Roofing manufacturer fined after worker critically injured by hot liquid limestone

BRAMPTON, ONT.—A Toronto-based manufacturer of roofing products has been convicted of a provincial offence and fined for its role in an incident last year in which a worker was critically injured by hot liquid limestone.

IKO Industries Ltd. was convicted in a Brampton, Ont. Court and fined $85,000 Nov. 14 after a worker at its Brampton plant was injured when the material, used to make asphalt roofing products, poured out of the hopper of a machine that was believed to be empty.

A Ministry of Labour report recounts that a plant superintendent was troubleshooting a problem with a roofing mill line at IKO’s facility on June 7 last year. The roofing mill line includes a series of pipes and hoppers that heats powdered limestone to approximately 400 degrees F, to be used to make asphalt roofing products.

After determining there was a problem with a filler dump valve, the equipment was shut down electronically using the computer system. It was then determined that the dump valve needed to be replaced. Two workers were instructed by their supervisor to remove and replace the dump valve.

As one worker was removing the flange joint that connected the exit hopper to the valve, the valve dropped open and hot limestone poured out of the hopper onto that worker, who sustained critical injuries.

At the time of the incident, it was incorrectly believed the hopper was empty, based on readings from the computer system. The court found no other steps were taken to determine if the hopper was drained or free of harmful material.

The ministry reports the Industrial Establishments Regulation requires that, where repairs or alterations are to be made on a pipeline such as the roofing mill line, the pipeline shall be drained and cleaned or otherwise rendered free from any explosive, flammable or harmful substance.

The court found that IKO failed, as an employer, to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by the regulation were carried out in the workplace, contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.