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Associated Press
13-06-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Tennessee Recognizes Knoxville Terminal With Top Safety Award
Key points Marathon Petroleum's Knoxville asphalt terminal has been recognized with its first Volunteer STAR Award by the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA), the state's highest honor for workplace safety and health. The Volunteer STAR Award, modeled after the federal OSHA Voluntary Protection Programs (VPP), is presented to sites that demonstrate outstanding commitment to safety performance and continuous improvement in safety and health management systems. 'Receiving the Volunteer STAR Award for safety is a great honor,' said Knoxville Asphalt Terminal Operations Manager Sean Phelps. 'This award highlights our terminal's strong dedication to upholding the highest safety standards and safeguarding the well-being of every team member. It reflects our commitment to a culture where safety is a shared priority and everyone looks out for each other, and is a testament to teamwork, diligence and collective effort that makes our workplace safer for all.' 'It's a daily reminder not only of our commitment to safety, but of the teamwork and dedication that brought us here.' TOSHA Deputy Commissioner Dewayne Scott visited the Knoxville site on May 15 to present the award. 'We set the bar very high for this award and Marathon Petroleum rose to the challenge and not only met but exceeded TOSHA's high standards for workplace safety in Tennessee,' said Scott. 'It takes a tremendous amount of effort and determination from everyone at the facility to create and maintain a safe and healthy workplace at this level.' In 2021, the Knoxville terminal received the Tennessee Governor's Award for Excellence for Workplace Safety and Health, an award recognizing the site for working 50,000 hours without a lost workday or restricted duty injury. That achievement prompted TOSHA to visit the terminal and introduce the team to the Tennessee Star Program, marking the beginning of their journey toward this latest safety recognition. This most recent recognition places the terminal among just 35 Volunteer STAR sites in Tennessee. Along with a glass award and certificate, the team also received a STAR flag to fly at the site, a symbol of the terminal's strong safety culture and the effort behind it. 'It means something very special every time we raise that flag,' Phelps said. 'It's a daily reminder not only of our commitment to safety, but of the teamwork and dedication that brought us here.' Visit 3BL Media to see more multimedia and stories from Marathon Petroleum
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Yahoo
Tennessee OSHA issues no citations for Erwin plastics plant where employees died in Helene flood
Flood waters in East Tennessee. (Photo: Brandon Hull/Office of the Governor) Tennessee's workplace safety agency concluded that an East Tennessee plastics plant where five employees died after being swept away by Hurricane Helene floodwaters 'exercised reasonable diligence' in dismissing employees that day. The Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) issued its report on the Impact Plastics plant in Erwin, Tennessee on April 2. The agency found that because work had stopped and employees left the building, 'the tragic deaths of the Impact Plastics employees were not work-related and therefore do not fall within its jurisdiction.' The agency did not issue any citations. The inspection report comes as the family of Johnny Peterson, one of the employees killed in the Sept. 27 flood, moves forward with a lawsuit against the company. The suit alleges that Impact Plastics did not release employees with enough time to escape the rising water. 'TOSHA's report ignores multiple witnesses' testimonies, critical text messages, emergency alert logs, and photographic evidence that tell the real story about Impact Plastics' fatal failures,' Zack Lawson, an attorney representing Peterson's family in the lawsuit against the company, stated. 'We're grateful that in America, juries — not bureaucrats citing unnamed sources — will decide the truth based on all the evidence.' Impact Plastics has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and issued a statement on April 2 welcoming TOSHA's findings. 'These past months, Impact Plastics and its President and Founder Gerald O'Connor have cooperated with the official agencies investigating the flood and events of that day. The facts and the truth are now known,' an attorney representing Impact Plastics stated. Internal review from plastics plant where three died finds 'there was time to escape' flood Peterson, four other Impact Plastics employees and one independent contractor were swept away after the semi-trailer truck bed they sought refuge in was toppled by rushing water and debris. Five other employees who were swept into the water were later rescued by helicopter about half a mile downstream. TOSHA's investigation included site visits, witness interviews, review of surveillance footage and collaboration with law enforcement. The report notes that Impact Plastics' workplace safety records were destroyed or lost in the flood, and 'phone service disruptions, language barriers and other challenges' made communication with witnesses difficult. The investigation report laid out a timeline of that morning. The National Weather Service released its first flash flood warning alert for Unicoi County at 9:14 a.m., during the company's morning meeting. Employees were told by managers or other employees to move their vehicles to higher ground between 10 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., when water began to fill the parking lot, the report states. The site, which lies in a flood plain, lost power at 10:39 a.m. By 10:51 a.m., 'employees were reportedly told they could leave, although accounts of this directive varied,' according to the report. Body of last Impact Plastics worker found month after Helene The ongoing lawsuit against Impact Plastics contests this timeline, citing text messages sent by Peterson to his family before his death. A message to Peterson's daughter indicated senior management had not dismissed employees by 10:51 a.m. Employees realized they were trapped around 11:12 a.m., according to a text Peterson sent to his father. Peterson understood employees were dismissed only after senior management exited the property around 11:35 a.m., the lawsuit states. While most employees evacuated, some remained or returned to South Industrial Drive, according to the TOSHA report. 'Witnesses and evacuated employees could not clearly explain' why some people did not leave, but the report noted that some witnesses said they were afraid to drive through floodwater, they felt unable to leave by vehicle or on foot, or they believed that the flooding would not worsen. TOSHA found 'no evidence that employees were threatened with termination or forced to work beyond a safe evacuation point.' While TOSHA does not have a rule requiring employers to develop site-specific severe weather emergency plans, the agency did recommend that Impact Plastics create one and train employees and managers on evacuation during different types of severe weather. TOSHA Investigation Summary – Impact Plastics 04022025
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Attorney for Impact Plastics employees responds to TOSHA findings
JOHNSON CITY, Tenn. (WJHL) – An attorney representing several Impact Plastics workers and their families is disputing parts of the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (TOSHA) findings that were released Wednesday. This comes as a result of TOSHA's investigation into the events at Impact Plastics on Sept. 27, 2024, when Hurricane Helene caused fatal floods to rip through Unicoi County. TOSHA: No citations for Impact Plastics, Helene deaths weren't work-related Milberg law firm represents six Impact Plastics employees or their families. Greg Coleman, a partner at the firm, told News Channel 11 the firm has several issues with TOSHA's report. He specifically cited a reference to a bilingual employee on site who was told to advise the Hispanic workers to leave while everyone was still in the facility. 'That person happens to be my client,' Coleman said. 'Our client. The firm's client. And I can tell you with utmost certainty that that did not happen. She was never advised by anyone in upper management to tell the Hispanic workers or others to leave until it was far, far, far too late.' Coleman also pointed to the fact that Impact Plastics was the only business in the area that sustained loss of life. '[Impact] Plastics was the only business that had any death or tragedy occur,' Coleman said. 'All of the other businesses in that industrial park area where the hurricane and its flood waters hit, everybody else evacuated timely. Everybody else was told to go home timely, but not Impact Plastics employees.' He claims the company ignored early warning signs and called the employees in early because they were behind in production. 'My client, the bilingual employee, along with some others, initially were asked by Impact to be there early to help with production because they were so far behind,' Coleman said. 'That's why they were even there to begin with. To come in early, to start catching up, because this was an important order. They were behind in production. They needed to get it out, and so that's a very, very relevant fact as to why anyone was even there to begin with. And so that's what happened that day.' Coleman also said there are aspects of the report he and his firm agree with. 'There was not proper training,' Coleman said. 'The training, if it ever existed, was absolutely not implemented at the time all of this took place, that the management had plenty of time to make a decision to say, 'Okay, we want these folks out by X' because that's exactly what every other business in that area did and did it safely. Those things that TOSHA highlighted in the report as to that property are accurate.' Despite the report, the Milberg attorneys are ramping up their planned civil lawsuits against Impact Plastics. 'We don't plan on stopping until, as I like to say, the court of last resort, whether that's the Supreme Court or any other courts below, have told us to put the pen down.' The planned civil lawsuit must be filed within a year of the event. Coleman told News Channel 11 that it will happen sooner rather than later. News Channel 11 reached out to Impact Plastics Thursday to respond to Coleman's claims, but the company did not provide a response. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Deaths of Tennessee factory workers in Hurricane Helene flooding was 'not work-related,' state agency finds
Tennessee's workplace safety agency has absolved a plastics plant of responsibility in the deaths of six workers who were swept away by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene in September. The Sept. 27 deaths gained national attention when community members and relatives of the mostly Latino plant employees questioned why they hadn't been dismissed from work early enough to escape the record levels of rain that overcame the plastics factory in Erwin and the only road out. The report from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) published Wednesday, said that because 'work operations had stopped and employees had left the building,' the deaths were not work-related and thus not within its jurisdiction. 'After considering the evidence," Chris Cannon, a spokesman with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said, "TOSHA determined that company management exercised reasonable diligence in dismissing employees and providing them sufficient time to leave the facility safely.' A criminal probe by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into the deaths is still underway, said Leslie Earhart, the bureau's spokesperson. Five employees and one contractor were killed when the semi-truck trailer they had sought refuge on was overtaken by raging floodwaters. They were Monica Hernandez-Corona, 44; Bertha Mendoza, 56; Johnny Peterson, 55; Lidia Verdugo Gastelum, 63; Rosa Maria Andrade Reynoso, 29; and Sibrina Barnett, 53. Six others were tossed from the truck bed and later rescued. Attorneys representing relatives of some of the deceased employees rejected the probe's conclusions. 'TOSHA's report ignores multiple witnesses' testimonies, critical text messages, emergency alert logs, and photographic evidence that tell the real story about Impact Plastics' fatal failures," Zack Lawson, an attorney representing Alexa Peterson, Johnny Peterson's daughter, in a wrongful death lawsuit against Impact Plastics. "We're grateful that in America, juries — not bureaucrats citing unnamed sources — will decide the truth based on all the evidence." Greg Coleman, an attorney for the Mendoza and Barnett families, said in a statement from his firm that they 'vehemently disagree with any characterization that Impact Plastics exercised reasonable diligence in dismissing employees.' According to Coleman, "the facts simply do not support" a finding that the floodwaters were already too high and strong when the factory "finally, and begrudgingly, allowed workers to leave." While he agreed with a suggestion from the safety administration that the plant should improve its emergency plans, he stated that "this comes far too late for our clients." Relatives of the missing and dead factory employees, and those who survived, have alleged they were made to show up to work even as the hurricane was moving through the area. The day before the historic flood, the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee, issued several warnings of potential flooding for the rest of the week. The local school district canceled school, citing weather warnings, and at least one other company in the same industrial park as Impact Plastics, Foam Products Corp., closed their doors Friday. It was the first time their Erwin plant had ever closed for extreme weather. Impact Plastics, which manufactures components for cars, helicopters, furniture and other products, decided to open that Friday, as did several other nearby businesses. Through lawyers, Impact Plastics said in a statement Wednesday that it welcomed the results of TOSHA's investigation and that the company and its founder, Gerald O'Connor, have cooperated with it. 'Impact Plastics and Gerald O'Connor continue to concentrate on seeing to the needs of members of the Impact Plastics family and grieving over the wonderful people who were lost in the flood," the company stated. "Mr. O'Connor is focused on rebuilding Impact Plastics for the benefit of the employees, the customers, and the community.' This article was originally published on
NBC News
03-04-2025
- NBC News
Deaths of Tennessee factory workers in Hurricane Helene flooding was 'not work-related,' state agency finds
Tennessee's workplace safety agency has absolved a plastics plant of responsibility in the deaths of six workers who were swept away by floodwaters from Hurricane Helene in September. The Sept. 27 deaths gained national attention when community members and relatives of the mostly Latino plant employees questioned why they hadn't been dismissed from work early enough to escape the record levels of rain that overcame the plastics factory in Erwin and take the only road out. The report from the Tennessee Occupational Safety and Health Administration (TOSHA) published Wednesday, said that because 'work operations had stopped and employees had left the building,' the deaths were not work-related and thus not within its jurisdiction. 'After considering the evidence," Chris Cannon, a spokesman with the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said, "TOSHA determined that company management exercised reasonable diligence in dismissing employees and providing them sufficient time to leave the facility safely.' A criminal probe by the Tennessee Bureau of Investigation into the deaths is still underway, said Leslie Earhart, the bureau's spokesperson. Five employees and one contractor were killed when the semi-truck trailer they had sought refuge on was overtaken by raging floodwaters. They were Monica Hernandez-Corona, 44; Bertha Mendoza, 56; Johnny Peterson, 55; Lidia Verdugo Gastelum, 63; Rosa Maria Andrade Reynoso, 29; and Sibrina Barnett, 53. Six others were tossed from the truck bed and later rescued. Attorneys representing relatives of some of the deceased employees rejected the probe's conclusions. 'TOSHA's report ignores multiple witnesses' testimonies, critical text messages, emergency alert logs, and photographic evidence that tell the real story about Impact Plastics' fatal failures," Zack Lawson, an attorney representing Alexa Peterson, Johnny Peterson's daughter, in a wrongful death lawsuit against Impact Plastics. "We're grateful that in America, juries — not bureaucrats citing unnamed sources — will decide the truth based on all the evidence." Greg Coleman, an attorney for the Mendoza family, said they "vehemently disagree with any characterization that Impact Plastics exercised reasonable diligence in dismissing employees." The facts, he said, do not support a finding that the floodwaters were already too high and strong when the factory "finally, and begrudgingly, allowed workers to leave." While he agreed with a suggestion from the safety administration that the plant should improve its emergency plans, "this comes far too late for our clients." Relatives of the missing and dead factory employees, and those who survived, have alleged they were made to show up to work even as the hurricane was moving through the area. The day before the historic flood, the National Weather Service in Morristown, Tennessee, issued several warnings of potential flooding for the rest of the week. The local school district canceled school, citing weather warnings, and at least one other company in the same industrial park as Impact Plastics, Foam Products Corp., closed their doors Friday. It was the first time their Erwin plant had ever closed for extreme weather. Impact Plastics, which manufactures components for cars, helicopters, furniture and other products, decided to open that Friday, as did several other nearby businesses. Through lawyers, Impact Plastics said in a statement Wednesday that it welcomed the results of TOSHA's investigation and that the company and its founder, Gerald O'Connor, have cooperated with it. 'Impact Plastics and Gerald O'Connor continue to concentrate on seeing to the needs of members of the Impact Plastics family and grieving over the wonderful people who were lost in the flood," the company stated. "Mr. O'Connor is focused on rebuilding Impact Plastics for the benefit of the employees, the customers, and the community.'
