Canadian Occupational Safety

8 Canadian Occupational Safety | www.cos-mag.com FINES & PENALTIES NEW BRUNSWICK GOVERNMENT DEPARTMENT FINED $80K FOR BRIDGE INCIDENT The New Brunswick Department of Transport and Infrastructure (DTI) pleaded guilty to a charge under 10(b) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to take every reasonable precaution to ensure the health and safety of any person having access to a project site. As part of the sentencing, DTI is required to contribute $80,000 to the University of New Brunswick's Workplace Health and Safety Officer Certification program for advancement, education and training in the prevention of workplace accidents. In October 2016, a 104-year-old covered bridge in French Village, N.B., was undergoing repairs when a 13-tonne excavator dropped through the decking. The historic bridge was so severely damaged that the province determined it was beyond repair and took it down. The excavator operator was a contractor and he suffered no significant injuries. The Crown and DTI submitted joint recommendations to the judge for sentencing, which were accepted. DTI was sentenced to a 30-day probation, with the following conditions: • Submit its occupational health and safety program for audit by the New Brunswick Construction Safety Association (NBCSA). • Apply for Certification of Recognition (COR) standard under the NBCSA. • Conduct and submit findings of an internal audit to NBCSA for review. • Submit a template to WorkSafeNB for a safe work plan procedure for bridge maintenance and construction. NOVA SCOTIA LANDSCAPING FIRM RECEIVED $20,000 IN PENALTIES Josh Lynch's Contracting and Landscaping of North Sydney, N.S., has been fined $5,750 (inclusive of a victim fine surcharge). The company is also required to donate $15,000 to the Minister's Education Trust Fund. Charges stem from an incident that occurred in 2016. Employees (including Josh Lynch himself) were working on scaffolding without fall protection equipment and were seriously injured when the scaffolding collapsed. As part of creative sentencing, the company is required to complete two one-hour safety presentations. POTASH COMPANY HIT WITH $490,000 FINE Agrium has been fined nearly half a million dollars ($490,000) for an incident that left a worker with significant head and abdominal injuries at its Vanscoy, Sask. potash mine. The incident occurred on Aug. 21, 2016. When a conveyor belt was started, a worker was struck in the abdomen by a cable that was not secured. This happened just two weeks after a worker was killed at the same mine. Agrium (now known as Nutrien after a merger with PotashCorp) pleaded guilty to contravening clause 12(a) of the regulations (being an employer at a place of employment, failed in the provision and maintenance of plant, system of work and working environments that ensure, as far as is reasonably practicable, the health and safety and welfare at work of the employer's workers, resulting in a serious injury to a worker). The company was fined $350,000, plus a victim impact surcharge of $140,000, for a total of $490,000 in fines. One additional charge was withdrawn. Crown prosecutors noted Agrium's record of ignoring and contravening safety rules. The company had been issued notices of contravention 27 times since 2005. "While this appears to be the largest fine in Saskatchewan history for workplace safety violations, it needs to be followed up with real action to hold Agrium accountable and ensure that there are no future lives lost or changed forever," said Darrin Kruger, United Steelworkers staff representative and former president of USW Local 7552. EMPLOYER FINED $240K, WORKER FINED $31K Alpine Paving and Contracting and Chad England have been fined for the death of a worker. Alpine Paving and Contracting was fined a total of $248,400 for violating section 2(1)(a)(i) of Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) Act, failing to ensure the health and safety of a worker. The employer was also found guilty of section 7(1) of the OHS Code, failing to assess a work site for hazards before work began. Additionally, Alpine Paving and Contracting was placed on two years of corporate probation. Chad England was found guilty of section 2(2)(a) of the OHS Act, failing as a worker to ensure the safety of another worker. He was fined $31,050, inclusive of the victim fine surcharge, and placed on one year of probation-type conditions. The incident occurred July 4, 2014, in Calgary. At the time, England and the other worker were working on a pick-up truck when it fell off of the jacks, causing death. PAVING COMPANY FINED $406K FOR WORKER FATALITY One of southern Ontario's largest road, sewer and water main contractors is required to pay a total of $406,000 — made up of a $325,000 fine, plus a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, for the fatality of a worker in 2015. Coco Paving was upgrading water mains buried under Highway 7 in Markham, Ont. The work was part of a larger road-widening project. A worker was working alone while welding two sections of steel casing on the north shoulder of Highway 7. The total length of the two sections was about 50 feet and weighed about 5,400 pounds. A wheel loader with forks attached approached the steel casing to lift and rotate it to complete the weld. The steel casing suddenly became dislodged from its wooden support and started to roll into a 6-foot ditch. The casing rolled onto the worker, who became pinned in the ditch under the casing. The worker later succumbed to the injuries. According to the Windsor Star, the worker was Takis Escoto, who was 34 at the time of the incident and had worked for the company since 2002. Stop using and replace Zorbit ™ Energy Absorbers only affects lot codes 2101506 through 2464624 Important Recall Reminder Fall Protection 1-833-LAD-SAF1 (1-833-523-7231) At 3M, customer safety and confidence are high priorities. In light of a production issue identified with certain Zorbit™ Energy Absorbers ("Zorbit"), 3M voluntarily launched a Stop Use – Safety Recall on October 12, 2016 to replace all Zorbits (part number 7401013) with only lot codes 2101506 through 2464624. The Zorbit can be sold individually or as part of a system, including the (1) Sayfline Permanent Multi-Span Horizontal Lifeline System, (2) SecuraSpan I-Beam Horizontal Lifeline System, and (3) SecuraSpan Pour-in-Place Horizontal Lifeline System. If you are an end-user with an affected Zorbit, stop using the system, remove the Zorbit and lock the system out, use alternative fall protection, and submit a claim quickly and easily online to request a replacement Zorbit Retrofit Kit #7401022 to be shipped to you free of charge. Go to: www.ZorbitRecall.com/claim You can also find additional information, answers to frequently asked questions, the detailed recall notice, and other important materials at this dedicated Zorbit recall website. 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