A violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act is costing Abitibi-Consolidated $125,000. An incident that to…
A violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Act is costing Abitibi-Consolidated $125,000. An incident that took place on July 7th 2003 culminated in the serious burning of a worker, and the company has pleaded guilty for not taking all the reasonable precautions that could have prevented the accident.
The worker in question was cutting an energized, 12,000-volt power cable using a propane torch when an electrical explosion occurred. The worker received burns to the arms, face and neck and has yet to return to work. At the time of the incident, Abitibi was replacing turbines and generators at its Iroquois Falls Powerhouse. Three outside companies were involved in the work, and the injured worker was employed by one of them, a salvaging firm, which was contracted to cut and remove the cables. The incident took place at Bay No. 4 in the powerhouse in Iroquois Falls.
In addition to the $125,000, the company was slapped with a 25% victim fine surcharge, as set out by the Provincial Offences Act, the money from which is used to assist victims of crime.
Print this page
