Excerpt from the OH&S Canada magazine (Nov. 2015). An industrial accident at a construction site in Peterborough, Ontario has killed a 56-year-old male worker during the ongoing expansion of the city’s Bensfort Landfill.
The victim was an employee of Drain Brothers Excavating, a Norwood-based construction firm that the City of Peterborough had contracted to build the newer trash pit. A falling pipe cause the worker’s death on the afternoon of November 10, 2015 according to information from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) and the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL).
“I believe there had been one of the employees down there working with some heavy equipment, and I understand a piece of debris may have fallen from that equipment and killed the other worker,” says Constable Jason Folz, a media representative with the OPP’s Peterborough County detachment.
The MOL was notified of the accident and dispatched an inspector to the worksite immediately. Janet Deline, an MOL communications representative, says two orders were issued to the employer, Drain Brothers Excavating Ltd.
“One order is to store and move material or equipment at a program in a manner that does not endanger her worker, and the other one is to provide documentation.” But the company was not ordered to stop work, she adds.
According to Constable Folz, a corner’s investigation is also ongoing. “We are assisting the coroner’s office with that investigation.”
My opinion
The construction project, at the Bensfort Landfill, is an ongoing concern as the landfill expands. The work there must be held to the highest safety standards and would venture a guess that Drain Brothers has no certified health and safety professional on their staff. If they do, I would also venture another assumption, that person is usually ignored.
Either way, an employee died that didn’t need to.
Ensure your workplace is a safe place.
Remember – In Ontario, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”
‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.
Daniel L. Beal
CHSEP – Advanced Level
CEO & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc.
Your article helped me a lot.
Thanks!
Thank you very much for sharing.