September 20, 2012

Quebec firm fined by Ontario court over safety violation

The Ontario Ministry of Labour recently announced that Succession Forage George Downing Ltee./George Downing Estate Drilling Ltd. of Quebec was fined $75,000 in connection with a workplace injury last year near Sudbury.

In January, 2011, some workers were drilling at the Shakespeare Nickel Mine, about 70 kilometres west of Sudbury.

"One of the workers was operating the controls of a drill when part of the worker's clothes got caught in the drill's rotating rod," according to a labour ministry press release. "The worker was pulled into the rotating rod and severely injured. A Ministry of Labour investigation found that while there was a guard in place on the drill it did not entirely prevent access to the drill's moving parts."

The firm pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that the rotating rod of the drill was properly guarded and was sentenced Sept. 11.

The relevant section of the Occupational Health and Safety Act is Ontario Regulation 854, Section 185(2), which states: "A machine that has an exposed moving part that may endanger the safety of any person shall be fenced or guarded unless its position, construction or attachment provides equivalent protection."

DCN DIGITAL MEDIA

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