Nippon Dynawave has been cited by the Department of Labor and Industries for endangering workers after an employee was nearly engulfed in hot pulp and fell into a sinkhole, months before a tank failure killed 11 workers.

The citation carries a fine of $77,000 and comes in the second of two L&I investigations into incidents at the Longview mill unrelated to the catastrophic collapse of a tank containing 900,000 gallons of caustic white liquor in May that killed 11 people.

Though the citation issued Thursday follows an investigation that began before the tank collapse, the violations detailed by L&I speak to a pattern of workplace safety concerns and maintenance issues at the pulp and paper mill.

Months before the disaster, a worker waded through a heap of 145 degree pulp that had been spilling out of an open tank for two hours, according to an L&I news release.…