URS employee injured at Eramet

From Staff Reports
MARIETTA — An apparent equipment malfunction injured a Caldwell man working at the Eramet Marietta facility Wednesday afternoon.

Roger D. Haga, 45, of 39584 Marietta Road was cutting concrete at the plant when a diamond belt on his saw snapped and wrapped around his midsection, Washington County Sheriff Larry Mincks said.

Haga was in stable condition at Marietta Memorial Hospital Wednesday night, a nursing supervisor said.

The man was working for the Washington Division of URS Corp., formerly Washington Group International, said Eramet spokeswoman Joy Frank-Collins. The work was part of the recently announced upgrade to the plant’s largest furnace, which is expected to reduce total emissions from the facility by 20 percent.

A spokeswoman for URS declined comment Wednesday evening, saying the company was investigating the incident.

Frank-Collins said Eramet would work with the contractor to ensure the safety of everyone working on the project as it moves forward.

“Obviously at Eramet we take the safety of our employees and any contractors on site very seriously,” Frank-Collins said.

Wednesday’s accident comes more than three months after a Parkersburg man died as the result of a 30-foot fall while performing a routine equipment inspection at the plant.

Eramet was cited for 11 violations and fined $28,800 following a federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration investigation into the death of 52-year-old Charles “Chuck” Hatcher. After the citation was issued in March, Frank-Collins said many of the issues had been addressed and noted the citation did not indicate a direct connection between the violations and Hatcher’s death.