Excerpt from the government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’

 A worker was fatally injured due to carbon monoxide exposure following a fire in an oil‐lubricated air compressor. OJB Industries Inc. of Lucan, Ontario, failed, as an employer, to ensure that measures and procedures prescribed by section 10(5) of Ontario Regulation 833, CONTROL OF EXPOSURE TO BIOLOGICAL OR CHEMICAL AGENTS, were carried out at a workplace contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

On the morning of the incident a worker was sandblasting a metal turret in the abrasive blast room of the Company’s Breen Drive facility. At the time the worker was wearing a NOVA 2000 respirator/helmet, gloves and coveralls. The respirator was supplied air from an oil‐lubricated compressor located in a storage container at the back of the building.

Coworkers noticed that the sound of sandblasting stopped and then discovered the oil‐lubricated compressor was on fire. Several workers went to get fire extinguishers to put the fire out.

One worker in attempting to extinguish the fire entered the abrasive blast room to retrieve a water hose. There, this worker found the worker who had been performing the sandblasting unresponsive on the ground with a respirator/helmet still on but disconnected from the air supply line.

Emergency Medical Services responded and pronounced the worker deceased. It was later found that the immediate cause of death was carbon monoxide poisoning.

An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development revealed that at the time of the incident the oil‐lubricated compressed air line did not have an in‐line continuous carbon monoxide monitor with audible and visual alarms that activate at 5 ppm (parts per million). It was also noted that the RPB Nova 2000 respirator/helmet does not purify air or filter contaminants and that a carbon monoxide monitor must be used.

The Company therefore failed to ensure the compressed breathing air system was equipped with a continuous carbon monoxide monitor and properly calibrated, and so endangered the life of the worker.

Following a guilty plea in Provincial Offences Court, London, OJB Industries Inc. (the Company) was fined $120,000 by Justice of the Peace Kristine Diaz; Crown Counsel, Neil Dietrich.

The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

My opinion

The law(s) in contravention:

OJB Industries Inc., was found guilty of a contravention of Ontario regulation 833, section 10(5) which states,

If a respirator is supplied with breathing air from an air cylinder or a compressed breathing air system, the following requirements must be met:

1. The breathing air must meet the purity requirements set out in Table 1 of CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z180.1-13 (R2018), Compressed Breathing Air and Systems (2018).
2. If a compressed breathing air system uses a compressor with an operating pressure greater than 103.4 kPa to supply the breathing air, the breathing air must be tested at least once every six months to ensure that it meets the requirement set out in paragraph 1.
3. The air intake used in connection with a compressed breathing air system must,
4. for breathing air delivered by a compressor with an operating pressure greater than 103.4 kPa, be located in accordance with section 6 (Air intakes) and Annex A of CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z180.1-13 (R2018), Compressed Breathing Air and Systems (2018), and
5. for breathing air delivered by an ambient air system, be located in accordance with section 6 (Air intakes) and Annex B of CSA Standard CAN/CSA-Z180.1-13 (R2018), Compressed Breathing Air and Systems (2018),

This is contrary to section 25, subsection 1(c) of the Ontario Occupational Health and Safety Act which states,

“An employer shall ensure that,

(c) the measures and procedures prescribed are carried out in the workplace.”

It is terrible to see, in this day and age, a worker using defective equipment and dies on the job.

The need to ensure worker safety is the overriding priority and OJB Industries failed.

A hazard assessment, completed prior to the work being done, should have found the need to replace the air compressor with one that met the standard. I would suggest that a salesperson from the equipment would have known of the potential hazard and given them the appropriate equipment needed.

HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs including ‘Due Diligence’ and ‘Standard Operating Procedures’. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.

We can also be reached at 

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.