U.S. Steel Canada fined $75,000 for 2013 accident
Worker knocked unconscious after being pinned by hydraulic arm
U.S. Steel Canada has been fined $75,000 for injuries a worker suffered in 2013.
The worker was knocked unconscious and suffered fractures and burns in the incident on July 5 of that year at the Wilcox Street plant’s coke ovens.
In a hearing before justice of the peace Jerry Woloschuk in Hamilton court Tuesday, the company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure safety for its workers.
In a summary of the incident, the Ministry of Labour described how coke is produced by feeding coal into the ovens so impurities can be burned off in an airless environment.
At the former Stelco plant, the coke ovens are filled with coal from above by a piece of equipment known as a charge car, which usually connects to the oven automatically by extending a hydraulic arm.
In this incident, the ministry said, the charge car operators saw that an arm had failed to make proper contact and asked another worker to manually pin it down.
“That worker went to the side of the car to pin the valve; at the same time, the operator pulled the ram back,” the ministry said. “The in- jured worker was caught and pinned by the hydraulic ram when it was drawn back.”
The ministry’s investigation concluded that the situation violated regulations requiring enough clearance for workers to get out of the path of moving machine parts.
In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
In an email exchange, company spokesperson Trevor Harris said the problems that led to the accident have been fixed.
“Since the time of this incident, we have co-operated with the investigation by the Ministry of Labour and taken appropriate steps to prevent future incidents of this nature, including the installation of new safety equipment to ensure our employees remain safe at all times,” he wrote.
“We accept the outcome from today’s court proceedings. Our focus has always been, and will continue to be, on ensuring that each and every one of our employees returns home safely after each and every shift.”