LATEST NEWS
February 27, 2007
Health and Safety
Cancer study wake-up call for industry
WSIB says it is focusing on occupational diseases
Responding to a study reported in yesterday’s edition of Daily Commercial News, the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) says it is focusing on linking prevention and occupational disease to combat the rising trend in work-related cancers.
The Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) raised concerns about the link between exposure to carcinogens and development of cancer in the construction trades.
Based on the study, OHCOW is calling on the industry to provide more disease prevention.
The WSIB says it takes a proactive approach to the threat of occupational disease. Fatality claims from occupational related diseases have been on an upward trend in the past 10 years, with 259 in 2005.
Aaron Wrixon, spokesperson with WSIB, says illness often does not occur until many years after work exposure.
“The WSIB considers occupational disease adjudication to be a high priority, and is developing a continuous improvement plan,” he says.
The plan is expected to focus on “enhancing timely and quality support” to workers and their families, and on strengthening WSIB accountability and results through efficient and effective processes, says Wrixon.
Working relationships with current industry organizations such as Council of Ontario Construction Associations (COCA) and the Construction Safety Association of Ontario (CSAO) will play a vital role in combating occupational disease.
“Those partnerships are of vital importance in keeping Ontario’s quarter-million construction workers safe from work-related injuries and occupational diseases,” says Wrixon.
The Ministry of Labour (MOL) has the power to reverse construction industry exemptions on Regulation 833, regarding control of exposure to biological and chemical agents.
"WSIB ... is developing a continuous improvement plan."
Aaron Wrixon
WSIB
However, the MOL disputes OHCOW’s call for occupational exposure limits (OEL), saying reliable samples from construction workplaces are negligible because construction workplaces are often in open air and transient in nature.
“Regulation 833 respecting control of exposure to biological and chemical agents does not apply to the construction sector,” says spokesperson Belinda Sutton. “The designated substance regulations also do not apply, with the exception of the regulation respecting asbestos on construction projects and in buildings and repair operations.”
Construction employers are required under Section 25(2) (h) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker.
The act also demands owners of the development to determine whether there are any designated substances present at the site.
| MOST POPULAR STORIES |
- Construction moving forward on Ho Chi Minh City tunnel
- Deaths of five immigrant workers changed jobsites forever
- Pride, sadness as Hogg's Hollow memorial unveiled
- St. Marys Cement plant workers go on strike in Bowmanville, Ontario
- ‘Sandhogs’ who perished had diverse personal stories
- 20 Most Popular Stories
| TODAY’S TOP CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS |
These projects have been selected from 371 projects with a total value of $1,380,346,147 that Reed Construction Data Building Reports reported on yesterday.
MINE, PROCESSING PLANT, TREATMENT BLDGS
$50,000,000 Cochrane Dist ON Prebid
CONDO APARTMENT BLDG, COMMERCIAL OFFICE, RETAIL
$50,000,000 Toronto ON Prebid
EDUCATION BUILDINGS, ADDN ALTS
$40,000,000 Toronto ON Prebid
| CURRENT STORIES |
- Canadian Construction Association awards highlight excellence
- Pride, sadness as Hogg's Hollow memorial unveiled
- Commemorative quilt gets permanent home
- ‘Sandhogs’ who perished had diverse personal stories
- Pursuit of LEED could result in professional negligence, insurance executive warns
- New Brunswick to cover debts of troubled Atcon Group
- Ex-Quebec minister says Liberals got ‘generous’ donations from construction sector
- Regulatory delays hinder start of Mackenzie Gas Project
- Las Vegas CityCenter general contractor Perini Building suing MGM Mirage
- Venues decommissioned in Olympic afterglow
- Canadian Construction Association chair bids farewell
- Wood being considered as preferred building material for federal projects
- Grizzly Oil Sands seeks approval for project near Fort McMurray
- Search continues for sustainable architecture
- Seven British Columbia communities sign Wood First agreements
- U.S. construction employment declines in January
- Ottawa unveils plan to cut red tape
| ALEX’S ECONOMICS BLOG |

Reed Construction Data Chief Economist Alex Carrick discusses current developments in the North American economic environment with emphasis on the construction industry.
- Sub-sector investment spending intentions from Statistics Canada’s latest survey (March 17, 2010)
- A dozen incredible measurement sets on Canada’s changing ethnic mix (March 9, 2010)
- How fragile is recovery around the world? (March 3, 2010)
- More







