Algoma Steel оштрафована на 250 тысяч долларов за нарушение правил охраны труда, приведшее к гибели сотрудника

Algoma Steel pleads guilty to occupational health and safety offence Article content Algoma Steel has pleaded guilty to one regulatory offence under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act for not having warning signs regarding unauthorized entry. The steelmaker was fined $250,000, including the applicable victim fine surcharge, in the June 2023 death of a 21-year-old contract employee. Recommended Videos Damien Bryant, a 21-year-old contract employee at GFL Environmental Inc., was killed at Algoma Steel while servicing the coke oven gas main. He was ultimately asphyxiated after entering the gas main to clean it. He succumbed to his injuries at Sault Area Hospital. A GOFundMe campaign was launched shortly after his death. In an agreed statement of facts, the hearing heard that, at the time of the incident, Algoma operated a series of coke ovens, which has a by-product emit coke oven gas. “In order to recover heat and reduce emissions from coke oven gas, it is directed to and burned in reheat process furnaces. The inherent particulate and condensate in coke oven gas accumulates in the lines transporting the gas which may become plugged over time. As such on a periodic basis they must be cleaned or sections replaced,” the agreed statement of fact reads. “Some of the coke oven gas is transported through a 54-inch diameter pipeline. A 36-inch diameter pipeline branches from this mainline in an area known as the “east west corridor” which ultimately leads to a furnace in the Algoma “plate and strip” department. At the start of the 36-inch pipeline there is a valve identified as the C Valve. “The C Valve was removed to allow contracted workers to clean out the 36-inch diameter pipeline from the isolation point to the plate mill. The plant was on a shutdown between June 13 and 15, 2023. Algoma retained GFL to clean out this pipe on the basis of the company’s extensive expertise and experience in performing this type of specialized work. GFL had previously performed similar work for Algoma and other industrial customers,” the statement, provided to The Sault Star, reads. “Algoma purged the line with nitrogen for the purpose removing flammable gases as a part of a standard safety precaution which is implemented when performing this type of cleaning. As a result of the purging process, oxygen is removed from the pipe making it unsafe for human entry without numerous safety protocols being implemented. There is no question that entering the pipe is not required to perform the procedures for cleaning the pipe,” the hearing heard. GFL agreed to perform a part of the cleaning of the pipe for the C valve and meetings in accordance with Algoma’s pre-job safety procedures took place with GFL’s site supervisor. That meeting discussed the scope of the work, the hazards and the requirement that no worker enter the pipe. The GFL supervisor who attended those meetings assigned two workers to perform the cleaning and reviewed the risk assessment and toolbox before the work was begun but did not directly supervise the work. “The MOL investigation determined that Bryant was feeding a camera into the pipe to allow the workers for photographs as had done on earlier jobs. During this process, one worker noticed that the camera had not moved for some time and went to check on Bryant. Tragically, Bryant had crawled into the pipe and died due to a lack of oxygen,” the statement reads. The Ministry of Labour investigation revealed that both workers were experienced vacuum truck operators, had completed appropriate training and were well trained and experienced to flush coke oven gas. Bryant had cleaned the coke oven gas lines in the past. The supervisor told police that the workers knew they were not supposed to enter the pipe and couldn’t understand why Bryant had done so. Algoma Steel issued a statement following the proceedings in Ottawa on Tuesday. “Any loss of life at our workplace is a tragedy, and we continue to extend our sympathies to the worker’s family, friends and colleagues,” said Rajat Marwah, chief executive officer. “We recognize the responsibility Algoma has for workplace safety. We take that responsibility seriously, including when specialized work is performed by contractors, and we continue to strengthen our systems and practices to protect everyone working at our facilities.” The steelmaker said it “recognizes that the conclusion of the legal proceedings cannot change the tragic loss of life or its impact on the worker’s family, friends and colleagues. The Company remains committed to learning from serious incidents, continuously improving its contractor management, hazard identification and workplace safety processes, and applying those lessons across its operations.”