Worker's last words were 'All I did was open the door'
Ontario has ordered the permanent closure of the waste plant where one worker died in an explosion in 2023, according to a report.
Ssonix Products – which operates the hazardous waste facility in St. Catharines – must submit a closure plan by March 31 following an Ontario Land Tribunal hearing, reported CBC.
"Our role is to respond to incidents to assess for potential impacts to human health and the environment, and work to ensure those responsible take appropriate actions to clean up and restore the natural environment," the ministry said in a statement, according to the report.
The incident happened on Jan. 12, 2023, when emergency crews were called to Ssonix Products after a series of explosions and fires.
The only person in the building during that time was Ryan Konkin, 37, who was taken to the hospital. Konkin died later that week in hospital.
“All I did was open the door,” Konkin told nurses before he died, Natalia Sepúlveda-Lastra, the worker’s fiancée, according to the CBC report.
The ministry said once the company's closure plan is accepted, Ssonix Products will have to implement it.
"The ministry continues to monitor activities at the site to ensure that appropriate actions are taken to address any environmental impacts, and that applicable regulations and guidelines are followed to protect human health and the environment," said a spokesperson for the Ministry of the Environment, Conservation and Parks (MECP), according to the report.
The company's line of business includes producing gasoline, kerosene, distillate, fuel oils, residual fuel oils, and lubricants, according to its website.
The company and its directors – Steve Baker, Sharon Baker and Tyler Baker – face a combined 21 charges from the MECP, according to CBC.
Ssonix and Steve Baker face one count each of releasing a contaminant likely to cause an adverse effect, according to the report.
Additional charges against Ssonix include:
- One count of operating or modifying an air-related facility without the required Environmental Compliance Approval (ECA).
- One count of operating or expanding a waste facility "without proper ECA."
- One count of discharging material that may impair water quality.
- And seven counts of failing to comply with the terms of its "waste ECA."
Charges against all three directors include:
- One count each of failing, as officers or directors of Ssonix, to take reasonable care to prevent the company from violating an EPA's section related to discharging contaminants.
- One count each of failing to prevent the company from violating an EPA's section related to hazardous waste-related violations.
- One count each of failing to prevent the company from violating an OWRA's section related to water quality impairment.
