Hydro One Fined $175,000 for Worker Death
The Ontario Ministry of Labour reported this week that Hydro One Networks Inc. has been fined $175,000, as a result of an accident last year that caused the death of a Thunder Bay worker at a Red Lake transformer station.
The incident occurred last September 30, when a crew was working on an addition to the Red Lake facility, and an arc flash from nearby live electrical equipment set a worker on fire. The worker was in a non-insulated lift above the ground, and the resultant arc set his clothes and his upper body on fire. Other crew members tried to lower the lift to get to the worker, but they were unable to activate the manual backup controls. The worker then came out of the lift basket, and was suspended in the air by fall-arrest equipment until he fell about five metres when the equipment burned off.
Hydro One pleaded guilty Friday under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for failing to ensure that electrical work performed on or near electrical transmission or distribution systems was performed in accordance with Rule 112 of the Electrical Utility Safety Rules. The rule requires that employers establish written procedures for rescue operations, and also requires workers to learn and practice the rescue procedures.
In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25% victim surcharge, which is credited to a provincial government fund to assist victims of crime. That’s a grand total of $218,750, and a lost work. Ask yourself how much your company is willing to risk, if you don’t prepare yourselves for everything.
Tags: Occupational Health and Safety Act, Ontario Ministry of Labour, Worker Safety
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