Excerpt from the Government of Ontario’s ‘Newsroom’
Bruce Power Inc., a nuclear power generation plant, was fined $80,000 on January 14, 2011, for violating the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) after a worker was injured.
On October 9, 2008, the vault area of the company’s Tiverton plant was under construction. A crew from a company called Black and McDonald was working on this construction project. While Black and McDonald workers were doing repairs, a Bruce Power electrician was on an overhead catwalk doing routine maintenance on a crane. The electrician dropped the crane’s electrical panel, which fell over six metres to hit a Black and McDonald worker on the head. The Black and McDonald worker sustained minor head injuries.
A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the area under the overhead catwalk did not have signs posted to warn workers of the dangers overhead.
Bruce Power Inc. pleaded guilty to failing, as a constructor, to ensure that the work area was protected by signs to warn workers of the overhead danger.
The fine was imposed by Justice of the Peace Robert Gay. In addition to the fine, the court 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:
Bruce Power Inc. was found guilty of a contravention of section 44 (1) of the Ontario ‘Construction’ regulation 213/91 which states,
“Signs meeting the requirements of subsection (2) shall be posted in prominent locations and in sufficient numbers to warn workers of a hazard on a project.”
Any construction project MUST adhere to the Ontario regulation 213/91. It is incumbent on the employer, as well as the contractor, to read all the pertinent information and place the safety of the worker at the top of the priority list.
Here we find that Bruce Power Inc. did not know their responsibilities and paid for it. Now I realize that this was not a real severe injury but Bruce Power Inc. needs to be aware of any of the contractors on their site and ensure that they understand all rights and responsibilities so that all the people are protected.
Accidents do happen but they can be minimized by research and pro-active safety practices.
Remember — In Ontario, “ALL Accidents are Preventable”
HRS Group Inc. has a great team that can help you with all your health and safety needs including ‘Electrical Safety Awareness’, ‘Construction Safety Awareness’ and ‘Lockout and Tagout’. Contact Deborah toll free at 1-877-907-7744 or locally at 705-749-1259.
‘Work’ and ‘Play’ safe.
CHSEP – Foundation Level
Daniel L. Beal
VP & Senior Trainer
HRS Group Inc
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