Ontario Apple Juice Producer Fined $75,000

Clarksburg-based Golden Town Apple Products was fined $75,000 on March 12, 2010 for a violation of the Occupational Health & Safety Act (OHSA) after a worker was hurt.

On May 9, 2008, a worker at eh company’s plant was flushing a production line with a sodium hydroxide solution. The worker carried the pail of the solution toward a tank to be cleaned. While lifting the pail to dump the solution into the tank, the worker’s hand slipped, the pail swung forward and the solution splashed into the worker’s eyes, causing permanent eye damage.
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Linamar Holdings Inc. Fined $100,000

Linamar Holdings Inc., operating as Roctel Manufacturing, a maker of car parts, was fined $100,000 on March of last year (2010) for a violation of the OHSA that caused an injury to a worker.

On August 29, 2008, a worker of the company’s plant in Guelph started up an assembly line containing a robot cell. A robot cell is a guarded area that contains a robot to do specific work such as packaging or product testing. A conveyor belt inside the robot cell malfunctioned, stopping the line. The worker went into the robot cell to clear the fault in the conveyor. When the problem was fixed, the robot cell automatically resumed operation and struck the worker in the arm, breaking it.
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Automotive Parts Producer Fined $75,000 after Worker Injured

Vaughn-based Martinrea Fabco Metallic Canada Inc. was fined $75,000 way back on March 23, 2010 for a violation under the OHSA after a worker was injured.

On June 24, 2008, a Martinrea worker was assigned to repair a die used for stamping car parts. The worker lowered the die, which weighed over 17,000 kilograms, on two sets of 10X10 centimetre composite plastic blocks with an overhead crane. The blocks were stacked one on top of the other in a designated repair area of the plant. As the worker started to fix the die, it shifted on the blocks and pinned the worker between the die and the guardrail. The worker suffered leg and pelvic injuries.
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Fatality Ends With Hefty Fine – Well Done, Alberta!

Please read excerpts from the Canadian Press,

The death of a 56 year old employee four years ago has resulted in an Alberta pipe-coating company receiving penalties totaling $300,000. Garneau Inc., based in Nisku, Alberta, was cited for breaching requirements of Alberta’s Occupational Health & Safety Act.

The deadly incident occurred in June, 2006. Sidney Edwards was working at Garneau’s facility in Camrose, Alberta.
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Another Radioactive Spill in Lake Ontario – Poses No Harm. Really!!!

This happened back in November of 2009 but it goes to show that radioactive leaks happen much too often. My first blog on the accidental release of radioactivity material centred around the Bruce Power Station. This particular blog takes place November of 2009 at the Darlington nuclear station in Clarington, Ontario.

The Canadian Press,

Workers at the Darlington nuclear station in Clarington, Ont. filled the wrong tank with a cocktail of water and radioactive isotope Monday, spilling more than 200,000 litres into Lake Ontario. Ontario Power Generation is investigating how the accident happened and officials say hourly tests of lake water show the level of tritium – the radioactive isotope of hydrogen, poses not harm to nearby residents.
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EFCO Canada Co. – Fines for Health & Safety

A Nova Scotia maker of steel forms, used in construction, was fined $45,000 on August 21, 2009, for a violation of the Occupational Health & Safety (OHSA) In March 2008. A constructor was building an intake line from the Welland Canal to the Thorold Cogeneration power site. To do this, they needed to install a cofferdam, a structure built below water level that serves as a dry workplace. EFCO designed and provided the parts for the cofferdam. On March 28, 2008, the constructor had installed the cofferdam and was removing the water inside it when the cofferdam failed. No workers were hurt.

An investigation found that the cofferdam failed because certain bolts had not been supplied and installed as required. EFCO Canada Co., pleaded guilty under the OSHA to failing to take the reasonable precaution of providing the bolts necessary to secure the water plate girders in the cofferdam. In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to special provincial fund to assist victims of crime.
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An Example Bill C45 is Working and is Needed

We all remember the scaffold accident that happened near the end of Christmas Eve day at the end of 2009. Metron Construction Inc. had 5 employees on their swing stage and it broke sending 4 out of the 5 employees to their death, 13 stories below. The 5th employee received 2 broken legs and a crushed spine.

Eight work orders, including two stop work orders, were issued prior to the accident. (from Oct. 20 and Dec. 17) Metron complied with the orders and they were lifted shortly after. On Dec. 17, Metron was given three more orders. The ministry said a temporary structure constructed in front of the exit ramp of a parking garage needed to be rectified because it did not meet requirements. Later that day, the MOL returned and found the company was in compliance and lifted the stop-work order.
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Iron Ore Company: Safety Is No Accident SAY WHAT!!!

This year’s John T. Ryan Safety Awards have once again proven that the mining industry’s commitment to safety is tried, tested and true. The pursuit of perfect safety has one ultimate goal: zero – zero accidents, zero incidents and zero lost person-hours. Achieving such a goal requires sustained commitment. It does not come by accident. Nowhere is this more evident than at the Iron Ore Company of Canada (IOC), this month’s featured winner of the John T. Ryan Safety Award in the East Select Mines category.

IOC is Canada’s largest iron ore producer and a leading global supplier of iron ore pellets and concentrates. Their products are often used by steelmakers to improve quality and productivity and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Employee safety is top priority for IOC
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Man Dies in Quarry Accident

Excerpt from ctvottawa.ca

Ontario’s Ministry of Labour is investigating a workplace accident that killed a 26-year-old man as he worked at a privately-owned quarry near Manotick. The man was working an excavator Thursday morning at 6107 First Line Rd., a jobsite owned by Green Valley Environmental, a waste water company specializing in septic system services. As he scooped up part of a 30-50-foot mound of rock and gravel with his machinery, it’s believed part of the pile collapsed, tumbling on top of him. The incident crushed the cab, with him inside. He was pronounced dead at the scene.

While the number of workplace accidents in Ontario is actually decreasing, the number of workplace fatalities is on the rise. In Ontario, the number of workplace fatalities has increased about 35 per cent in the last 10 years. In 1999, there were 234 deaths on the jobsite. In 2008, that number was up to 335.
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Potash Corporation – Receives Maximum Penalty

The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan received the maximum penalty amount under the provincial health and safety legislation in connection with the death of miner, Robert Tkach, in September 2008. They were fined a total of $420,000 on March 15, 2010 after pleading guilty to one charge of failing to ensure the health, safety and welfare of a worker, contrary to Section 3(a) of the Occupational Health & Safety Act. The fine includes the maximum penalty of $300,000 plus the maximum victim fine surcharge of $120,000.

The widow, Sylvia Tkach, says she is disappointed with the decision and believes that any fine amount needs to be greater in the province. “I don’t think they are high enough in Saskatchewan and they are not providing a deterrent,” she says. “It is not enough of a deterrent to change behaviours,” she argues.
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