Latest news with #workplacesafety
CBC
2 days ago
- CBC
N.L. Hydro faces several OHS charges after 2023 Holyrood station death
Newfoundland and Labrador Hydro and one of its supervisors are facing a total of 10 occupational health and safety charges nearly two years after an employee died in an accident at the Holyrood Thermal Generating Station. The Crown corporation has been charged with nine OHS violations connected to the 2023 death, including failure to provide and maintain a workplace and the necessary equipment, systems and tools to ensure worker safety. A supervisor is additionally charged with failure to ensure the health, safety and welfare of all workers under their supervision, according to a release sent by the provincial government Monday. In a statement posted to its website, N.L. Hydro said it fully co-operated with the Department of Government Modernization and Service Delivery's investigation. "The safety of our employees and contractors remains Hydro's highest priority," the statement said. N.L. Hydro will appear in provincial court on Aug. 21.
Yahoo
6 days ago
- Yahoo
Alberta company fined after worker dies of carbon monoxide poisoning
An Alberta company has been fined $330,000 in the death of a worker who succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning on the job two years ago. NC Equipment Ltd. — a heavy equipment rental company and dealership based in Nisku, Alta., — has been convicted of a single contravention under Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Code in the 2023 death of its employee. The company pleaded guilty to a safety violation for failing to ensure that the equipment used by the man would perform its intended function safely. According to court documents, Jeffery Simmons died on Feb. 22, 2023, in or near Edmonton, while conducting sandblasting work for the company. Investigators determined that he was using an air respirator equipped with a supplied air system when he was exposed to carbon monoxide. A co-worker found him unresponsive on site. He was taken to hospital in critical, life-threatening condition but later died. The risks of carbon monoxide poisoning are well known. Exposure to the colourless, odourless gas in excessive levels can prove toxic, resulting in arrhythmia, seizures or death. According to the court documents, Simmons had been using a sandblasting system which included a portable air compressor, a Radex airline filter, a Nova blasting safety respirator, and a Mod-U-Blast sandblasting machine. NC Equipment Ltd. was convicted July 14 and ordered to pay a total of $330,000, inclusive of a victim surcharge. The company had been charged with a total of 22 counts, but all other charges were dropped. According to the company's website, the family-run operation rents and sells heavy equipment. When reached by phone Thursday, company officials declined to comment.
CBC
6 days ago
- CBC
Alberta company fined after worker dies of carbon monoxide poisoning
An Alberta company has been fined $330,000 in the death of a worker who succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning on the job two years ago. NC Equipment Ltd. — a heavy equipment rental company and dealership based in Nisku, Alta., — has been convicted of a single contravention under Alberta's Occupational Health and Safety Code in the 2023 death of its employee. The company pleaded guilty to a safety violation for failing to ensure that the equipment used by the man would perform its intended function safely. According to court documents, Jeffery Simmons died on Feb. 22, 2023, in or near Edmonton, while conducting sandblasting work for the company. Investigators determined that he was using an air respirator equipped with a supplied air system when he was exposed to carbon monoxide. A co-worker found him unresponsive on site. He was taken to hospital in critical, life-threatening condition but later died. The risks of carbon monoxide poisoning are well known. Exposure to the colourless, odourless gas in excessive levels can prove toxic, resulting in arrhythmia, seizures or death. According to the court documents, Simmons had been using a sandblasting system which included a portable air compressor, a Radex airline filter, a Nova blasting safety respirator, and a Mod-U-Blast sandblasting machine. NC Equipment Ltd. was convicted July 14 and ordered to pay a total of $330,000, inclusive of a victim surcharge. The company had been charged with a total of 22 counts, but all other charges were dropped. According to the company's website, the family-run operation rents and sells heavy equipment.
The Independent
6 days ago
- Climate
- The Independent
Moves to help bus drivers during heatwave
A leading trade union is taking action aimed at helping bus drivers stop work if the weather becomes unbearably hot. Unite has issued its bus driver members with a letter to show to management when conditions become too hot in drivers' cabs, informing them that the driver is stopping work for safety reasons. Overheating bus cabs have become an increasing problem for bus drivers as the UK's weather becomes more extreme, said the union, adding that many cabs are not air conditioned or have cooling systems that do not work. Drivers have reported temperatures exceeding 40C in some cabs, which Unite says resemble greenhouses. Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'Bus companies must stop passing the buck and take immediate action to ensure the safety of their drivers and passengers in extreme heat.' The letter says a driver has stopped work or will not work under section 44 of the Employment Rights Act 1996. Unite national officer for passenger transport Wayne King added: 'We believe the steps we have taken on this serious health and safety problem creates a safer environment for all concerned; drivers, passenger and members of the public.'
CTV News
6 days ago
- Business
- CTV News
$177K fine after flying rock from mine blast in northern Ont. breaks car windshield, injures passenger
The incident took place in May 2021 at the Magino Gold Project site, a gold mine on Goudreau Road in the Finan Unorganized Township in the District of Algoma. Alamos Gold Inc. and some contractors have been fined a combined $177,500 in connection with a stray piece of rock from a blast that hit a passing vehicle, injuring a passenger. The incident took place in May 2021 at the Magino Gold Project site, a gold mine on Goudreau Road in the Finan Unorganized Township in the District of Algoma. Argonaut Gold's Magino Project in northern Ontario Argonaut Gold's Magino Project in northern Ontario. (Supplied) At the time, the mine was owned by Prodigy Gold, a subsidiary of Argonaut Gold, which amalgamated with Alomos in January of this year. 'At the time, Prodigy Gold was redeveloping the Magino Mine using open pit mining methods to extract leftover gold deposits,' the Ministry of Environment, Conservation and Parks said in a news release. Road wasn't guarded Sigfusson Northern Ltd., a subcontractor, hired a company, Fraser Drill Blast, which detonated a blast May 14, 2021. 'At the time of the blast, a portion of Goudreau Road was not guarded,' the release said. 'As a result of the blast, a piece of fly rock struck a vehicle travelling on the road. The fly rock broke through the windshield of the vehicle and struck the passenger, resulting in a left forearm fracture.' An investigation revealed that the blast location had not been properly plotted. Alamos was fined $67,500, plus a victim surcharge of $16,875. Fraser Drill Blast Management was fined $50,000 plus a victim surcharge of $12,500. Sigfusson Northern Ltd. was fined $60,000, plus a victim surcharge of $15,000. Read the full release here.
