Except from the OH&S Canada magazine
There are 61 charges laid against the ‘Metron Construction Company’ of Toronto and ‘Swing N Scaff’ of Ottawa. Five men fell, approximately 13 stories when the scaffold they were using to repair balconies snapped in half. One of the workers lived through the accident and had his legs crushed and his spine broken.
The final report from the Sunrise propane explosion, in August 2008, has been published. The T.S.S.A., (Technical Standards and Safety Authority) reported illegal truck-to-truck transfers at Sunrise as early as 2006 BUT issued warnings only. Where was the tough stand needed! A couple of deaths, including a fire fighter, were the catalyst to drive even greater safety measures in Ontario.
My problem stems from the fact that there were other explosions, including the very large one on November 09, 2004 at the Caledon Propane and Storage facility on Port Darlington Road, Bowmanville which was one of the largest blasts to occur since the propane explosion during 1961 in Maple Ontario. Since zero deaths occurred at the Bowmanville facility then there seemed to be no immediate need for any corrective action which, may of course, saved the lives of those lost at Sunrise. At the time, the Clarington municipal government was considering relocating the depot. This same position was discussed in the wards and local ratepayers associations around the Sunrise compound.
As a Training Director for a Peterborough, Ontario-based company, HRS Group Inc., I have access to information concerning health and safety from all parts of Canada. As a member of the C.S.S.E. (Canadian Society of Safety Engineering) we are constantly inundated with the many accidents in the workplace all across Canada, any subsequent fines or jail time, and any possible corrective action applied to ensure the accident(s) do not have a recurrence.