Posted: August 13, 2015
By WRCB Staff
CHATTANOOGA, TN (WRCB) -
The Department of Labor has released its findings after a February death at the Wrigley Plant, the second there in as many years.
The Occupational Safety and Health Administration report lists seven citations.
54-year old Wallace Scarbro was killed after being caught in a machine at the Jersey Pike plant in early February.
OSHA reports procedures were not developed and utilized.
Officials say Scarbro did not follow proper procedure for cleaning the machine, but that the facility did not provide proper machine-specific instructions.
The report also states, he was not properly taught about some of the hazards.
In 2013, a 34-year-old woman died at the plant after the ladder she was on was struck by a forklift.
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Autopsy: Man crushed to death inside Chattanooga candy factory
March 17th, 2015 by Shelly Bradbury in Local Regional News
A 54-year-old man died on the job Tuesday...
Photo by Dan Henry /Times Free Press.
The 54-year-old man who died while working at Chattanooga's Wrigley Manufacturing plant in February was crushed to death in a piece of machinery, according to an autopsy done by the Hamilton County Medical Examiner's Office.
Wallace Scarbro became trapped in a destacker machine at the plant just after midnight on Feb. 3, according to the autopsy. Such machines often are used to unpack piles of crates or pallets.
Scarbro died from blunt-force trauma to his trunk due to compression, according to the autopsy. The machine left a long, linear cut across his torso and thigh.
A spokeswoman for Wrigley declined to specify what type of destacker machine the company uses, but said that all the candy-maker's manufacturing equipment meets third-party safety standards.
"This tragedy continues to be difficult for Wallace's family and our associates, and we feel it is insensitive for us to comment on any specific details of Wallace's death," she said in an email.
The Tunnel Hill, Ga., man was a husband and father of six, according to his obituary.
Officials from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration are investigating the circumstances around Scarbro's death. The autopsy found no evidence of foul play and concluded the death was accidental.
But this is the second time TOSHA has investigated a death at the Chattanooga candy factory in the last two years. In 2013, 34-year-old Mandie Rachael Creel Chitwood was knocked off a ladder and fatally injured while working in Wrigley's Life Saver Gummie department.
TOSHA investigators concluded that the company was at fault in her death and fined Wrigley $8,575 after finding two serious and seven non-serious violations at the plant.
Wrigley makes Life Savers and Altoids at the plant at 3002 Jersey Pike. About 275 full-time employees work at the plant.
Scarbro worked at the company for about 18 months before he died.
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Another life claimed at Chattanooga's Wrigley candy factory
February 4th, 2015 by Shelly Bradbury in Local Regional News
A 54-year-old man died on the job Tuesday...
Photo by Dan Henry /Times Free Press.
Past TOSHA citations at Wrigley
* 2015: Investigation opened into the death of Wallace Scarbro
* 2013: Cited in general duty, machine guarding, flammable liquids, portable fire extinguishers, general requirements for machines, hand and portable equipment, general requirements, wiring methods and use of equipment — fined $8,575
* 2005: Cited for failing to provide adequate first aid training and anchoring fixed machinery — fined $400
Source: Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration
On Tuesday, Chattanooga's Wrigley Manufacturing plant cemented its status as the most dangerous candy factory of its type when a 54-year-old man died on the job -- the second employee death there within the last 16 months.
Wallace Scarbro died just after midnight Tuesday at the factory at 3002 Jersey Pike. No details about how he died have been released, but his death has been classified as an accident, police said.
While Scarbro is the second person to die at the plant that makes Altoids and Life Savers in less than two years, nationally it's rare for candy factory workers to die on the job.
There were 439 non-chocolate confectionery manufacturing facilities that employed about 19,000 people in the nation in 2012, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. But between 2003 and 2013, only one person suffered a fatal injury while working in such a factory, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
That death happened in 2013 when 34-year-old Mandie Rachael Creel Chitwood was killed while working in Chattanooga's Wrigley plant.
On Tuesday, reaction to Scarbro's death closely echoed the days after Chitwood died.
Family members and friends offered condolences on social media. Officials from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration launched an investigation. Neither Wrigley nor TOSHA would release any details about exactly what happened.
Even the statement from Wrigley Tuesday was nearly identical to the statement issued in 2013, sentence for sentence.
Illustration by Alaina Akens /Times Free Press.
"We are deeply saddened to confirm that one of our associates was involved in a fatal accident onsite at our Chattanooga factory very early this morning," Tuesday's statement read. "We are in the process of working with appropriate authorities in the investigation. Right now, there is little we can say to make this easier, and out of respect for the family and our associates, we will not comment further at this time."
Scarbro had worked at the Chattanooga candymaker for about a year and a half, Wrigley spokeswoman Caroline Sherman said. She added that the factory is in full compliance with TOSHA and other third-party standards.
She declined to comment on the national rate of fatalities in factories like Wrigley.
"The incident in 2013 and the incident this week are horribly tragic, but they are unrelated," she said. "Safety is our top priority. It always has been and always will be."
The TOSHA investigation could take several months to conclude. Investigators will inspect any machinery that was involved and talk to witnesses, spokeswoman Jennifer Farrar said.
"At this point we don't know the cause of the death and whether there is any liability or not as far as the company is concerned," she said. "We're going to have to wait [until] after the investigation to see."
TOSHA investigators did find that Wrigley was at fault when Chitwood was fatally injured in October 2013. In that case, Chitwood was climbing a mobile ladder to clear a jam in the Life Saver Gummie department when a forklift operator ran the machine into the ladder and threw Chitwood into an 8-inch pipe.
Sherman said at the time that the company was instituting new safety procedures to avoid repeating a similar collision.
Wrigley operates three factories in the United States and employs about 275 full-time workers in Chattanooga.