Today, the Chemical Safety Board announced that they had published an update on their investigation of the January 2026 fatal hydrogen sulfide release from a process sewer at the Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville, Maine during a unit shutdown. The incident killed two personnel doing work unrelated to the shutdown; 10 other personnel were exposed to hydrogen sulfide gas during the incident. The CSB announced their investigation of the incident on February 9th and added the incident to the list of ongoing investigations on March 6th, 2026.
The Investigation Update provides:
- A short incident summary,
- Background information about the history of the plant and its operation, and
- A description of the incident timeline.
From a safety perspective the Updates notes that (pg 10):
- “There was no system for controlling or accounting for personnel present in the Kraft Mill building, or their locations, during the unit shutdown.
- “There was no system providing Kraft Mill building ventilation during either normal operations or shutdowns.
- “There were no stationary hydrogen sulfide detectors or alarms in the Bleach Plant area of the Kraft Mill, and the company did not provide or require personnel to wear clip-on type hydrogen sulfide monitors.”
The investigation continues.
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