Inquest into death hears of tight workspace, faulty equipment
Norfolk County man was electrocuted at Flamborough quarry
A Ministry of Labour inspector says there were problems with the cramped work space and faulty equipment Joshua Farrell was dealing with before being electrocuted and killed while welding at a Flamborough limestone plant.
Rick Shulist, the inspector who investigated the workplace fatality, was testifying on Tuesday at the inquest into the death of the Norfolk County man.
Farrell, 29, was working at the Carmeuse Ltd. limestone plant on the Lafarge Aggregates quarry lands on Highway 5, near Ofield Road South, on June 25, 2014.
The father of two worked for Simcoe company Rassaun Steel, which was contracted at Carmeuse to reinforce huge metal bins used at its limestone “pulverizer” plant.
Farrell was fusing metal plates to the outside bottom of a bin while squeezed between the bin and a large duct.
Farrell would have had to step down into the space, and his feet would have been resting on a high beam beside the bin, Shulist said.
A co-worker later found him slumped and unresponsive over the duct with an electrode rod used for welding protruding from his neck.
“There was 26 inches of depth from his back to the welding surface” in the work space, Shulist said.
A pathologist has already testified Farrell was six-foot-one and 220 lb, and very muscular.
Shulist added, “He was down in there, out of ventilation … it was a very hot location. One of the kilns was still working and this area was above the kiln.”
He said it was also dust covered and the lighting was very poor.
Shulist, a licensed electrician for 22 years before joining the ministry, said one could tell the welding was difficult because “normally, a welding feed is a consistent line. Here you can see globules of welding … it’s an area where the electrode (welding rod) probably got stuck and you’d have to pull it out of the metal.”
Farrell’s equipment consisted of a welding machine, a cable carrying electricity to the electrode, and a part into which the electrode soldering rods attaches to receive the current.
Shulist pointed out electrical problems with the welding machine, and said the 20-metre length of the cable was too long and that the distance of the ground clamps were too far from Farrell — all presenting problems.
Farrell was also surrounded by conductors of electricity — the metal bins, the scaffolding, and the foil covering the duct, he said.
“Everything he was sitting on was a return path (for the current),” Shulist said. “In such situations, the worker can become part of that path, leading to electrocution. Because of the tight quarters, he became part of a path.”
Farrell was also wet from sweat from the working conditions.
It being a very hot day, Shulist said, “We sweat out sodium, which is a conductor (of electricity).”
Shulist’s testimony sparked objections from Cheryl Edwards, the lawyer representing Rassaun at the inquest.
She said everything in Shulist’s testimony was not in his investigation report, and that he wrongfully appeared to be giving expert testimony.
This prompted coroner Dr. James Kovacs to remind the inquest jury that the purpose of an inquest is not to find fault but to find out how a death happened and to recommend how a similar death might be prevented in future.
Kovacs also said that while not legally qualified as an expert, Shulist is a labour ministry investigator and as such, is expected to have “a certain level of knowledge.”
He said Shulist’s testimony is relevant and admissible.