paper into the saddles of an unwind stand when the springs compressed and the gap closed on the injured employee s finger. They sustained an avulsion to the left ring fingertip that was surgically amputated.
An employee was on the belted manlift when they fell to the floor, resulting in a collapsed lung and multiple fractures to the ankle, ribs, shoulder, and back.
An employee was using an electric winch to remove a 200-pound screen during scheduled maintenance when a piece of rigging broke and struck the employee in the face, resulting in lacerations and fractures to the nose and face.
An employee was walking behind the store with another associate to get paperwork from the delivery driver when she fell on the walkway and sustained a leg fracture that required surgery.
An employee was adjusting the forks on a forklift when a fork detached from the forklift. The employee jumped out of the way but fell on the concrete floor. The employee was hospitalized with a broken hip.
Tools and parts were being lowered to the ground from an elevated platform in a 5-gallon bucket. The rope being used to lower the bucket failed; the tools and parts fell and lacerated the left forearm and upper left leg of an employee on the ground.
An employee was tracking an infeed belt on a scrap hogger when their right arm was caught between the belt and a roller. The arm was broken and the employee's shoulder was dislocated. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was working to clear a jam from a paper napkin folder. The ram that advanced the napkins pushed the employee's right arm into the side of the machine, causing several lacerations and a hairline fracture.
An employee was troubleshooting overflowing ink on a printer-slotter machine when their right ring fingertip was caught in a guarded roller, resulting in a partial amputation.
An employee was disconnecting wires in preparation to swap out a refiner motor when they contacted energized equipment and sustained an electrical shock. The employee was hospitalized.
An employee was operating an ironworker (steel punching/shearing) machine. A piece of the tooling broke off and struck the employee's neck; a fragment was lodged in his neck. The employee was hospitalized and required surgery.
On October 25, 2025, an employee was stringing up a new reel of tire tread on a machine. The employee pulled a 6-inch tail and proceeded to spool up the liner. As the machine was jogged to begin the liner wrapping process, the liner caught the employee's glove and pulled their right arm into the liner, causing a fracture to the arm.
An employee was doing a cable change on top of an electric overhead traveling (EOT) crane. They were positioned between the cable drum and the drive shaft. While rotating the cable drum, the employee reached for the new cable that was to be installed. The grease fitting on the drive shaft caught their fall harness and pulled them underneath the drive shaft. The employee was pinned between the drive shaft and two pieces of angle steel, resulting in a fracture to their left hip.
On October 5, 2025, an employee was pulling a pressure washer hose when it it disconnected from the cooker. The employee was struck by jets of high-pressure water, resulting in lacerations to their left thigh requiring surgery. The employee was hospitalized.