CSST report critical of L’Épiphanie site where workers died
Ground gave way during fatal quarry accident
On Thursday, Quebec’s workplace health and safety board, the CSST, announced the findings of an investigation done after a fatal accident at a quarry operated by Maskimo Construction.
On Jan. 29, 2013, Benoît Robert was operating a hydraulic shovel while excavating around the lip of the huge quarry in L’Épiphanie.
Robert was dumping loads of dirt, mud and stone into two trucks driven by Daniel Brisebois and MarieClaude Laporte when the ground beneath all three heavy vehicles began to give way. Robert managed to ride his shovel down the landslide and escape the cab of his excavator once he reached the bottom of the quarry.
He was airlifted out of the pit by a Sûrété du Québec helicopter.
Rescue efforts for the two missing drivers were hampered by the tons of unstable mud and rock that lay at the bottom of the 90-metre crater and partially buried the two trucks.
It was deemed too dangerous to send rescuers down onto the piles of muck.
The bodies of Brisebois and Laporte were located five days later in a recovery effort hampered by high winds that prevented the use of a crane, and freezing temperatures.
The CSST report singles out lapses in planning and supervision of the work site and in particular, the fact that excavation work was being carried out in an area where the stability of the ground was not known.
The CSST report states that Maskimo Construction and Les Excavations G. Allard “acted in a manner that compromised the safety and security of the workers” and will levy a fine on both companies.
The fine amounts will be between $15,698 and $62,790 for a first offence and between $31,395 and $156,976 for a second offence.
The CSST used the results of this investigation to remind companies doing excavation work to put in place safety measures and test the ground for stability.