February 07, 2011

Bruce Power Inc., a nuclear power generation plant, was fined $80,000 on January 14, 2011, for violating Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) after a worker was injured.

On October 9, 2008, the vault area of the company’s Tiverton plant was under construction. A crew from a company called Black and McDonald was working on this construction project. While Black and McDonald workers were doing repairs, a Bruce Power electrician was on an overhead catwalk doing routine maintenance on a crane. The electrician dropped the crane’s electrical panel, which fell over six metres to hit a Black and McDonald worker on the head. The Black and McDonald worker sustained minor head injuries.

A Ministry of Labour investigation found that the area under the overhead catwalk did not have signs posted to warn workers of the dangers overhead.

Bruce Power Inc. pleaded guilty to failing, as a constructor, to ensure that the work area was protected by signs to warn workers of the overhead danger.

In addition to the fine, the court imposed a 25% victim fine surcharge, as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.