OSHA cites co. in Longview dockworker’s death

SEATTLE (AP) — Federal regulators say simple safety measures could have kept a dockworker from falling to his death aboard a cargo ship in Longview last June.

The Occupational Safety and Health Administration on Tuesday cited the dockworker’s employer, SSA Pacific, for what it described as willful safety violations aboard the Forest Trader. The agency proposed a fine of just under $125,000, and noted that it has cited SSA Pacific or its parent company, SSA Marine, for similar violations in Florida and Oregon in the past three years.

Longshoreman Jim Meadows died after falling 10 feet onto the ship’s metal deck while helping load timber at a Weyerhaeuser Co. dock. OSHA inspectors said the company failed to install netting or temporary platforms to protect workers from falls even after Meadows’ death.

A spokeswoman for SSA Marine said the company did not have an immediate comment. The company has 15 days to contest the citation.