OSHA still looking into mill death of Job Corps worker

YAKIMA, Wash. -- Federal investigators say they are still looking into the Jan. 7 death of a 20-year-old Fort Simcoe Job Corps student at Yakama Forest Products.

A three-person team from the federal Occupation Safety and Health Administration recently finished an on-site inspection of the mill, which is on tribal property in White Swan, said area director David Baker in Bellevue, Wash.

"We're still working on it. The investigators are back in and catching up," Baker said, adding that his agency may be able to release more information in two weeks. "So far, no decision has been made as to whether any violations did exist."

Tyler Challinor of Libby, Mont., was working under a tractor when a hydraulic cylinder failed, dropped its large bucket and crushed him.

OSHA has investigative authority because the Yakama Nation is a sovereign tribal government not bound by state regulations. The mill is owned and operated by the tribe.

Challinor was in a heavy equipment mechanics program at the Job Corps. He had been working at the mill for three weeks, and was waiting to be transferred to an advanced mechanics program in Utah, his family said.

Job Corps is a no-cost training program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor that provides job skills to 16- to 24-year-olds. Located west of White Swan, it has a long working relationship with the mill in offering students job training.

OSHA has until early June to determine whether there has been a safety violation or issue a citation.

Job Corps worker