Site C dam's main builder fined almost $1M for 'high risk' worker safety violations

The main contractor building the massive Site C Clean Energy Projectnear Fort St. John, B.C., has been fined almost $1 million for safety violations deemed "high risk" by WorkSafeBC.

The violations includea worker shocked with 1,000 volts of electricity, and the possible exposure of workers to dangerous silica dust.

WorkSafeBC levied just over $972,000 in two penalties against Peace River Hydro Partners Construction Ltd(PRHP).

The agency said theincidents had "a high risk of serious injury, illness or death."

In the first incident, in 2018, WorkSafeBC found "high levelsof crystalline silica", a potential carcinogen that can cause serious and irreversible lung disease, in material that workers had excavated, blasted and crushed.

According to WorkSafeBC, workerswere provided with respirators that "provided insufficient protection for the level of exposure."

The agency's investigation determined PRHP hadn't kept plans for silica exposure, control, testing, and dust suppressionup to date.

In the second case, in 2019, a worker was shocked with 1,000 volts of electricity from a circuit breaker in a high-voltage electrical cabinet on tunnelling equipment.

These repeated, high-risk violations resulted in the ... maximum penalty being imposed.- WorkSafeBC

WorkSafeBC'sinspection determined the cabinet's doorwasmalfunctioning and had been rendered ineffective by cable ties. Isolation covers were also missing from the main circuit breaker switch box.

WorkSafeBC also raised concerns about PRHP's training and supervision of the worker, who hadn't been taught the lockout procedure.

"These repeated high-risk violations resulted in the statutory maximum penalty being imposed," said Ralph Eastman of WorkSafeBC media relations.

The safety violations occurred during tunnelling work on theSite C project, a $10-billion hydro dam under construction on the Peace River.

In addition to tunnel construction, PRHP islaying Site C's concrete foundationand building a 60-metre-highearthfill dam one kilometre long as part of its $1.75-billion civil works contract.

PRHP currently employs about 1,900 workers on the project.

PRHP communications manager Jamie Bodnarchuk said the company has "addressed all penalties ... and met all the WorkSafeBC requirements. This matter has been reviewed and closed by WorkSafeBC."

Penalty appealed

BCHydro's Site C community relations manager Dave Conway says safety is a high priority.

"We are committed to ensuring our contractors have the proper safety projects and procedures in place," said Conway.

WorkSafeBC records show PRHP appealed the $310,339.36 penalty levied for the 2018 silica dust incident.

But a spokesperson for the Workers' Compensation Appeal Tribunal told CBC News it could not provide any information about the appeal or its outcome, due to privacy issues.