30 Nov 2010

Department faults Kawerau mill over death of worker

6:55 pm on 30 November 2010

Proper machine guarding could have saved the life of a mill worker in Kawerau, according to the Department of Labour.

Robert Coromandel died from injuries to his chest after being dragged into a pulp machine at Carter Holt Harvey's pulp and paper mill last year.

At the Whakatane District Court on Tuesday, the company was fined $47,500 over the death.

The department's Waikato/Eastern regional manager says the incident could have been prevented had the machine been properly guarded.

Ona De Rooy says machine guarding standards have been in place for more than a century, but people still ignore it or forget about them.

The department says a three-year project aimed at improving that aspect of workplace health and safety has begun.