HAMILTON, ONT.—Hamilton steelmaker Arcelormittal Long Products Canada MP Inc. has been convicted under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for its role in a 2017 incident in which a worker was injured by falling wire coils.
The incident occurred at a worksite on Strathearne Avenue North in Hamilton and the conviction registered Nov. 29.
A Ministry of Labour report recounts that a worker was engaged in the handling and storage of oil-tempered wire coils at the workplace.
Coils are stored upright, leaning against a rotating block, until moved to the strapping area.
To prevent coils from tipping, falling or endangering a worker, the company required workers to lean the coils on a 10-degree angle but did not specify how the task was to be performed.
The worker was working as a line blocker, which involved connecting the coils to a hoist so that the coils could be moved to the strapping area.
The worker was said to be following established procedure in attempting to place a chain around a coil. The coil fell forward, knocked the worker to the floor and injured the worker.
At trial, a Hamilton Justice of the Peace in a provincial offences court accepted that the coil was not stored so it would not tip, collapse or fall, and it could not be removed without endangering the safety of the worker, violating section 45(b) of the Industrial Establishments Regulation, contrary to section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Following a guilty plea, the company was fined $75,000.
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