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Human and machine error led to fatality at Domtar Kamloops pulp mill: WorkSafeBC

December 18, 2018 – Human error and a manufacturing defect led to a fatal incident at Domtar’s Kamloops pulp mill last summer, says a new report by WorkSafeBC, British Columbia’s workers’ compensation board. 

The incident occured on June 29, 2017, resulting in a crane operator’s death and another worker’s serious injury. Unifor, the union representing workers at the mill, identified the deceased last summer as Jim McLeod, 57. 

Pulp & Paper Canada does not yet have access to the report, but James Peters, reporter at Kamloops local news source CFJC Today, writes that the workers were situated on a crane chassis trying to put away a jib, which is a large piece of equipment for the crane’s boom. The jib fell and hit both workers, causing them to fall two metres to the ground below. 

WorkSafeBC says that a mechanical stop had not been deployed by the workers, and that the manufacturer’s manual failed to identify the importance of the mechanical stop. 

Read the full story here.