2nd worker dies after gas exposure at Woodland Pulp mill

By Sabrina Martin
The Bangor Daily News
February 17, 2026
Category: Health & Safety
Region: United States, US East

MAINE — A second person has died following a chemical release at Woodland Pulp mill in Baileyville last month. The worker, who has not been publicly identified, died from injuries sustained from the gas exposure, mill spokesperson Scott Beal confirmed. It was not clear Tuesday when the second worker passed away. Kasie Malcolm, a University of Maine junior interning at the mill, died the morning after the exposure on Jan. 27. The workers were exposed to hydrogen sulfide while in the facility’s bleach plant, officials have said. The bleach plant remains closed. Two federal agencies are investigating the deaths: officials with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and the US Chemical Safety and Hazard Investigation Board. …In addition to the two fatalities, eight other workers were exposed to the chemical. …Although hydrogen sulfide is not an ingredient used at the plant, it can be a byproduct of the mill’s pulping process. 

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