Ammonia leak causes death at seafood plant

Boston—One worker was killed at the Stavis Seafoods plant here March 23 due to an ammonia leak. Four were able to escape. In 2009, OSHA initially proposed fines against Stavis of $47,250 for several alleged serious violations, including those with its anhydrous ammonia-based refrigeration system. However, the nine citations relating to ammonia were withdrawn and the penalty reduced to $15,750. An OSHA spokesman told the Boston Globe that since the plant used less than 10,000 pounds of ammonia it was not required to comply with the cited safety program.