OSHA Fines Malden Bakery After Fatality

A Malden bakery was fined nearly $21,000 by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration following an investigation into the death of a worker, according to a report on the Massachusetts Coalition For Occupational Safety and Health website.

On Oct. 30, OSHA cited Piantedosi Baking Company, Inc., 129 Commercial St., $20,790 for "serious safety violations," according to the report.

Yogambigai Pasupathipillai, 61, a Sri Lankan immigrant who relocated to Massachusetts 17 years ago, was working at the bakery the afternoon of Aug. 15, when her apron apparently became caught in a conveyor belt, strangling her, according to the report. The fines were for "inadequate guarding, insufficient stop buttons, and a failure to ensure an emergency stop button was the proper color (red), measures required to prevent workers from getting caught in machinery and stopping machines in the case of an emergency," according to the report.

“Her family never expected that someone would be strangled this way," said a close family member in the report. “She was very careful at work … it’s very hard to take it.”

The recent fines aren't the first for the bakery, as Piantedosi was cited after a 43-year-old woman lost a finer while operating a packing line for baked goods, according to the report.

"Two conveyors came together, creating a dangerous nip point resulting in an amputation that required hospitalization," reads the report.

To read the complete report, visit the Massachusetts Coalition For Occupational Safety and Health website.