Wood Dust Clean Up Orders Expanded
Thursday, July 5, 2012 @ 4:54 PM
Prince George, B.C. – WorkSafe BC has expanded its Combustible Dust strategy to wood and paper product facilities. This is an expansion of the orders which were initially given to just sawmill operators in the Province, in the wake of the Lakeland Mill and Babine Forest Products explosions and fire which claimed the lives of four workers and injured dozens more.
Until the end of this year, WorkSafeBC officers will be inspecting up to 280 B.C. employers registered in the wood and paper products subsectors. Inspections will focus on dust cleanup, ventilation, and dust control issues.
“Wood processing and paper product operations have been selected because of their high risk of combustible dust explosion due to large amounts of dust produced or handled in these facilities,” says Betty Pirs, Vice-President, Prevention Services. “Like all WorkSafeBC inspections, orders will be issued to employers based on violations observed during the inspections.”
WorkSafeBC aims to complete the first round of inspections by late August, and will be following up with employers to ensure they are in compliance with the Workers Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation in regard to combustible dust and potential safety hazards.
Phase two inspections will also include sawmill facilities already inspected as part of Phase I, that are continuing to face challenges in maintaining compliance.
Comments
Tolko executive Bob Fleet said the first round of inspections served as a report card to the industry under the new WorkSafeBC rules, which stipulated one-eighth inch of dust covering five per cent of a millâs area is a combustible hazard. – courtesy of The Citizen.
Lmao! This is going to be impossible to implement! Even the clean mills like Dunkley can’t handle those rules.
The dust problem and these new regs are a new challenge for industry;
How to reduce and control extra fine dust.
It is difficult, if not impossible, with the technology and methods our wood industries are used to working with, but it is not impossible, it is achievable.
Achievable costs money.
It may be that we are on the verge of cleaner workplaces, at least in the wood products industries.
metalman.
Explosion proof equipment, the oil and industry does it. But it might cost a little money.
We should be pretty close to finish cutting that crappy beetle kill pine. I think being deligent and implementing this cleaning will solve the problem.
Those pulp mills in this city are sure smelling up this city badly tonight…..they make it smell like rotten cabbage….again I ask myself why did I move here….I will be asking for a transfer that is for sure…the pulp mills really wreck this city!!!!
Goodbye Sunny. Those pulpmills employ a lot of people in this city.
Goodbye Sunny. Those pulpmills employ a lot of people in this city.
Hey Sunny; don’t let the door hit you on the way out. The pulpmills, sawmills and related industry have been good to this town.
metalman.
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