Four (4) workers were injured at a worksite on April 30, 2024, while offloading flammable solvents from a vacuum truck into a storage tanker. At the same time, other workers positioned a hydrovac truck in an adjacent bay to offload a wastewater-and-slurry mixture. During this process, flammable vapors were released and drawn into the idling hydrovac truck’s air intake. This created an ignition source, causing a flash fire between the trucks and injuring the four workers.
The company pleaded guilty to failing, as an employer, to ensure that a process likely to produce flammable vapors capable of forming an explosive mixture with air was carried out in a manner that prevented exposure to ignition sources, as required by section 63(c) of Ontario Regulation 851 and contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offenses Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
Source: https://www.ohscanada.com/briefs/waste-management-company-fined-130000-after-workers-injured/