Parents ‘not surprised’ charge dismissed in oilfield death

SASKATOON The parents of a Wawota, Sask. man killed in an oilfield incident more than four years ago are “disappointed” by a provincial court judge’s decision to dismiss a workplace safety charge against his employer after his death.

“It’s a real disappointment … It was just such a letdown,” Dianne Bunz said.

Allan Bunz said: “I was disappointed but not surprised — just put it that way.”

Michael Bunz died on May 22, 2014, near Kipling, Sask. while collecting samples from a facility owned by Harvest Energy Corp. A valve failed, releasing a “deadly, uncontrolled, high-pressure stream” of hydrogen sulphide (H2S) gas, according to court documents.

The 38-year-old’s employer, Nalco Champion, was subsequently hit with three workplace safety charges. Two were withdrawn during the trial, and Estevan provincial court judge Lane Wiegers dismissed the last in a written decision handed down earlier this month.

While a respirator may have saved Bunz’s life, the H2S release “was not reasonably expected” and there “was no better practical means than was used by Nalco to prevent an H2S exposure beyond the contamination limit,” Wiegers concluded.

Bunz’s parents questioned why the valve failure was unanticipated and suggested more needs to be done to improve occupational health and safety laws.

“We remain deeply saddened by the loss of our colleague Michael Bunz, and our thoughts continue to be with his family, friends and close coworkers,” Ecolab spokesman Roman Blahoski said in an email.

Blahoski said the company had no further comment.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said the Crown is considering whether to appeal the decision.

Bunz was collecting liquid samples from the facility — a task he had performed thousands of times previously — which would be used to determine if the pipes carrying crude oil were corroded.

While using a crescent wrench to remove a pressure gauge, Bunz “unwittingly” removed the retainer ring keeping a ball valve in place, leaving only a wax film between himself and the contents of the pipe, the decision states.

The documents state Bunz detected a small leak and attempted to repair it by shutting off the pipe. At that point the ball from the valve was “ejected,” along with a deadly stream of toxic liquid and gas.

Bunz, who was not wearing a respirator and didn’t have one with him, “was quickly overwhelmed,” Wiegers wrote in his decision.

Nalco Champion was charged under the province’s workplace safety laws with failing to take all practicable steps to prevent workers being exposed to hazardous chemical or biological substances “to an extent that it is likely to be harmful.”

In his 29-page decision, Wiegers considered oilfield safety practices and the safety policies of both Nalco Champion and Harvest Energy, particularly with respect to their policies on respirators.

Nalco submitted that neither it nor most of its clients required employees to wear respirators. Wiegers wrote that the company now requires all of its workers to wear the devices when drawing liquid samples.

The judge concluded it’s impossible to know whether Bunz would have survived had he been wearing a respirator with a 30-minute supply of oxygen. His foot was stuck between a “header apparatus” and an interior wall when he died.

At the same time, the judge wrote, it is “reasonable” to infer Bunz would have done everything in his power to leave the building after the valve failed, and a respirator would have kept him from being overwhelmed by the toxic gas for up to 30 minutes.

Ultimately, however, Wiegers concluded the fatal H2S exposure was “highly unlikely,” and dismissed the charge.