Worker Killed in New Bedford Clam Plant Accident, Advocates Call for Increased Safety in Food Processing Industry

New Bedford, Mass. – A supervisor at Sea Watch International Seafood died after becoming trapped in clam-shucking machinery while working a night shift Thursday.

Victor Gerena, 35, who was the father of several children and originally from Puerto Rico, was tragically killed after he became entangled in machinery he was trying to clean; the exact details of which are not yet known.

In a press statement by worker-safety advocacy group, the Massachusetts Coalition for Safety and Health (MassCOSH), “It took emergency personnel approximately an hour to free the man after dismantling parts of the machinery,” attributing their information to a senior police officer in charge of the investigation.

During a phone interview, Executive Director of MassCOSH, Marcy Goldstein-Gelb, said that Gerena “met a devastating fate,” and pointed out that the company had been previously cited for safety violations by the federal Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

According to OSHA’s database of safety and health violations, Sea Watch, a Maryland-based company with an address in New Bedford, Mass., was inspected by the agency in 2011, and found to have five violations, four of which were considered serious.

While OSHA has reportedly begun an investigation into the incident, Goldstein-Gelb speculated “that virtually all machine fatalities – fatalities that come from machine-crushing are preventable,” adding that “it’s hard for me to imagine that OSHA wouldn’t find things that the company could’ve done that would’ve prevented this … the fact that they’ve been … cited several times is sort of the warning sign that there’s something to keep a very close eye on …”

Open Media Boston contacted Sea Watch multiple times for a press statement, but the company did not respond before the filing of this report. Goldstein-Gelb says that MassCOSH is working to provide information on the process of OSHA investigations to other workers at the plant and the victim’s family via a local workers’ center, Centro Comunitario de Trabajadores.

According to the press statement, “since the year 2000, 22 Massachusetts workers have lost their lives as a result of being crushed in machinery – most often due to inadequate machine guarding and other OSHA-mandated safety measures,” and “In 2012, OSHA settled five penalties for workplace fatalities in the state.”

This accident comes just months after Yogambigai Pasupathipillai, a 61 year old Sri Lankan immigrant, died after being strangled when her apron became caught in a conveyor belt while working as a baker during the afternoon of August 15.

Open Media Boston reported on the citations and penalties issued against Piantedosi Baking Company in Malden in November for the safety lapses that resulted in her death. MassCOSH is demanding that “machine guarding and Lockout/Tagout standards – machine designs and/or procedures that can prevent these accidents – be made a paramount priority for all industries that utilize large machines so that workers no longer must fear leaving work in a body bag,” according to the press statement.