The Alberta company has previously been fined this year after a worker died from fatal injuries
On November 21, 2018, a worker – who had started working for Parkland only a month earlier – at a residential properly in Chesley, ON, was burned after transferring propane from a tank truck to propane tanks at the residence.
The incident occurred when two workers were delivering liquid propane tanks to the residence. As one work filled up the propane tanks, the other observed the pump in the cabinet of the tank truck. According to the MOL, “when the worker who was filling the tanks was filling a second one, the physical connection was not done properly and the nozzle blew off the propane tank, spraying liquid propane into the air.” The gas ignited, setting the worker’s clothes on fire. The court later found that the worker was not wearing eye protection, adequate gloves or fire resistant clothing at the time of the incident. Indeed, the vest and sweater were made of polyester and melted during the incident.
Furthermore, the worker had received one day of online training in the first week of employment, and had not be trained on the Propane Training Institute course for bulk truck delivery. This training should be done to meet the regulatory requirements of the Propane Storage and Handling Code (CAN/CSA – B149.2).
The MOL says that “Parkland failed as an employer to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the safety of the worker, contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.”
Fuel and petroleum supplier and marketer Parkland Fuel Corporation was fined $150K following a guilty plea in provincial offences court in Owen Sound. The court has also imposed a 25 per cent victim surcharge as per the Provincial Offences Act. This surcharge will be credited to a special provincial fund to assist crime victims. This 25 per cent surcharge is equal to $37,500 bringing the total amount Parkland Fuel Corporation has to pay to $187,500.
Parkland Fuel Corporation was previously fined $116K by WorkSafeBC following a fatal incident at a worksite in West Kelowna, B.C.
Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour, Training and Skills Development
