SARNIA, ON, April 3 /CNW/ - Suncor Energy Products Inc. was fined $200,000 after two chemical leaks at its Sarnia refinery in 2006. Suncor pleaded guilty in front of Justice of the Peace Robert Ponton in the Ontario Court of Justice, March 31, 2008.

Court heard that on July 27, 2006, at the Suncor refinery at 1900 River Rd., two workers were draining a piping system of petroleum and the corrosive hydrofluoric acid. Acid vapours drifted downwind 60 metres to where other
workers were occupied. Twenty-three were treated on-site and later at a local hospital for potential exposure to hydrofluoric acid.

On August 22, 2006, 11 workers were exposed to rich amine, a chemical containing hydrogen sulphide, that leaked through an uncompleted piping system. One worker was splashed in the face with the chemical and 10 others inhaled vapours. All were treated on-site.

Suncor pleaded guilty to failing as an employer on July 27, 2006, to take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker, contrary to section 25(2)(h) of the Occupational Health and Safety
Act. The company was fined $75,000.

Suncor also pleaded guilty to failing as an employer, on August 22, 2006, to ensure that, when the starting of a machine, transmission machinery, device or thing may endanger a worker, the control switches or other control
mechanism shall be locked out, as prescribed by section 76 of Ontario Regulation 851/90. This was contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The company was fined $125,000.

In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist
victims of crime.

HAMILTON, ON, April 3 /CNW/ - Stelco Inc. pleaded guilty and was fined $400,000 for three occupational health and safety violations in the Ontario Court of Justice, April 2, 2008.

Justice Norman Bennett heard that on June 17, 2005, two workers were injured when Stelco Inc. failed to ensure that a shear blade was moved in such a way, and with the necessary precautions, as to ensure the moving of the
blade did not endanger the safety of any worker. In failing to do so, Stelco did not comply with section 45(a) of Regulation 851/90 and with section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. On hearing Stelco's guilty
plea, the court imposed a fine of $160,000.

Court also heard that on November 11, 2005, a worker lost a leg below the knee after becoming pinned between equipment on a machine in the company's sinter plant. Stelco pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that adjustments,
repairs and maintenance were performed on the machine only when motion that may endanger a worker had been stopped, and that any part that had been stopped that may subsequently move and endanger a worker, had been blocked to prevent its movement. Stelco had failed to comply with section 75 of Regulation 851/90 and with section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. The court imposed a $180,000 fine.

Justice Bennett accepted a third guilty plea, hearing that on February 2, 2006, Stelco failed, as an employer, to ensure that a safety gate on a blast furnace at the company's Wilcox Street, Hamilton, location was fenced or
guarded as required by section 185(2) of Ontario Regulation 854/90, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. Court imposed a $60,000 fine

In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist
victims of crime.

OSHAWA, ON, April 15 /CNW/ - Goodyear Canada Inc. was fined $55,000 after pleading guilty April 11, 2008, in connection with an injury to a worker in 2006.

Madam Justice Katrina Mulligan heard in the Ontario Court of Justice that the injured employee was working at Goodyear's plant at 45 Raynes Ave., Bowmanville, on November 8, 2006, when the injury occurred.
The employee was working on a machine making conveyor belts. The worker had walked into the path of an electronic beam guard that stopped the machine's operation when broken. However, the electronic beam guard failed to prevent the machine from being restarted by an automatic start button. The worker pressed the button and the worker's arm was drawn into the machine at a pinch point and broken.

A Ministry of Labour investigation concluded that Goodyear failed, as an employer, to ensure that an in-running nip hazard or any part of a machine, device or thing that may endanger the safety of any worker was equipped with a guard or other device that prevented access to the pinch point. This was contrary to section 25 of Ontario Regulation 851/90 and to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.

April 8 - CONCORD, N.H. - The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has proposed a total of $119,500 in fines against Con-Way Freight Inc., an Ann Arbor, Mich.-based delivery carrier, for alleged willful, repeat and serious safety violations following an inspection at the company's Manchester, N.H., service center.

The inspection was prompted by an Oct. 3, 2007, accident in which a Con-Way Freight employee died when he was crushed beneath the forklift he was operating after it went off the edge of a loading dock. OSHA's inspection found that the employee had not been using the forklift's seatbelt, and the company had not trained him and other forklift operators to follow the manufacturer's guideline that seatbelts be used during operation.

"Manufacturer guidelines require the use of seatbelts, and OSHA's powered industrial truck standard mandates that employers train their forklift operators to follow those guidelines," said Francis Pagliuca, OSHA's acting area director for New Hampshire. "Con-Way Freight repeatedly has refused to require forklift operators to use seatbelts even though another employee died in a similar accident in Dallas in 2003. This practice must change, or employees nationwide continually will remain exposed to the dangers of fatal or disabling injuries."

For the lack of training, OSHA issued Con-Way Freight one willful citation, with the maximum proposed fine of $70,000. OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. The company also was issued one repeat citation, with a $35,000 fine, for allowing the forklift to be operated in a defective condition. OSHA cited the company's Bridgeview, Ill., facility for a similar hazard in May 2007.

In addition, OSHA issued three serious citations, with $14,500 in fines, for the lack of seatbelt use, not having the forklift maintain a safe distance from the edges of the loading dock, and not marking aisles and passageways for forklift use. OSHA defines a serious violation as a condition that exists where there is a substantial possibility that death or serious physical harm can result.

Detailed information about OSHA's powered industrial truck requirements is available online at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/poweredindustrialtrucks/index.html.

Con-Way Freight has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Concord Area Office (telephone 603-225-1629).

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

TORONTO, April 10 /CNW/ - A British Columbia-headquartered film production company pleaded guilty and was fined $250,000 on three counts under the Occupational Health and Safety Act today in connection with the death of one worker and serious injury of another on a Toronto film shoot in 2007. Justice of the Peace A. Napier heard that one employee of Jumper Productions Ltd. of 1040 West Georgia St., Vancouver, had been injured and
another killed while dismantling a filming location for the movie "Jumper" at 75 Commissioners Street, Toronto, on January 25, 2007. The court heard that granular sand and gravel materials covering the external stage set had been exposed to the winter elements and were frozen into a dense, rock-like state. On a sunny afternoon, four workers were sorting lumber debris when the frozen sand and gravel adhering to a wall broke away in large slabs and fell on top of two of the workers, burying one of them who subsequently died of injuries received. The other worker sustained serious injuries.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that there had been a thaw separation between the front face of the plywood wall and the wall of partially frozen granular materials attached to it. Vibrations of heavy equipment being operated nearby and the tearing action of an excavator on the corner of the wooden structure also contributed to the separation and collapse.

Neither workers nor supervisors on the project were wearing protective head gear, court heard.

Jumper Productions pleaded guilty to: Failing, as an employer, to ensure that granular material was not placed or left in a manner that would endanger a worker, as prescribed by section 113 of Ontario Regulation 213/91, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act; - Failing, as an employer, to ensure that precautions were taken to prevent injury to a person on or near a project that might result from the demolition, dismantling or moving of a structure, as prescribed by section 214(2) of Ontario Regulation 213/91, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act; - Failing, as an employer, to ensure that every worker wore protective head gear at all times while on a project, as prescribed by section 22 of Ontario Regulation 213/91, contrary to section 25(1)(d) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act. >>

In addition to the total $250,000 fine, the court imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge on the total, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to
assist victims of crime.

April 18 - BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Eleven contractors, chiefly from western and central New York, have been cited by the U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) for failing to protect their employees against fall hazards during the Walden Galleria Mall construction project in Cheektowaga, N.Y. The employers face combined penalties totaling $135,700.

"What's disturbing is the breadth and frequency of fall hazards observed throughout this jobsite, encompassing a wide variety of construction trades," said Arthur Dube, OSHA's area director in Buffalo. "This situation is unacceptable. Falls are the number one killer in construction work. It takes only one misstep, be it from a roof, scaffold, ladder or into a hole, to cause death or disabling injury."

OSHA's conducted an inspection in response to a complaint alleging fall hazards. The agency identified a variety of such hazards, including lack of fall protection for employees working at heights of 6 feet or greater; missing or inadequate guardrails; an uncovered storm drain; ladder deficiencies; a missing stairway, ramp or ladder; an employee tied off to the basket of a boom truck while standing on a roof; and lack of fall protection training and programs.

The largest fine, $78,500, was proposed against GVH Development Inc., the mall project's general contractor, for alleged willful, repeat and serious violations of fall and other safety standards. Also cited were the following subcontractors: CBO Glass [$16,000]; Guard Contracting Corp., demolition and carpentry [$12,000]; Alpha Masonry Construction Co. [$7,500]; E.B. Atlas Steel Corp.[$5,400]; Greater Electric Corp. [$4,500]; Single Ply Systems Inc., roofer [$3,600]; S. Federowicz Construction Inc., concrete flatwork [$2,500]; JC Construction, drywall [$2,250]; Edwards Excavating LLC, plumbing and excavation [$1,950]; and Gordon & Zoerb Electrical Contractors Inc. [$1,500].

Detailed information on fall protection, including an interactive eTool, is available on OSHA's Web site at http://www.osha.gov/SLTC/fallprotection/index.html. Each company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. The inspection was conducted by OSHA's Buffalo Area Office; telephone 716-551-3053.

OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known. Repeat citations are issued when an employer previously has been cited for similar hazards, and those citations have become final.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.

April 22 - TARRYTOWN, N.Y. -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has cited four Westchester County contractors for allegedly violating excavation safety standards during the ongoing construction of the new public library in Briarcliff Manor, N.Y. A total of $130,600 in fines is proposed.

The citations and fines stem from an OSHA inspection begun when an OSHA inspector who was driving by the worksite observed employees working in an apparently unprotected excavation and opened an inspection on the spot.

"The sizable fines proposed in this case reflect the fact that three of these four contractors knew cave-in protection must be in place before employees entered the excavation yet elected not to provide this vital safeguard," said Diana Cortez, OSHA's area director in Tarrytown.

Three of the employers - Fourmen Construction of Peekskill, N.Y., the project's general contractor; concrete subcontractor D&J Concrete Corp. of Millwood, N.Y.; and excavation subcontractor McNamee Construction Corp. of Lincolndale, N.Y. - were issued willful citations for failing to provide cave-in protection for their employees who were working in the unprotected 11- to 12-foot-deep excavation.

They, along with the fourth employer, plumbing subcontractor L.J. Coppola Inc. of Thornwood, N.Y., were issued serious citations for failing to remove rebar and other encumbrances from the excavation's entrance. Fourmen Construction also was issued a serious citation for not having a competent person inspect the jobsite for hazards.

"While no cave-in occurred, the potential for death or disabling injury was real and present, since an unguarded excavation can collapse in seconds, crushing and burying employees before they can react or escape," said Cortez. "If employers are thinking of foregoing cave-in protection for any reason, I want them to know that OSHA inspectors will stop and open an inspection immediately whenever they observe a cave-in hazard while passing by a jobsite."

OSHA defines a willful violation as one committed with plain indifference to or intentional disregard for employee safety and health. A serious citation is issued when death or serious physical harm is likely to result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known.

Detailed information on trenching and excavation safety, including an interactive e-Tool, is also available on OSHA's Web site at www.osha.gov/SLTC/constructiontrenching/index.html. Each company has 15 business days from receipt of its citations to contest them before the independent Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission. This inspection was conducted by OSHA's Tarrytown Area Office; telephone 914-524-7510.

Under the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, employers are responsible for providing a safe and healthy workplace for their employees. OSHA's role is to promote the safety and health of America's working men and women by setting and enforcing standards; providing training, outreach and education; establishing partnerships; and encouraging continual process improvement in workplace safety and health. For more information, visit www.osha.gov.