Hamilton steel maker fined for two workplace incidents
Published January 17, 2020 at 8:42 pm
Dofasco has been fined $290,000 after three workers were injured in two separate workplace incidents in 2018.
Dofasco has been fined $290,000 after three workers were injured in two separate workplace incidents in 2018.
On Thursday (Jan, 16), ArcelorMittal Dofasco MP Inc. pleaded guilty to several provincial offences and was fined in a Hamilton court.
In two separate incidents, a court bulletin issued Friday says, two workers were exposed to carbon monoxide, and another was critically injured after their hand was drawn into the pinch point of a machine.
The first incident occurred on May 23, 2018, when two workers were cleaning a platform outside of a blast furnace when its valves malfunctioned, causing the gases and dust contained in the furnace to erupt and engulf the workers.
Videos
Both were treated onsite for carbon monoxide exposure and were later sent to hospital for further treatment.
The court found that “ArcelorMittal failed as an employer to comply with section 4 of Regulation 833/90 which states that ‘every employer shall take the measures required by that section to limit the exposure of workers to a hazardous biological or chemical agent,’” the bulletin reads.
The second incident in question happened December 6, 2018, as a worker was working on the coil prep line.
The worker used a control switch with one hand while trying to guide the steel between the two rollers with the other hand. The worker accidentally moved the switch in reverse which resulted in the worker coming into contact with the pinch point of the rollers. The worker suffered critical injuries.
Subsequent investigation found that the safety measures in place on the machine were inadequate.
Ultimately, the court found that in both incidents, ArcelorMittal failed to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by the regulations. This is contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act, the bulletin says.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco MP Inc. was fined $170,000 for the May incident and $120,000 for the December incident, and 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.
Main photo courtesy Doug Kerr via Flickr.
insauga's Editorial Standards and Policies advertising