MADAWASKA – The Occupational Safety and Health Administration has issued a citation against the Madawaska operations of Fraser Papers Inc. for 65 violations and has slapped a $55,000 penalty against the company.

The allegations, which were corrected just before or during the OSHA inspection, involved 65 instances of injuries at the mill that were not recorded in an OSHA log or in incident reports within seven days of the of the reportable injury or illness.

The citation was issued Oct. 12, nearly five months after an OSHA inspection at Fraser Papers Inc. on May 18.

The report does not involve an OSHA investigation done on a fatal accident at the mill last April. That report has not been released.

While many of the instances were minor injuries, some involved lost work time. There were instances wherein employees were placed on restricted duty, received medical attention, or were administered prescription medication and therapy for injuries.

The 65 violations were called “willful” in the OSHA citation. The incidents happened between March 2003 and February 2005. According to the report, the incidents were all recorded on or around April 30, 2005.

The company has 15 days to appeal the results of the investigation or seek an informal conference with OSHA. The report is dated Oct. 12.

“I don’t know what the company will do,” Richard Marston, manager of human resources at the Madawaska mill, said Wednesday. “We just received the report, and it has not been studied in its entirety.

“We are consulting with legal counsel,” he said. “I believe we received the report on Friday [Oct. 14.].”

Marston said the OSHA investigation probably came as the result of a complaint. The investigation was not a wall-to-wall investigation.

One employee on the list received surgery for carpal tunnel syndrome and lost some work time.

Many of the employees listed in the report received services from doctors, and many were involved in some kind of physical therapy for injuries. Many of the cases cited in the report involved the issuance of prescription medication for pain, or to relieve symptoms workers had.