A refinery has been fined more than $182,000 by WorkSafeBC after an incident that saw an employee’s clothing sprayed with hot oil. On Wednesday, April 8, WorkSafeBC put out a media release regarding the incident and a corresponding penalty of $182,282.38 levied against the refinery on Tuesday, Feb. 24, 2026. A summary posted on the agency’s website stated that a blockage in a heavy fuel oil line was being cleared when an uncontrolled flow sprayed hot oil onto a worker’s clothes. “WorkSafeBC’s investigation determined the firm’s safe work procedures for the method used to clear the blockage had not been followed. No hazard assessment had been completed, no hot work permit had been issued, no standby person with emergency equipment had been in place, and workers had not worn the required personal protective equipment. The firm failed to ensure hazards were effectively controlled before allowing work to be done on machinery shut down for maintenance.” The incident was assessed by WorkSafeBC as high-risk, which can allow the agency to assess a larger financial penalty.
There was an internal blockage inside a heavy fuel take leading from a tank to a loading rack. The typical process to tackle these kinds of blockages, facility staff told the investigator, is to attach a steam hose to a drain point and then use pressurized steam to push the blockage to the next drain point. In this case, staff determined that this wasn’t working and instead created an improvised drain point by “cracking open” a pipe flange further downstream. Then the workers alternated between applying steam pressure and scraping gunk from the flange with a screwdriver. Once enough of the gunk was cleared, the product began to flow through the flange opening, resulting in 125°C (257°F) oil spraying out and covering equipment up to six feet away. The worker had hot oil sprayed onto their clothes and boots as they attempted to stop the flow of the liquid. When the inspector visited the facility, they determined that a field-level hazard assessment procedure for clearing blockages had been created at one point, but that the relevant card containing safety information could not be located.
While a document had been written outlining how staff perform the flange-breaking procedure, it hadn’t been updated since 2009, when Husky Energy still owned the facility. The inspector ultimately determined that employees involved in the incident were not appropriately supervised, that permitting and procedures had not been properly reviewed, and that the refinery’s own investigation into the incident was deficient.
The refinery was ordered to write a report detailing how it would address these issues going forward by Jan. 30, 2026. Based on the findings, the inspector said there were grounds to impose a penalty on the company.