A central Alabama paper company is facing nearly $230,000 in fines after a federal agency determined it willfully ignored safety protocols that led to the electrocution death of a 36-year-old worker.

Marlon Quinones was operating a sheeter machine at Maplesville-based South Coast Paper, LLC on Sept. 28, 2022, when he and other employees noticed a conveyor belt stopped working. While replacing the belt’s motor, and without deenergizing other machines in use, a hot wire on the ground became energized and Quinones touched the metal, fatally electrocuting him, according to the U.S. Occupational Health and Safety Administration.

OSHA, which announced Thursday that it is proposing $227,040 in fines against South Coast Paper, cited the company with one willful violation for allowing employees to perform maintenance on machinery without ensuring the development and documentation of hazardous energy control procedures and that they were followed. The agency also cited South Coast Paper with a repeat violation for allowing workers to perform maintenance on machines without first being trained to make sure they possessed the knowledge and skills for safely applying, using and removing hazardous energy controls. OSHA cited the company for a similar violation in June 2022 at its Burlington, New Jersey, facility, the agency said.

South Coast Paper was also cited by OSHA for lack of machine guarding, and not providing clear access in front of a 480-volt breaker panel nor training on electrical safe work practices.

“There is no reason to perform maintenance on machinery without first taking all steps to de-energize that piece of equipment. Doing otherwise places workers at serious risk for injury and death,” said OSHA Area Office Director Jose Gonzalez in Mobile in a statement Thursday announcing the agency’s findings. “South Coast Paper’s failure to follow established safety procedures cost this worker their life and has left family, friends and co-workers to mourn.”

The company could not immediately be reached for comment.

South Coast Paper has 15 days to either accept the fine, request a conference with OSHA or contest the penalty before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission.