British Columbia shipbuilder fined $710,000 for CO poisoning of worker

A major employer in the maritime industry in British Columbia has been fined $710,488.79 by WorkSafeBC after a worker in Victoria suffered carbon monoxide poisoning.

The incident occurred in July 2023 at the Seaspan-operated Victoria Shipyards on Admirals Road, according to the Occupational Safety and Health Administration.

An online summary published by WorkSafe said the worker was performing arc welding – described online as a welding technique that involves melting and cutting metal using high levels of electricity – in an enclosed space on a ship.

An inspection found “multiple deficiencies” in Seaspan’s confined space entry program involving hazard assessment, atmospheric testing, worker wellness monitoring and protective equipment.

“These were all high-risk breaches,” WorkSafe concluded in its summary.

Summary and partially redacted inspection reports provided to CBC News do not indicate the severity of the worker’s injuries.

BC Emergency Health Services said paramedics responded to a carbon monoxide incident on the same day and at the same location, providing emergency care and transporting one patient to hospital.

The sentence was set in February and published online at the end of March.

WorkSafe’s statutory maximum penalty for 2024 is $783,068.26. It explains that penalties are typically based on the amount of an employer’s payroll and the nature of the violation.

Alarm sounds for 40 minutes: Report

According to a WorkSafe report on a follow-up inspection in August 2023, the employer stated that a gas alarm went off two minutes after the worker entered the vessel’s confined space on July 12, 2023.

The worker continued working for 40 minutes before “leaving” the room. The report states that any alarm should have resulted in an evacuation of the work area.

It states that Seaspan assessed the atmospheric hazard of the work area as “moderate,” although it should have been classified as “high.”

“A high-risk atmosphere would have required, among other things, the deployment of a standby person to continuously monitor the room,” the report states.

The assigned on-call person was supposed to monitor the pre-entry testing and guard the room. No records of the testing were found, according to the report.

The on-call person was also expected to check on the worker’s well-being every 10 minutes and was absent from the entrance to the work area for at least 40 minutes.

Communication between the worker and the on-call person was supposed to be via radio, verbally and visually, but was not used.

“The employer stated that the on-call worker had not received any training for the work she performed,” the report said.

The report also found that the employer had not “obtained” the carbon monoxide monitor from the previous month’s incident, nor was able to retrieve a log of the data.

“Therefore, there is no indication of what the CO levels were during the 40 minutes the worker was working in the room and the alarm sounded,” the report said.

During the work, the report said, the worker should have worn a respirator with a compressed air hose and filter box, but the equipment did not work.

Instead, the worker wore a respirator with a filter that “could not effectively filter carbon monoxide.”

Seaspan: Safety improvements implemented

The Inspector issued a number of orders relating to the occupational health and safety provisions of the Workers’ Compensation Insurance Act.

Several jobs were closed due to work stoppages, but further measures were ordered in relation to atmospheric testing and risk assessments. Retraining in protective equipment was reported to have taken place.

In a follow-up report from March 2024, it was noted that all of the auditor’s assignments and items had been completed.

Tony Winter, vice president of Seaspan’s Victoria Shipyards, said in an emailed statement that the company is committed to the safety of its employees, contractors and visitors at all of its facilities.

“Following the incident at Seaspan Victoria Shipyards last July, we took a number of actions to evaluate and improve our processes and safety culture,” said Winters.

“We continually review our safety programs and take responsibility for creating a culture of safety throughout our organization.”

Boilermakers 191, a union listed in WorkSafe’s August report, declined to comment when contacted by CBC on Monday.