OHS March April 2016

C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E MAR C H /APR IL 2016

C A N A D A

FLYING BLIND Sharing the airspace with drones

ON THE FRONTLINE

Recognizing psychological trauma on the job

FIGHTING FATIGUE

Lack of shuteye hurts safety

CUTTING METAL

Taking the edge off metalworking fluids

TESTING AIR

Detecting dangers in confined spaces

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C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

C A N A D A

M A R C H/ A P RI L 2016 Volu m e 3 2 , N u m b e r 2

FEATURES U NM AN N ED AIR V EHIC LES

The Drone Wars 20 The increasing use of drones has given rise to safety concerns. But can drones also protect workers when companies deploy these gadgets in place of human beings?

BY JEFF COTTRILL

PO S T- T R AUM ATIC S TR ES S D IS OR D ER

Out of the Shadows

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Psychological injuries are getting increasing recognition, as Ontario classifies posttraumatic stress disorder as a presumed occupational illness among first responders.

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BY CARMELLE WOLFSON

DEPARTMENTS H E ALT H WATC H

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When a Cuppa’s Not Enough

Workplace fatigue is a potential health problem that not only interferes with job performance, but is also a hazard to those in shift work or safety-sensitive positions.

BY JEFF COTTRILL

ACCI DE NT P R EV EN TION

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When Blade Meets Metal

Metalworking fluids are widely used in industrial machining processes, but these toxic substances also present various exposure hazards.

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S AF E T Y GEAR

It’s a Gas

The New “Mess” Media

BY JEFF COTTRILL

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PAN ORAMA

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OH &S UPD AT E

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British Columbia ex-employee sues airline; Alberta firm faces charges; Quebec officer killed; Prince Edward Island farm workers get mandatory coverage; and more.

D ISPATCHES

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PARTN ER S IN P R EV EN T IO N AD IN D EX

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Asbestos concerns; obesity bad for memory; happiness at work; and more.

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Safety does not have to take a back seat when working in confined spaces. Using the right instrumentation devices helps workers take precautions prior to entry.

IN THIS ISSUE ED ITORIA L

Time Out

Colleague sickens co-worker; feathery freeloaders; Big Brother’s watching; turkey tussle; flight rage; and more.

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At the end of the day, the goals are simple: safety and security.

— JODIE RELL

www.ohscanada.com

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 16

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EDITORIAL

C A N A D A’ S O C C U PAT I O N A L H E A LT H & S A F E T Y M A G A Z I N E

The New “Mess” Media

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wo recent court decisions involving online harassment reveal a cybersphere that remains largely unpoliced and one that the judicial system is ill-equipped to adjudicate.

In February, the British Columbia Crown decided not to charge a man who had created a revenge website to destroy the reputation of his ex-wife. The decision states that the woman, who lives in Arizona, did not have an objective basis to fear for her safety, even though the website included her private photos, address and phone number, along with descriptions of her as a white supremacist, child abuser and drug addict. The man also reportedly sent the revenge website’s link to his ex-wife’s colleagues.

The acquittal of a Toronto man charged with criminal harassment in January similarly speaks to the high threshold of what constitutes criminal behaviour in the online world. An Ontario judge ruled that the man’s incessant and often vulgar tweets sent to two women’s rights activists constituted harassment, but that alone did not meet the legal threshold for a conviction and would not reasonably have led the women to fear for their safety.

The rulings show that the law has its hands tied when it comes to bringing to task people who have no qualms with wrecking the mental and emotional equilibrium of others from miles away. Trivializing online abuse on the grounds that it does not pose a physical threat is akin to saying that it is okay to throw a glass of water at someone’s face if the water is not hot. The argument that fear for one’s safety is “reasonable” only if the threat is imminent and physical is anachronistic, as evinced by the suicide of British Columbia teen Amanda Todd in 2012, which ignited a national debate on criminalizing cyberbullying.

Digital technology has given rise to various permutations of abusive online behaviour with their own Internet slang to boot: trolling (posting inflammatory or offensive online comments with the intent to upset or elicit an angry response), revenge porn and lulz (a plural variant of LOL, it has become a catchphrase for fun, laughter or amusement derived at another’s expense). In the digital age, threats to personal safety do not involve only physical harm. Emotional duress and psychological trauma facilitated through digital platforms are no less hurtful and are just as debilitating.

While men and women can both fall victim to online harassment, women are more vulnerable to cyber abuse, which often takes on sexist and even misogynistic overtones when it occurs. For example, the revenge website created by the British Columbia man contained demeaning comments and details about his ex-wife’s sex life, while the tweets sent by the Toronto man were described in the ruling as “vulgar and sometimes obscene.”

The decisions speak to the double standards applied to the real and virtual worlds in which we live: behaviour that would not be tolerated in our offline existence is deemed acceptable — or at least, not worthy of prosecution — online.

The legal framework needs to start recognizing and prosecuting cyber violence for what it is. In the meantime, common decency offers the best guidance: what you would not do to someone in his or her face, you don’t do over cyberspace.

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JEAN LIAN jlian@ohscanada.com EDITOR

CANADIAN OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH & SAFETY NEWS jcottrill@ohscanada.com

MARK RYAN

ART DIRECTOR PRINT PRODUCTION MANAGER

PHYLLIS WRIGHT

PRODUCTION MANAGER

STEVE HOFMANN

MARKETING SPECIALIST

DIMITRY EPELBAUM DIANE RAKOFF

CIRCULATION MANAGER

ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

drakoff@annexnewcom.ca SHEILA HEMSLEY shemsley@ohscanada.com PETER BOXER

PUBLISHER

PRESIDENT, ANNEX-NEWCOM LP

pboxer@ohscanada.com ALEX PAPANOU

EDITORIAL ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS DAVID IRETON, Safety Professional, Brampton, Ont. AL JOHNSON, Vice President, Prevention Services, WorkSafeBC, Richmond, B.C. JANE LEMKE, Program Manager, OHN Certification Program, Mohawk College, Hamilton, Ont. DON MITCHELL, Safety Consultant, Mississauga, Ont. MICHELE PARENT, National Manager, Risk Management and Health and Wellness, Standard Life, Montreal, Que.

TERRY RYAN, Workers’ Compensation and Safety Consultant, TRC Group Inc., Mississauga, Ont. DON SAYERS, Principal Consultant, Don Sayers & Associates, Hanwell, N.B. DAVID SHANE, National Director, Health and Safety, Canada Post Corporation, Ottawa, Ont.

HENRY SKJERVEN, President, The Skjerven Cattle Company Ltd., Wynyard, Sask.

PETER STRAHLENDORF, Assistant Professor, School of Environmental Health, Ryerson Polytechnic University, Toronto, Ont.

JONATHAN TYSON, Association of Canadian Ergonomists/Association canadienne d’ergonomie, North Bay, Ont.

OHS CANADA is the magazine for people who make decisions about health and safety in the workplace. It is designed to keep workers, managers and safety professionals informed on oh&s issues, up to date on new developments and in touch with current thinking in the oh&s community.

WEBSITE: http://www.ohscanada.com INFORMATION AND RECOMMENDATIONS contained in this publication have been compiled from sources believed to be reliable and to be representative of the best current opinion on the subject. No warranty, guarantee nor representation is made by Annex-Newcom LP as to the absolute correctness or sufficiency of any representation contained in this publication.

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Date of issue: MARCH/APRIL 2016

ohs canada

JEFF COTTRILL

EDITOR

Jean Lian

MARCH/APRIL 2016

C A N A D A

Vol. 32, No. 2 MARCH/APRIL 2016

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IT’S WHAT’S INSIDE THAT COUNTS

panorama

$900,000 Amount that the federal government agreed to grant to Fish Safe B.C. for safety education on January 27. The British Columbia fishing-safety association will receive the grant over the next three years to expand its ongoing educational program, Safest Catch.

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Source: Transport Canada

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Prevent, Not Cure: The Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission for the Northwest Territories announced on March 4 a new e-business service. Report Unsafe Work allows employers, workers and the public to report unsafe work anonymously, so that hazards can be identified and corrective actions can be taken before injuries occur. The new reporting tool was added to WSCC Connect, which provides employers access to Source: Workers’ Safety and Compensation Commission key online services.

1.

Raising Awareness: AgSafe, an organization that promotes farming safety in British Columbia, and the B.C. Agriculture Council launched a new year-long online awareness campaign on March 14. Social-media users are invited to use the hashtag #AgSafetyChamp when sharing their safety tips, stories, pictures and nominations for Champions of Agriculture Safety.

Source: AgSafe

$80,000

Fine meted out to a company that sells, imports and distributes stone and granite products on March 7 over two worker injuries that occurred within a day of each other.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour

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Higher Standards: New training standards for the certification of workplace joint health and safety committees went into effect in Ontario on March 1. The updated standards require training programs and instructors to be approved by the province’s Chief Prevention Officer and to teach at least six safety hazards relevant to the specific workplace, along with new duration and e-learning requirements.

Source: Ontario Ministry of Labour 3.

App-Enabled Access: Employers and workers in New Brunswick now have quicker access to workplace safety information, following the launch of the NB OHS Guide phone app on February 16. This app from WorkSafeNB and the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety allows users to look up legal and practical information on nearly 40 oh&s-related topics.

Source: WorkSafeNB 4.

5. Return to Work: Injured workers who need extra medical treatment for strains and sprains in Nova Scotia may soon benefit from a partnership between the workers’ compensation board and CBI Health Group. The board announced on March 1 that it was planning a new system of care that allows quicker, more advanced and higher-quality treatment to get employees back to work sooner.

Source: Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia

360° 6

FIRE-SYSTEM MALFUNCTION PROVES FATAL A security guard and seven contract workers died of apparent suffocation at a bank in Bangkok, Thailand on March 13. Workers accidentally triggered a fire-prevention system that released Pyrogen aerosol, which is meant to quell fire by depriving it of oxygen, during the system’s installation at the Siam Commercial Bank headquarters. Two executives with the system’s manufacturer have been charged with negligence.

Source: The Associated Press

MARCH/APRIL 2016

ohs canada

896

The number of reported assaults against Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) bus drivers since 2010, according to a March 8 report based on compiled TTC data.

Source: The Toronto Star

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The number of accepted timeloss injury claims that have resulted from avalanches in British Columbia since 1998.

Source: WorkSafeBC

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OH&S UPDATE

AMENDMENT DRAWS FIRE FEDERAL — Transport Canada (TC) has come under fire from the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), which charges in a February 5 statement that the transport ministry ignored its own safety mandates for aircraft in passing an amendment to the Sunwing Airlines Flight Attendant Manual regarding emergency evacuation.

The union, which represents about 1,000 flight attendants with the airline, cites a federal court decision from the first week of February stating that TC had failed to initiate a full evaluation of the risk assessment Sunwing had conducted regarding potential hazards of changes in its evacuation procedure. The amendment stemmed from a proposed reduction of the ratio of working flight attendants to seated passengers from one per 40 to one per 50.

In a test, Sunwing was required to show that its crews could still evacuate a

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plane in 15 seconds or less in an emergency situation, even with fewer flight attendants. The airline conducted three tests on November 22 and 27, 2013 and failed them all. After TC inspector Luc Mayne recommended that the Flight Attendant Manual drop the “blocking command” — a procedure in which the crew orders two passengers to hold others back — Sunwing conducted a fourth test without it and passed.

CUPE requested a judicial review of TC’s approval of the manual change in December 2013. The court later ruled that TC had been hasty to approve the amendment, while ordering Sunwing to restore the blocking command.

“The failure to conduct the required ‘comprehensive review’ casts doubt on the integrity of the ultimate decision and has the potential to undermine confidence in the application of Transport Canada’s air passenger safety mandate,” the CUPE statement quotes the official court decision on the amendment. “This failure

could jeopardize passenger and crew safety in an emergency situation.”

Michel Cournoyer, the president of CUPE’s airline division, says Sunwing is now obligated to restore the blockingcommand procedure to the manual as per the court’s decision.

“Transport Canada should also fulfill its air passenger safety mandate by scrapping the one-to-50 regulation and restoring the safety-proven one-to-40 ratio on all Canadian airlines,” he adds.

CAUSES OF CRASH REVEALED FEDERAL — A new report from the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB), published on March 15, has concluded that faulty navigation equipment and limited visual reference contributed to a plane crash near Whitney, Ontario on November 11, 2014, killing both the pilot and the sole passenger.

The Flyblocktime Incorporated Cessna 150M was returning from a round-

AIR BRAKES WON’T PREVENT DISASTER: TSB CHAIR FEDERAL — The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) and Transport Canada (TC) have responded to two recent Globe and Mail reports, which cited “an expert source” in the rail sector claiming that a simple air-brake procedure could have prevented the Lac-Mégantic disaster in 2013.

According to the March 7 and 8 Globe stories by Grant Robertson, the anonymous source pinpointed a paragraph in the TSB’s final report on the tragedy, implying that application of the air brakes on the rail cars would have stopped the crude-carrying train from careening down a hill.

In an open letter to the editor of the Globe, posted online on March 10, TSB chair Kathy Fox takes issue with the claims. “Train-securement rules… insist that unattended equipment be secured with handbrakes (which are mechanical devices) and not secured with air brakes due to their lack of reliability,” Fox writes. “Air brakes are known to leak. And the rate of leakage is completely unpredictable on any given rail car, at any given time. Since there are other solutions that are permanent, it is preferable that railways use ones that would ensure that equipment is secured for indefinite periods.”

Fox adds that air-brake leaks have caused many runaway

MARCH/APRIL 2016

ohs canada

railway cars for many years. “That’s why, in our August 2014 recommendation, we called on Transport Canada to require railways to put in place additional physical defences to prevent runaway trains. This could mean things like wheel chocks, automatic derails or modern braking technology.”

Fox concludes that whatever form this takes, a secondary defence to prevent runaway trains must be a guarantee, “and air brakes are not that.”

TC spokesperson Natasha Gauthier concurs that handbrakes are always the first line of defence. “Sufficient handbrakes will prevent equipment movement in all weather conditions and over virtually unlimited periods of time,” Gauthier says, noting that TC’s investigation of the disaster found that an insufficient number of handbrakes had been applied and that the handbrakes had not been tested properly.

Gauthier also notes that the TSB’s final report identified 18 factors that had played a role in the tragedy. “Following the accident, the department introduced more stringent requirements for railways to physically secure trains and reduce their speed when carrying dangerous goods in highly urbanized areas.”

— By Jeff Cottrill

FIRED EMPLOYEE SUES AIRLINE OVER ALLEGED ASSAULT VANCOUVER — A former WestJet flight attendant has filed a civil lawsuit against the airline for wrongful dismissal and other damages, over claims that a pilot sexually assaulted her at a Hawaii layover more than six years ago and that WestJet did not investigate her allegation seriously.

Mandalena Lewis, who lives in Vancouver, also states that the accused assailant — identified only as “Pilot M” — had assaulted another flight attendant in Alberta about 15 months before the Hawaii incident. A 15-page statement of claim, which Lewis filed with the Supreme Court of British Columbia on March 1, alleges that Pilot M was not fired or disciplined for either incident. “Pilot M was allowed to remain in his supervisory role,” the claim reads, “presenting a continued and unacceptable risk of harm to women with whom he worked, including [Lewis].”

According to the statement of claim, the assault against Lewis occurred at the Makena Beach Resort hotel in Maui, where a flight crew including her and Pilot M was staying during a stopover on January 24, 2010. Lewis accepted an invitation to Pilot M’s suite for drinks on the balcony, and they engaged in conversation. After referencing a sexual scenario, the pilot attempted to “play-wrestle” with Lewis, eventually groping her and attempting to kiss her.

robin trip from the Toronto/Buttonville Municipal Airport to Trois-Rivières Airport and back that day, with stops in Peterborough and Ottawa.

The Toronto-bound aircraft departed the Ottawa/Rockcliffe Airport and was below radar coverage at 8:25 p.m., when the pilot sent a mayday stating that he was lost and that the plane was running out of fuel. The aircraft crashed into a heavily forested area more than an hour later. A search-and-rescue team found the accident site in the south end of Algonquin Provincial Park.

According to the subsequent TSB investigation, the pilot had to navigate the flight with a VHF omnidirectional range receiver, a navigation instrument that was displaying incorrect information due to a component that had deteriorated and was overheating at the time. Air traffic control could not assist the pilot as a result, since it was receiving incorrect information from the pilot.

The pilot’s visual reference was limited because he was flying in darkness, under clouds, with minimal ground lights to guide him. He was uncertain

Lewis reported the assault to the RCMP, her manager at WestJet and the Flight Attendants Association Board for the airline after returning to Vancouver later that month. But instead of conducting a proper investigation, the airline stopped scheduling her on the same flights as Pilot M and asked her to sign an agreement that she would not speak about the incident to anyone else, out of the pilot’s privacy.

Lewis refused to sign it.

WestJet fired Lewis without prior warning on January 12 of this year, claiming “insubordination” and “disrespectful conduct toward leadership” as causes.

Among the personal damages that Lewis claims to have suffered include physical, emotional and psychological harm, aggravation of the harm due to WestJet’s inadequate response to her allegation, depression and loss of potential earnings.

An e-mailed statement from WestJet says the airline will not comment on the specifics of the allegations or lawsuit, but that it will file a statement of defence. “We take these allegations very seriously,” the airline notes. “We are committed to maintaining a safe and healthy workplace environment and encourage our employees to report any behaviour that may violate our policies.”

— By Jeff Cottrill

about the amount of fuel left in the plane, prompting air traffic control to guide him to the nearest airport with runway lighting.

As well, the report revealed that the pilot and passenger had not been wearing their shoulder harnesses, although it was not certain whether the harnesses would have prevented their deaths.

STRICTER STANDARDS FOR MINING VICTORIA — Changes to British Columbia’s Mines Act will toughen penalties for safety infractions in the mining sector while increasing government oversight.

According to a Ministry statement issued on February 25, the amendments that Energy and Mines Minister Bill Bennett proposed in Victoria will allow the provincial government to administer monetary penalties to companies that violate the Act without having to take cases to court — putting British Columbia in the same league as provinces such as Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec.

As of now, the legislation includes only prosecution, applying a stop-work

order and using permit cancellation to shut down a mine as enforcement tools.

If passed into law, the amended Act will allow a maximum penalty of $1 million and/or three years in prison.

“The legislative changes I introduced... provide my Ministry with more tools for compliance and enforcement, strengthening British Columbia’s regulatory framework so we can build an even safer, more sustainable mining industry in this province,” Bennett says.

FIRMS CHARGED OVER BURNS GRANDE PRAIRIE — The Alberta Ministry of Labour laid 10 occupational health and safety charges each against a trucking firm and an excavating company on February 17 over a worker injury two years ago.

The incident occurred in Grande Prairie on April 9, 2014, when Southwood Trucking Ltd. and Rock Hard Excavating Ltd. were doing repairs inside a manhole in an underground sewage system. A fire broke out in the manhole while a Southwood employee was con-

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M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 16

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INSPECTIONS TARGET CONVENIENCE STORES EDMONTON — Following an incident at two Edmonton Mac’s stores in December when the same group of robbers fatally shot two clerks who were working alone, the Alberta government says oh&s officials are touring convenience stores and gas bars to inquire about safety standards.

In an announcement made on March 1, Alberta’s Ministry of Labour states that safety officers are inspecting about 200 worksites over a period of three months. Inspectors will meet with employers and workers to discuss how employment standards and safety legislation affect such issues as violence on the job, working alone, pay deductions and young workers. The Ministry has also authorized inspectors to issue orders to employers on the spot. Any oh&s officer can refer a store for a follow-up visit if there are suspicions that proper employment standards have not been followed.

“Health and safety on the job is paramount,” Alberta Labour Minister Christina Gray says. “Employers are responsible to take all precautions to ensure their workers are safe, [are] treated fairly and go home to their families at the end of the day, no matter what industry they work in.”

Two men and a 13-year-old boy were charged with firstdegree murder following the December 18 Mac’s robberies. The tragedy prompted Alberta Justice Minister Kathleen

Ganley to announce plans to work on safety legislation for the province’s late-night workers.

On February 8, yet another Mac’s employee in Edmonton was seriously injured when two men and a woman assaulted the worker and left him with non-life-threatening injuries, according to information from the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL). The latter incident prompted the AFL to call for a new regulation in which retail stores open all night must have more than one employee on duty. If that is not possible, a lone employee must work behind a locked, secure barrier — similar to the law in British Columbia.

“Anyone who reads the papers or watches the news can see that workers who are alone late at night are being targeted for violence,” AFL president Gil McGowan says. “We can’t ignore incidents like this one.”

Western Convenience Stores Association president Andrew Klukas says his organization will work with the provincial government to make proven safety procedures accessible to all retailers who work alone in convenience stores.

The inspection campaign’s findings are expected to be used in an upcoming review of Alberta’s oh&s and employment-standards laws, according to the Ministry of Labour.

— By Jeff Cottrill

Congratulations to the following OHS professionals who have recently been granted the Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP)® Professionnel en sécurité agréé du Canada (PSAC)® designation.

Sarah Adams CRSP Christl Aggus CRSP Ehikilen Aikhomu CRSP Amber Almon CRSP Matthew Antongiovanni CRSP Joseph Ayeni CRSP Warren Babiak CRSP Tracy Bader CRSP Chase Bennett CRSP Christopher Benotto CRSP Brian Binning CRSP Lynnette Bosch CRSP Lonnie Brown CRSP Corey Canham CRSP Chad Carlson CRSP Darcy Carriveau CRSP Joseph Cartwright CRSP Lik Heng Duncan Chan CRSP Cory Chubbs CRSP Wendy Clausen CRSP Deron Colegrave CRSP Jody Coleman CRSP Peter Collins CRSP Robyn Coquelle CRSP Timothy Cosh CRSP Todd Cyre CRSP Michael Daley CRSP Kwame Abiam Danso CRSP Brian Delaney CRSP Stefan Dobrostanski CRSP Dwight Doell CRSP

Brad Elder CRSP Karl Fandrich CRSP Linda Farmer CRSP Scott Freeman CRSP Andrew Fundytus CRSP Earl Galavan CRSP Sandra Galeteanu CRSP Lynda Graham CRSP Karen Gregory-Gillett CRSP Marcus Gwozdz CRSP Amanda Hagan CRSP Jamie Hall CRSP Nicholas Hammond CRSP Steven Henry CRSP Katrina Hickey CRSP Dana Johnson CRSP Troy Jones CRSP Dwayne Keichinger CRSP Angie Keresturi CRSP Mark Klein-Geltink CRSP Randi Kozak CRSP Samantha Kruse CRSP Stephanie Lehr CRSP Penny Loyer CRSP Michael MacKenzie CRSP Craig Macklem CRSP Enrico Madrid CRSP Narmana Majumder CRSP Elaine Marshall CRSP Francis Mathieu-Paradis CRSP Jeremy Matthews CRSP

Kelly McEwen CRSP Douglas McNeil CRSP Ewa McNulty CRSP Maryse Mercier CRSP Breen Merriam CRSP Gerard Messier CRSP Cam Mitchell CRSP Bhaveshkumar Mody CRSP Ali Mohsin CRSP Nathan Muhly CRSP Laura Murphy CRSP David Murray CRSP Brad Nelson CRSP Michael Ngedi CRSP Colin Noble CRSP Trula Normandeau CRSP Reza Nour CRSP Celestine Chidi Ogbonna CRSP Babajide Ogunjimi CRSP Emmanuel Omeike CRSP Brent Pahl CRSP Dana Pallesen CRSP Jessica Pane CRSP Matthew Parsons CRSP Trina Pharand CRSP Tirumala Srinivas Prativadi Bhayankara CRSP John Price CRSP Sheldon Price CRSP Steven Primeau CRSP Derek Razzell CRSP Dennis Ricard CRSP

Sara Robinson CRSP Jagdeep Sarao CRSP Michael Schaap CRSP Lorne Schatz CRSP Dailaan Shaffer CRSP Varun Sharma CRSP Jonathan Sherman CRSP Marc Smith CRSP L.Shaun Snell CRSP Anthony Sorensen CRSP Oscar Spencer CRSP Michael Taniguchi CRSP Corinne Thiessen CRSP Terry Thomas CRSP Melissa Thompson CRSP Gary Thomson CRSP Christopher Topolniski CRSP Jason Trabucco CRSP Virginie Tremblay CRSP Brian Umali CRSP Riaz Usman CRSP Pieter Van Wouw CRSP Tyler Vollman CRSP Jeremy Waddell CRSP Kimberley Waring CRSP Christa Warren CRSP Daniel Westerby CRSP Brent Whiteway CRSP Kory Wilk CRSP Frederick Winson CRSP Randi Zurowski CRSP

The BCRSP is a self-regulating, self-governing organization accredited by the Standards Council of Canada to ISO 17024 (Personnel Certification Body) and by BSI Management Systems to ISO 9001 (Quality Management System).

Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals/Conseil canadien des professionnels en sécurité agréés 6700 Century Avenue, Suite 100, Mississauga, ON L5N 6A4 905-567-7198, 1-888-279-2777, www.bcrsp.ca

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Board of Canadian Registered Safety Professionals 1/18/2016 9:03:36 AM

ducting welding that day, resulting in serious burns on the worker’s body.

The ministry did not specify what had caused the fire, but noted that both employers had been charged with eight counts under the Occupational Health and Safety Code. In addition, Rock Hard is facing four charges under the provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act, while Southwood has been charged with three counts under the same Act.

TRUCKING COMPANY CHARGED FOR FATALITY FORT MCMURRAY — The Alberta Ministry of Labour has laid charges against a trucking company for workplace-safety offences stemming from a fatal incident in Fort McMurray on March 14, 2014.

According to an announcement on the Ministry website, two mobile-equipment operators employed with Brayford Trucking Ltd. were driving track hoe excavators upon material that lay on a sheet of ice, when the ice cracked and one excavator sank into the water below, drowning the operator inside.

The MOL charged Brayford with one count of violating the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act, one count under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and three counts under the Occupational Health and Safety Code on February 8.

FIRM PLEADS GUILTY, FINED FOR FALL INJURY MOOSE JAW — A judge in Moose Jaw Provincial Court sentenced a local construction company to pay a fine of $10,500, after the firm pleaded guilty to a charge of violating oh&s legislation regarding a worker injury.

The incident occurred on September 20, 2013, when an employee of In “N” Out Construction Inc. fell through an opening in a floor, according to a February 9 statement from the Saskatchewan Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety. The worker landed on a rebar dowel and suffered a serious injury. The company was charged with one count of failure to make sure that a floor hole or opening had a securely installed covering over it. A second charge was later dismissed.

DOMESTIC-ABUSE VICTIMS TO GET TIME OFF WINNIPEG — The Government of Manitoba has amended the province’s Employment Standards Code to allow victims of domestic violence to have leave from work — both paid and unpaid — with guaranteed job security during time off.

First proposed publicly at the Manitoba legislature late last year and introduced officially as Bill 8 less than two weeks later, The Employment Standards Code Amendment Act (Leave for Victims of Domestic Violence, Leave for Serious Injury or Illness

POOR DESIGN A FACTOR IN OIL-TANK COLLAPSE EDMONTON — Poor design and the employer’s lack of due diligence caused the collapse of an oil company’s tank near Fort McMurray on April 24, 2007, killing two workers and injuring five, the Alberta Ministry of Jobs, Skills, Training and Labour concludes.

According to Workers Crushed by Collapse of Tank Roof Support Structure, a 43-page report on the tragedy published online on February 8, a team of welders was attaching sections into a tank wall on that day when the roof support structure began to fall in the direction of the wind. A scaffolder and an electrical consultant, both foreign workers from China, were fatally injured. Two other workers sustained serious injuries, and three others suffered minor ones.

Health and safety officers from Workplace Health and Safety Compliance issued a stop-work order on the entire worksite and conducted an investigation. The following are among the contributing factors cited in the report: the SSEC employee who had developed the erection procedure for the roof support structure was not a qualified engineer; the structure was not bolted with the required restraints to resist high wind; many of the bolts used to assemble the structure were loose; and no written engineered erection procedures were provided.

“The tank roof support structure that collapsed onto the workers was a skeleton structure,” the report reads. It also charges that CNRL did not ascertain compliance with the provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act and accuses the company of “failing to ensure that one of their contractors had erection drawings and procedures for a skeleton structure certified by a professional engineer.”’ www.ohscanada.com

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and Extension of Compassionate Care Leave) grants domestic-violence victims up to five days of paid leave, five days of unpaid leave and up to 17 consecutive weeks of additional unpaid leave.

Employees who have been with a firm for at least 90 days and who claim to have suffered from domestic violence can use the time off for medical attention, victim services, counselling, relocation and/or legal assistance, according to the legislation text available on the Legislative Assembly of Manitoba website.

Michelle Gawronsky, president of the Manitoba Government and General Employees’ Union, says she is “absolutely thrilled” that the bill has become law.

“This will be a win all the way around for employers as much as employees.”

UNION FILES GRIEVANCE GUELPH — The Ontario Nurses’ Association (ONA) has filed a grievance against the Guelph General Hospital (GGH) in Guelph for insufficient pro-

tection of employees and patients. The grievance, announced on March 15, was spurred by several recent attacks, including one in which a patient had thrown a urine bottle at a female registered nurse in the first half of March, according to Anne Clark, regional vice president with the ONA. In another recent case, a patient arrived in the emergency room with a chemical spill, but staff did not have the proper protective equipment or space for decontaminating the patient. The employees had to take the patient outside the hospital and scrub the contaminants off with soapy water. “They didn’t have gowns and all the equipment that you need for a chemical spill,” Clark charges, adding that a similar incident happened last year.

But GGH president and chief executive officer Marianne Walker says no contamination occurred in the more recent chemical incident. “We did have equipment, but it wasn’t readily available, and the staff weren’t appropriately

trained. So quickly, we put in a temporary solution.”

The hospital has since learned from the incident. “Today, staff are trained, equipment is readily available and they know what to do,” notes Walker, who says she is “quite surprised” by the ONA’s accusation of inattention to safety, because the hospital has four staff members with the union who work closely with the joint health and safety committee. As well, Walker herself sits on the provincial government’s panel on violence in healthcare.

Clark says that GGH’s recent incidents were part of an escalating pattern demonstrating a lack of concern for safety and hygiene. The union is also calling for GGH to initiate mandatory violenceprevention training, adopt a system for flagging violent patients and have a safety audit conducted in every unit.

Walker says the hospital is already taking action, such as offering crisis-intervention training four times a year. “It is mandatory right now in the high-risk

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areas, such as emergency department and also the intensive care,” she notes.

GGH has “gentle-persuasion training” for dealing with patients with cognitive impairment. It has also updated its emergency codes, added security cameras and hired a health and safety officer. “We just finished our hospital-wide security audit, and so we are just waiting for the final reports,” Walker says. “We will implement those recommendations.”

natory dress codes for female workers.

The Commission issued a new policy position on its website, stating that requiring female and transgender employees to wear high heels, short skirts, tight clothes and/or low-cut tops is a possible violation of the province’s Human Rights Code. “Employers must make sure their dress codes don’t reinforce sexist stereotypes. They send the message that

an employee’s worth is tied to how they look,” OHRC Chief Commissioner Renu Mandhane says in a press statement.

The policy position states that an employer should be prepared to prove that any sex-based differences in the dress code are legitimately linked to the requirements of the job. “Where this cannot be shown, these dress codes will be discriminatory,” the position reads.

CRIMES ON TRANSIT BUSES CITED TORONTO — Union leaders representing special constables and other workers on the Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) are calling for better security for employees and passengers on buses and streetcars, following a recent analysis by the Toronto Star naming specific routes on the transit system that allegedly experience crime more than others do.

The Star report, published on March 8, claims that the 36 Finch West bus route in the north of the city has been the most vulnerable to crime, with 322 reported incidents since 2010. Second was the 35 bus on Jane Street with 260 incidents, followed by the 32 Eglinton West bus with 164 and the 41 Keele Street bus with 161. Although fraud is the most commonly reported crime, including the use of fake monthly passes, assaults on drivers are especially common on the Eglinton route.

The Commission says it is continually looking at ways to ensure and improve upon the safety of employees and customers. “If there are specific issues on routes that need addressing, the TTC will address [them] through increased patrols by the TTC and/or police.”

The TTC adds that there has been a decline in driver assaults for three straight years. “Operator barriers, CCTV and the TTC’s award-winning court-advocate program continue to help keep operators safe.”

END SEXUALIZED DRESS CODES TORONTO — The Ontario Human Rights Commission (OHRC) took International Women’s Day on March 8 as an opportunity to call for an end to discrimi-

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Kathy Laird, the executive director of the Human Rights Legal Support Centre in Toronto, applauds the new policy position. “Excellent customer service doesn’t have a cup size. I hope women will call us for legal help if cleavage is deemed an essential skill in their workplace.”

AUTO-PARTS COMPANY FINED MISSISSAUGA — An Ontario company was sentenced to pay an $80,000 fine on March 1, following an explosion at an auto-parts factory in 2013.

According to a court bulletin from the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL), the incident took place at one of Precision Technologies’ two locations in Mississauga on July 4 that year. A worker in the foundry was examining two propanefueled torch wands, when an explosion sent the worker flying to a concrete floor six feet below, causing burns and fractures. It turned out that the worker had failed to perform the task previously and

had not received any of the required training for it. Neither did the company have an established procedure for completing the task safely, although it later developed one following the incident.

Precision pleaded guilty to failing to provide an employee with information, instruction and supervision on proper procedures for what is known as a “preheat pump well procedure.”

SCHOOL LOCKDOWN OVER ATTACK PICKERING — A high school in Pickering, Ontario was in lockdown on February 23, after a 14-year-old girl attacked staff members and other students in the hallways, injuring seven.

According to a statement from the Durham Regional Police Service (DRPS), the student brought two knives to Dunbarton High School that morning and began attacking random people in the halls. Two staff members and five students were hurt. Four of the injured par-

ties were sent to the hospital for treatment of non-life-threatening injuries.

Police arrested the attacker on charges of assault and possession of dangerous weapons, as well as six counts of assault causing bodily harm and seven counts of assault with a weapon. DRPS detective Steve Rhoden says the suspect may have been acting out of mentalhealth issues. “She suffered from some mental illness,” he says. “It was known.”

DRPS officers swept every room in the school during the lockdown. The school was open on the day after the incident, says John Bowyer, the superintendent responsible for safe schools with the Durham District School Board.

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and Emergency Preparedness Minister Ralph Goodale announced on February 23 that he had requested a new review of the national police force’s policies and procedures on workplace harassment.

Goodale says he asked the Chairperson of the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission on February 4 to undertake the review and evaluate the RCMP’s implementation of recommendations in the Commission’s Public Interest Investigation Report into RCMP Workplace Harassment from 2013. ”Canadians expect professional and exemplary conduct from their national police service,” Goodale says in a statement. “I am committed to taking whatever action is necessary to help RCMP members, trainees and employees feel safe and respected among their colleagues and superiors.”

The new review is expected to evaluate the RCMP’s policies and procedures in terms of adequacy, sufficiency, appropriateness and clarity, Goodale adds.

FIRM PENALIZED FOR FATALITY BRAMPTON — A construction firm in Brampton, Ontario was fined $150,000 on February 9 for violating the Construction Projects Regulation, resulting in an employee’s death two years ago.

According to a court bulletin from the Ontario Ministry of Labour (MOL), the incident occurred on April 25, 2014, when Varcon Construction Co. Ltd. was installing a watermain. While an equipment operator was in the process of moving a portable toilet to another location, the excavator moved around a corner and ran over a co-worker at the site, killing the latter. The victim had gone to the area to move traffic cones to allow the excavator to move around the corner.

An investigation by the MOL found that the equipment operator had not followed the assistance of a signaler when moving and that the placement of the portable toilet in the vehicle’s bucket had limited the operator’s view. The Regula-

tion states that workers must transport material or equipment in a way that does not put their colleagues in danger.

POLICE OFFICER KILLED IN CALL LAC-SIMON — A rookie police officer was killed and a second officer injured during a disturbance call at a residence in the First Nations reserve of Lac-Simon, Quebec on February 13.

Although both officers were members of an independent police force run by the Conseil de la Nation Anishnabe de Lac-Simon, the tragedy is being investigated by the provincial police authority, La Sûreté du Québec (SQ).

The Lac-Simon police received a call about a conflict at about 10:30 p.m. that night, according to SQ sergeant and spokesperson Mélanie Dumaresq.

“Just shortly after the police arrived on the scene, at least one shot was fired in their direction,” Dumaresq says. “They were not able to react.”

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Thierry Leroux, 26, was seriously injured and later died in the hospital.

Dumaresq identified the shooter as Anthony Raymond Papatie, 22, a Lac-Simon resident. “His death was confirmed a few moments later,” she says. “The possibility that the man turned the gun against himself is the principal theory in our investigation.”

HEAD INJURY CLAIMS WORKER SUSSEX — A 52-year-old worker at a sawmill in New Brunswick died of a head injury on February 29.

According to a statement from WorkSafeNB, the incident occurred at about 1:10 p.m. inside a chipper building belonging to J.D. Irving, Limited, which has a sawmill division located in Sussex.

Upon being notified of the accident, WorkSafeNB officers issued a stop-work order to the worksite, ordering all workers not to disturb the scene of the incident.

The board is investigating the fatality to determine whether the company violated the province’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.

NEW WCB PLAN ANNOUNCED CHARLOTTETOWN — The Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island (WCB) has announced a 20162018 Strategic Plan to accommodate the safety and compensation needs of the province’s workplaces.

According to a board statement dated March 15, the plan will focus on six specific areas, including enhancing the Island’s workplace safety culture, improving return-to-work outcomes and providing continued service excellence. Among the means of achieving these goals will be safety education, a focus on high-risk industries, establishing frameworks for injured workers to return to the job and modernizing workers’ compensation services, as listed in a general summary of the plan on the WCB website.

“Our ultimate goal is to ensure that all workplaces are safe, workplace injuries are eliminated and each client experience is one of excellence,” WCB chair Stuart Affleck notes in a statement.

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ARMED MAN IN OFFICE CHARLOTTETOWN — Charlottetown police officers were called to Prince Edward Island’s Department of Family and Human Services on March 1, after a man armed with a knife barricaded himself inside a section of the office.

The man entered the office at the Sherwood Business Centre and threatened to harm himself with the knife if he was forced out of the building, according to Chief Paul Smith of the Charlottetown Police Services. “It was around the end of day, so there wasn’t a lot of staff there at the time,” Chief Smith says. “He was just disgruntled with some of the service he was getting, I guess.”

By the time police arrived, the man was alone in the area of the washroom and the waiting room. Police resolved the situation between 9:30 and 10 p.m., and the man was criminally charged with a court date planned. He was also sent to undergo a mental-health assessment. No employees were injured.

Family and Human Services Minister Tina Mundy says Department employees acted quickly and appropriately. “We are very thankful it ended safely.”

COVERAGE TO BE MANDATORY CHARLOTTETOWN — Workers’ compensation coverage for farm workers will become mandatory in Prince Edward Island at the beginning of next year, the Workers Compensation Board of Prince Edward Island (WCB) announced on its

website on February 19.

The WCB states that a five-person panel of Board and industry representatives have consulted with the province’s agriculture sector about the issue after the provincial government appointed a legislative review advisory committee to review the Workers Compensation Act in 2012. Currently, farm workers in the maritime province can register for optional WCB coverage under the Act, but it has never been mandatory.

“I was pleased to be part of the panel discussions and consultation with the farming industry. It was important to meet with various boards, employers and workers and to hear their thoughts,” WCB chair Stuart Affleck says in a statement about the mandatory coverage.

Mandatory coverage for farm workers will take effect next January 1. Farm employers will undergo a comprehensive education and information process to make the transition, the WCB says.

Follow us on Twitter @OHSCanada Many of the preceding items are based on stories from our sister publication, canadian

occupational

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a weekly e-newsletter that provides detailed coverage of Canadian oh&s and workers’ compensation issues. For more information, please call (416) 442-2122 or toll-free (800) 668-2374.

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DISPATCHES Asbestos use continues to raise concerns

By Jeff Cottrill

S

askatchewan’s government authority for occupational health and safety faced a work-related safety crisis of its own when a building housing some of its offices was evacuated over an asbestos scare.

The Ministry of Labour Relations and Workplace Safety, which employs about 90 people on the third, fourth and sixth floors of a building at 1870 Albert Street in Regina, brought in a plumbing contractor on February 19 after a leak in a sixth-floor ceiling water pipe was found that day.

According to Ray Anthony, executive director with the Ministry’s oh&s division, the possibility of an asbestos presence was raised after the contractor’s employees cut out a section of an orange concrete rainwater pipe while repairing the leak. A test on the material came back positive for asbestos on February 22, although the Ministry management did not know about it until the following morning. “So we knew that they hadn’t followed proper precautions,” Anthony says.

The building was evacuated immediately, and the Ministry brought in an independent third party to test the air for asbestos fibres. After all of the offices were cleaned up and vacuumed according to proper procedures, the building was declared safe and everybody returned to work on February 24.

Concerns over asbestos use is not unique to Saskatchewan. Since Health Canada updated its public information about asbestos last June, acknowledging that all forms of it are carcinogenic, word has come out that federally funded construction products are still using materials containing the mineral. Canada is also importing replacement brake pads and linings containing asbestos for commercial purposes, according to information from the Canadian Labour Congress (CLC) dated February 3.

“The Public Works policy and the position of the federal government is that asbestos can still be used even in new constructions,” says Denis St-Jean, the national health and safety officer with the Public Service Alliance of Canada in Ottawa.

CLC president Hassan Yussuff says federal construction has been using cement pipes containing asbestos. “Our view is that there have been alternatives on the market for quite some time, so this is entirely unnecessary.”

Michèle LaRose, a spokesperson for Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC), confirms that the federal National Building Code permits construction projects to use non-friable asbestos-cement products. According to LaRose, when this type of non-friable product is used, the information

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is contained in the asbestos-management plan, and workers are made aware before entering an area where it is present via the property and facility manager.

She adds that the Code allows cement pipes containing asbestos to be used as storm drains or roof drains. “Asbestoscement pipes normally have a life cycle of 70 years and are often found in tall buildings, since they provide better sound insulation against falling water compared to cast-iron pipes.”

LaRose says PSPC is exploring alternatives to asbestos for new construction projects and building renovations, but maintains that certain uses of asbestos-containing material are safe and legal.

“There is no such thing as safe asbestos,” St-Jean stresses.

“We all know that is ridiculous.”

Jeff Cottrill is editor of canadian occupational health & safety news.

Chronic obesity linked to bad memory

By Jean Lian

T

here is a new reason to get on the treadmill, as a study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham finds that chronic obesity can cause bad memory.

Based on experiments with obese rodents, epigenetic changes — changes in gene expression caused by external or environmental factors — are associated with changes in the expression of memory-associated genes within the hippocampus of obese mice, and these epigenetic changes correlate with diminished object-location spatial memory.

Researchers have also implicated reduced amounts of one particular memory-associated gene product — SIRT1 — as the principal pathogenic cause of obesity-induced memory impairment.

The hippocampus sub-region of the brain is important for the consolidation of longterm memory.

“We feel this is a very exciting finding that identifies a new linkage between diet, epigenetics and cognitive function, especially in light of the burgeoning obesity epidemic in the United States and elsewhere,” co-author J. David Sweatt, Ph.D., with the university’s Department of Neurobiology at the Evelyn F. McKnight Brain Institute, says in a statement dated January 26.

According to the study, mice with diet-induced obesity at 20 weeks had impaired performance in object-location memory tests, and their hippocampus had impaired synaptic

?

plasticity as measured by long-term potentiation. Four memory-associated genes — Ppargc1a, Ppp1cb, Reln and Sirt1 — showed significantly decreased gene expression at 23 weeks of diet-induced obesity, and the latter three had significantly increased DNA methylation in their gene promoter regions.

Increased methylation is known to decrease gene expression.

The researchers conclude that “high-fat-diet-induced obesity leads to the time-dependent development of aberrant epigenetic modifications within the hippocampus, as well as corresponding reduction in the expression of various memory-related genes.”

Previous studies by other researchers point to a similar direction. A 2014 study out of Australia states that obesity and metabolic disorders are associated with poorer cognitive performance, cognitive decline and dementia, while a 2010 study by researchers from Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and the University of Pittsburgh finds that increasing body-mass index is associated with poorer cognitive function among women with smaller waist-hip ratios.

Jean Lian is editor of

ohs canada.

Money not the key to work happiness: study

By Jean Lian

R

esearchers from the University of Alabama (UAB) believe that they have unlocked the key to happiness on the job, and money is only part of the equation.

According to Dr. Jonathon Halbesleben, associate professor of human-resource management and organizational behaviour at the UAB’s Culverhouse College of Commerce in Tuscaloosa, pay and benefits do not necessarily contribute to workplace happiness. “When people feel like they have meaningful work and it is adding to what the company is trying to accomplish — particularly if they buy into the company goals — that can be the most powerful force to keeping people happy,” Halbesleben says in a statement dated February 8.

He cites Google and LinkedIn as examples of companies that often pay less than expected, but give their employees freedom and room to grow. According to Halbesleben, there is a set percentage of time within the work week that a Google employee can do whatever he or she wants, as long as it makes the company more profitable. “So rather than coming into work each day and you have got this to-do list and you are just checking it off, it is a chance to sort of shape the job in a way that you really, truly enjoy.”

Halbesleben’s research indicates that companies need to find people they trust to do the job and let them do it. But a big part of the challenge lies in giving up control, considering

that standardization is ingrained in the corporate mindset.

“What you need to do is have that [pay] at a baseline level that people can be satisfied with it, and then these social factors like how meaningful their work is, how well they get along with their co-workers — these things play a much larger role,” he notes.

Another factor in job happiness that is often overlooked is the time employees spend away from the job. “Switching off from work for a while, not checking your email at night — these types of things go a long way to the time at work being happier and more productive,” Halbesleben suggests.

Long-term opioid use poses depression risk

By Jean Lian

A

recent study out of Saint Louis University, which shows that long-term opioid use presents the risk of new-onset depression, may warrant pause on the use of opioids as a narcotic pain-relief medication.

Prescription Opioid Duration, Dose, and Increased Risk of Depression in 3 Large Patient Populations was published online in the Annals of Family Medicine on January 11. Researchers believe that opioid use for more than 30 days, among other possible biological explanations, leads to changes in neuroanatomy and low testosterone. While the link was independent of the known contribution of pain to depression, the study calls on clinicians to consider the contribution of opioid use when depressed moods develop in their patients.

“Opioid-related new onset of depression is associated with longer duration of use, but not dose,” Jeffrey Scherrer, Ph.D., associate professor for family and community medicine at Saint Louis University in Missouri, says in a statement dated January 12.

Findings are based on patient data collected between 2000 and 2012 from the Veterans Health Administration (VHA), Baylor Scott & White Health (BSWH) and the Henry Ford Health System (HFHS). According to the study, 12 per cent of the VHA sample, nine per cent of the BSWH sample and 11 per cent of the HFHS sample experienced new-onset depression after opioid analgesic use.

“Findings were remarkably consistent across the three healthcare systems, even though the systems have very different patient characteristics and demographics,” Scherrer says. In all three patient populations, longer duration of opioid analgesic use was associated with new-onset depression after controlling for pain and daily morphine-equivalent doses.

The authors conclude that research on the efficacy of opioids in depression treatment does not support opioids as an effective long-term treatment for depression.

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UNMANNED AIR VEHICLES

THE

DRONE WARS

BY JEFF COTTRILL

Unmanned air vehicles are no longer the stuff of science-fiction. Drones are the latest gadgets sharing the airspace with planes today. And there are few barriers to launching a drone that could come into the path of a commercial jet or a towering crane, posing some serious safety concerns.

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L

ast August, a Seair seaplane narrowly avoided disaster as it was landing just south of Vancouver International Airport, when a black, four-propeller drone nearly collided with it, coming about three metres from the plane’s windshield. Less than two weeks later, eight helicopters and six skimmers were fighting wildfires near Oliver, British Columbia, when they were grounded by a drone flying in the area. That was the second reported instance last summer in which a drone had endangered firefighting vehicles in the province.

Drones, also known as unmanned air vehicles (UAV), are small aircraft without human pilots onboard, usually controlled by remote or by computers. In recent years, UAVs have become more common in Canadian airspace, not only due to recreational users, but also as part of commercial applications. The drone industry has grown so quickly that there has been barely sufficient lead time for industry, users and regulators to deal with the associated safety issues.

“The way to do that would be some type of regulation and education,” says Bernard Gervais, president of the Canadian Owners and Pilots Association in Ottawa. But everything is moving too fast, he adds. Before the proliferation of low-cost drones, the Model Aeronautics Association of Canada (MAAC) offered safety guidelines for users of model planes. “Now it is drones and UAVs and people in their backyards, so the industry is trying to catch up with that.”

Despite a number of close calls, reported instances of drone collisions with manned aircraft have been scarce to date. But the main problem with drones in airspace, Gervais explains, is how difficult it is to know they are even there. Not only are they small and hard to spot; aircraft cannot detect them by radar.

“We don’t see them until the last minute, and they can’t see us,” unless a ground operator is using some kind of visual reference to avoid the plane, Gervais says.

graph or video of a property before they consider buying it.

Similarly, roofers sometimes use camera-equipped UAVs as a safer way to check roofs for damage. Some roof inspectors have realized that instead of having to climb on a ladder and walk onto a roof to see what is wrong, they can simply launch an aerial camera within 30 seconds and take a look.

“They are not risking a man,” Micon says.

Another occasional customer is firefighters, who sometimes use aerial infrared cameras to detect hotspots in burning buildings. “So firefighters show up, launch a drone; it has got an infrared package on it, and they are looking at the roof, they are looking at the walls that they can’t really see, and they will determine whether it is safe,” Micon describes.

In other situations, an employer may use drones to avoid sending workers into hazardous environments like confined spaces or battle zones. “If you were to do an inspection of a very large dam, you might use a drone because you would be safer to use a drone to take those pictures than have someone do it,” says Josh LeBrun, president and chief executive of Toronto-based safety-software firm eCompliance. “It is easier to control the risks that the drone would bring up than it would be to control the human risks.”

Getting instant feedback from an inspecting drone in real time, via the Internet or another method of instantaneous communication, can enable a company to make quicker and more informed decisions on safety improvement, LeBrun adds. “In the past, if you were to use a person to inspect any sort of piece of equipment, you had to have that person do the inspection, take that inspection information, get it back to a person that can make a decision, and all of that time in between is time lost.”

But there is always the possibility of an employer’s safety intentions backfiring. “If you are going to use that drone and put that drone in a precarious situation where it may have a negative effect on the operations of the dam or any other type of equipment that you are inspecting, then you might be creating more havoc than good,” LeBrun cautions.

To a large extent, the safety of drone deployment depends on the amount of training and knowledge the user has. Unfortunately, this varies to a dangerous degree because many people remain unaware of the hazards, according to David Tisseur, a chief pilot, safety operator and certified thermographer with Canadian Drone Services in North Bay, Ontario. Tisseur recalls witnessing an incident in which a man launched a drone that went out of control.

“He literally stuck it close to a bell tower, radio tower, and this thing just went for a run, because it just got impeded with a tonne of radio signals. The drone itself didn’t know what to do,” he says. “This guy didn’t understand that he should have had shielding on his equipment.”

Tisseur adds that many drone sellers endanger the public by exploiting uneducated consumers. “Far too many people out there are buying these things and throwing them into the air, and I mean they are literally throwing them in the air and

“ We don’t see them until the last minute, and they can’t see us.”

GAME OF DRONES A UAV can be the size of a book or as large as a small plane, and the potential range of applications for them in both the private and public sectors is just as wide. Law enforcement in this country has already employed drones to take aerial photographs and videos of crime scenes and traffic accidents or to assist in search-and-rescue operations, according to Drones in Canada, a March 2013 report from the Office of the Privacy Commissioner in Gatineau, Quebec. Commercial operations can use them to inspect power and gas lines or to monitor infrastructure and natural resources from an overhead view. Even online bookstore Amazon has experimented with delivering packages to customers in Canada via drones.

Bryan Micon, chief technology officer with Drones Plus, a Las Vegas-headquartered UAV retail company with locations in Toronto and Vancouver, says real-estate companies make up a large market for Phantom and Inspire drones with aerial cameras these days. Clients often want a bird’s-eye photo-

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not understanding the equipment that they have, the regulations that they are supposed to operate under — even the human element, the people that they are flying overtop of.”

BLINDED BY THE FLIGHT In the aviation system, UAVs present the most recent example of how people on the ground can unwittingly interfere with pilots, apart from model airplanes and shining lasers at aircraft. Steve Oakley, Guelph-based interim manager of Ontario’s western region for safety-consultancy organization Workplace Safety & Prevention Services, is well aware of the risks.

“Drones are just another of these sorts of things that could interfere with aviation. It just happens to be new on the horizon,” says Oakley, who is also a pilot. He compares them to radio-controlled helicopters, with one exception: drones are more widely available to the public. “If you tried to fly a radio-controlled helicopter, you would crash the thing before you would cause any damage to anybody if you didn’t know what you were doing. Whereas a drone, the problem is that it is fairly stable in relation to a radio-controlled helicopter.”

Oakley adds that flight interference is a danger more common in urban areas. “Now we have got urban areas with population and a new form of interference which has been introduced, and there are a lot of people that are experimenting with drones.”

Most manufacturers equip drones with some kind of failsafe application that can bring a UAV back to its home base in risky circumstances, and new technologies to improve failsafe apps are in the experimental stage now, according to Micon.

“If an emergency vehicle is flying in the air, then they can turn on something that essentially jams drone communication,” he explains. “They will safely, slowly land, and I think for law enforcement, for search-and-rescue, that would be an incredibly useful tool.”

Jamming a drone’s communication will send it home, Micon says, “but if you are jamming its GPS signals as well, it will simply land wherever it is.”

Gervais does not rule out the possibility that manufacturers may design UAVs in a way that would enable aircraft to detect them in the future, although this is mere technological speculation. “Anything is possible in the next few years, and it would obviously be nice to be able to see these things or sense or perceive them,” he says. “But I don’t think that would be anytime soon.”

For now, many pilots have to rely on their eyes, rather than their instruments, to spot wayward drones. But Gervais is more concerned about the dangers posed by recreational drone users than by business ones, who tend to receive more training. Commercial users, he presumes, are “probably a little more by the book, and they know what they need to do, and they know what the airspace is — or they should.”

poses. Every company or individual who intends to use a UAV for occupational reasons must have a Special Flight Operations Certificate (SFOC) if the vehicle has a mass of 25 kilograms or more. Detailed SFOC exemptions are available for UAVs between two and 25 kg. These exemptions involve meeting strict safety conditions, including weight limits and minimum distances from people, buildings and airports.

TC warns users not to fly drones within nine kilometres of any airport, heliport or aerodrome or within 150 metres of any people, animals, structures or other vehicles. It is also unsafe to fly a UAV higher than 90 metres above the ground or near populated areas and large crowds. Drones can distract drivers and interfere with the work of first responders, and they are not permitted within restricted and controlled airspace. As well, TC advises users to limit drone flights to clear weather and to the daytime (unless the vehicle is equipped with proper nighttime lighting and operates under specified procedures) and to keep UAVs within eyesight.

“Using a UAV in a reckless and negligent manner could cause property damage or bodily harm, resulting in lawsuits, fines and jail time,” warns TC senior media-relations advisor Natasha Gauthier from Ottawa. “Anyone who violates controlled or restricted airspace and endangers the safety of manned aircraft could face fines of up to $25,000 and/or prison. This applies to any size of UAV, used for any purpose.”

In addition, Gauthier says, a company that requires an SFOC, but flies a drone without one, could face a fine as high as $25,000. A business could also face a fine of up to $15,000 if it has an SFOC, but fails to follow its individual requirements. “For example, their SFOC says they can only fly during daylight hours and they are caught flying at night.”

Gervais believes that the basic TC guidelines are adequate as far as airspace is concerned. “But can they be enforced?” he asks. “Do people respect that?” He agrees that reckless use of drones that could cause airspace collision should be treated as a criminal offence with appropriate penalties.

“Possibility of causing harm to an aircraft is also in the Criminal Code,” he says, noting that any UAV interference with an aircraft could damage the plane, bring it down and cause fatalities. “Even a small drone.”

LeBrun predicts that TC’s guidelines and rules will become stricter with time. “They are a work in progress,” he says. “If you have situations that are causing high risk to people or to equipment, you may find more regulations are put in place, especially if companies themselves are not putting those restrictions in place without the use of government regulations.”

To Tisseur, there is room for improvement in the drone guidelines, but he fears that significant changes are unlikely without users learning harsh lessons first. “The sad thing is, it does take a fatality or somebody getting hurt before everybody stops and says, ‘Hey, listen, we have got to step up.’”

But changes are already in the planning stages, according to Gauthier. A recent Notice of Proposed Amendment from TC is exploring options regarding drones weighing 25

“ Think of the drone as any other workplace apparatus.”

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kg or less operated within the user’s line of sight. “Proposed changes include marking and registration requirements, new flight rules, as well as knowledge testing, minimum age limits and permits for UAV operators,” Gauthier says.

RISK AWARENESS In the absence of more detailed, specific legislation about drone safety, Oakley advises companies to adopt a risk-based approach for drones, not unlike the risk assessments one would conduct for other potentially hazardous situations.

“Think of the drone as any other workplace apparatus, like a crane or a forklift truck,” he advises. “Companies will definitely want to look at what is responsible in terms of training, education and operating qualifications for the use of drones.”

If the employer does not require an SFOC for the particular size or type of UAV, the company is morally obligated to determine what responsible behaviour looks like regarding the vehicle’s use. And that includes asking questions like how companies can get ahead of regulatory requirements that are still pending, Oakley recommends.

He compares the current situation with drones to that with workplace cell phones and distracted driving, before legislation preventing cell-phone use while operating motor vehicles came into being. Typically, when new technology becomes available and common, “it gets put into the workplace in the absence of any kind of legislation or really thorough guidelines that may be coming,” Oakley says. In the case of cell phones, “most workplaces were defaulting to, ‘What does the law say?’ instead of, ‘What is the risk of people using this technology in the workplace?’”

In the meantime, action to raise awareness of safe drone operation is underway. For example, Waterloo Wellington Flight Centre, a flight school near the Waterloo International Airport in Breslau, Ontario, offers a full three-day course for individuals intending to use UAVs for commercial or research purposes. Instructed by Kitchener-based drone expert Scott Gray, the course covers the TC requirements, SFOCs, navigation, air law, aeronautics and more. Completion of the course grants the individual a restricted radio licence as well as practical flying experience and guidance.

Other organizations that advocate for safe drone use include Unmanned Systems Canada, which lobbied for improved TC regulations at its annual conference in Halifax in November, and MAAC, which now includes a UAV advisory group among its committees. For recreational users, the Ontario Provincial Police has recently launched an information campaign on safe UAV operation in northeastern Ontario, and the Calgary Police Service put out a press release reiterating the TC drone rules on January 7.

Micon notes that Drones Plus has always invested in free public education programs about drone safety. Attendees do not even have to buy or own a UAV to take part. Among the major lessons that Micon’s company teaches is never to impede aircraft putting out wildfires, or any other kind of police or medical craft in particular. “If I see a fire truck driving down the road, I am not going to stand in front of it with my

cell phone and try to take a picture of it.”

In the United States, the Federal Aviation Administration has estimated that more than one million drones were sold over the 2015 Christmas season. Whether flown by hobbyists or by occupational users, drones in the skies will only increase in number. This makes it more compelling for laws about operating them safely to be strengthened.

Until that happens, Micon thinks that it is wise to “just learn everything about your craft and then take any lessons from any professionals to fly as safe as possible.”

Jeff Cottrill is editor of canadian occupational health & safety news.

A Near-Disaster

The safety issues presented by unmanned air vehicles (UAV) may stretch further than most people imagine. “I know of far too many near misses that had the potential of being a catastrophic failure that the outcome would have affected many lives, as well as a debt load that most people would not be able to recover from,” says David Tisseur, a chief pilot, safety operator and certified thermographer with Canadian Drone Services in North Bay, Ontario.

Tisseur cites an incident that occurred in Hardisty, Alberta. A large energy company hired a drone firm from Ottawa to inspect a vaporous-gas leak in a distribution/ storage pumping station by using a UAV equipped with a thermal imaging camera. The operator was watching the drone while standing on a high pile of skids. At one point, the operator jumped to the ground and accidentally cut off the drone’s power on the remote, sending the vehicle toppling to the ground in a fiery crash.

What could have made this incident far more disastrous was the explosive potential of both the drone and the environment. “The drone was equipped with two lithium ion batteries with an unknown weight,” explains Tisseur, noting the “extremely aggressive ferocity” of the fire in the wreckage. Meanwhile, the pumping station that the UAV had been inspecting was storing nearly 13 million barrels of crude oil.

“The potential of making a crater to Mother Earth was very high that day,” he suggests, speculating about the loss of life and property and an environmental cleanup that would take years — an insurance company’s nightmare. “That town was very lucky that day, and no one was even aware of it.”

Tisseur feels that in order to ensure safer use, the operation of drones requires more standardized training and testing, including a minimum number of logged flight hours. “There is a strong need for accountability and responsibility, training and certification,” he stresses, citing the analogy that someone who buys a hammer does not automatically become a carpenter.

“The sad thing is, it will take a loss of life before Transport Canada will be granted the authority to start putting penalties to these companies.”

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POST-TRAUMATIC STRESS DISORDER

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OUT OF THE

SHADOWS R

BY CARMELLE WOLFSON

The introduction of legislation presuming that post-traumatic stress disorder among Ontario’s first responders is work-related points to a growing recognition across Canada that occupational injuries are not just physical.

ae-Lynne Dicks remembers in vivid detail the call she took on May 8, 2000, while working as a 9-1-1 communications operator and dispatcher in Vancouver. Following a hang-up dial — a common occurrence in the phone room — she called back the number several times before a young man answered. He explained that he had attempted suicide by sticking a knife deep into his gut and had barricaded his front door. He was bleeding profusely and wanted to ensure that his body would not be left for days before being found.

“But above and beyond that, he was scared to die,” Dicks says. “He didn’t want to die alone.”

When police arrived at the scene, instead of hanging up the phone as Dicks was trained to do, she stayed on the line. The young man was not communicating with the police, who had their guns trained on him, so Dicks got his attention by yelling into the receiver. She convinced him to listen to the officers and leave his home. At that point, Dicks heard the officers jump onto the man and wrestle his knife away.

Dicks left the room crying. “I had never heard someone get taken down like that when they are injured,” she says. To this day, Dicks does not know if that man lived or died. In the years that followed, the incident has been the subject of many nightmares and flashbacks.

Not long after taking that call, Dicks moved to a part-time auxiliary role in which she could decide when she was available to work, due to distress. She attributes her failed marriage to the trauma associated with that call. By 2002, she was experiencing night terrors, having difficulty sleeping and diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) by a psychiatrist. Within a year, she returned to a full-time role as a call-taker and dispatcher. But in 2004, she received a call that triggered memories of the initial incident. At that moment, she says, she could not see the large, red button on her console used to make third-party calls. Panicked, she left the room in tears.

Dicks’ attempts to claim workers’ compensation for her disorder were unsuccessful. “They told me that I was trying to blame my horrible marriage on my job,” she says, “when the reality is [that] the trauma I experienced at my job caused me an injury. And yeah, my marriage was not strong enough to withstand it.”

According to Dicks, the board noted that she was upset about work assignments. But she clarifies that she was angry because her employer had disregarded a note from her doctor advising that she stay on firedepartment calls, rather than return to the policing team.

Following the dispute, Dicks left her job. She says she still experiences significant cognitive impairment and aversion to conflict and has trouble sleeping. At her lowest point, she tried to end her life. Dicks believes that had she been awarded workers’ compensation benefits, www.ohscanada.com

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passed, the Supporting Ontario’s First Responders Act (Posttraumatic Stress Disorder), 2016 would give presumptive coverage to police officers, firefighters, paramedics, communications officers, dispatchers and workers in correctional institutions, secure custody facilities, ambulance services and First Nations emergency-response teams.

she would have received proper treatment from a psychologist and been able to continue working in an accommodated role until her retirement. Today, she works parttime at a grocery store in a small town in British Columbia’s Okanagan Valley.

CHICKEN OR EGG? Historically, PTSD has been associated with military veterans. With growing awareness of workplace mental-health issues, the potential for PTSD to be attributed to traumatic events experienced in other professions is gaining traction.

Some provinces are taking steps to address occupational PTSD. In 2012, Alberta became the first province to introduce presumptive coverage for PTSD in first responders. Manitoba extended similar presumptive coverage to all workers with work-related PTSD in January of this year. Ontario was the latest to jump on the bandwagon on February 1, when it announced a new PTSD strategy for first responders.

While job-related psychological injuries are generally covered under workers’ compensation in jurisdictions across Canada, with presumptive legislation, employees who get PTSD following a traumatic workplace event would not be required to prove that their work was the cause of the disorder.

“It is almost impossible to prove that you came down with post-traumatic stress disorder from your job. You can imagine that trying to do so is re-traumatizing, in a sense, and has been described as such by many folks who have gone through it,” explains Ontario MPP Cheri DiNovo from Toronto. She has been trying to pass legislation for presumptive coverage of PTSD in first responders since 2010.

“It becomes kind of a chicken-and-egg exercise,” DiNovo says. “Did your marriage split up because you had PTSD, or did you have PTSD because your marriage split up and you also witnessed a trauma over and over again?”

She equates the PTSD bill to presumptive legislation for firefighters who have been diagnosed with cancer. In 2014, the province reversed the burden of proof for firefighters with certain types of cancer. Although very few firefighters develop cancer, the burden of proof is no longer on these workers to show that the disease was the result of exposure to occupational factors, such as chemical fires.

After tabling DiNovo’s bill several times, the Ontario government introduced its own legislation on February 18. If

ON THE FRONTLINE While the development of PTSD does not appear to be common among first responders, their prevalence rates may be higher than in other professions, since they are responding to traumatic events daily. Experiencing a traumatic event or hearing about the trauma of a loved one is one criterion needed to make a PTSD diagnosis.

First responders are twice as likely as the general population to suffer PTSD, according to the Government of Ontario. Information from the Tema Conter Memorial Trust, which provides peer support, family assistance and training to public-safety and military personnel with PTSD, shows that there were 39 suicides among first responders across the country in 2015.

While statistics on first responders with PTSD are not available, the disorder may be a contributing factor to suicides within the profession.

In Manitoba, PTSD represents a small fraction of workers’ compensation claims. In 2014 — the most recent year for which data is available — 10 successful claims were made and four were disallowed out of 30,202 reported injuries. The previous year, 10 successful claims were made, while three were disallowed out of 29,777 injuries. The numbers above may not include PTSD claims that were made after a physical injury.

“Traumatic events aren’t all that common. It takes a significant trauma to create a psychological injury,” says Warren Preece, communications director for the Workers’ Compensation Board (WCB) of Manitoba. “Of course, it is different for every person.”

The claims process can take as “short as a few days” and “as long as months,” according to Preece. Cases in which a worker has developed symptoms of PTSD many years after

First responders are twice as likely as the general population to suffer PTSD.

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experiencing a traumatic incident are more difficult to adjudicate, he notes.

PREVENT AND CURE While Alberta, Manitoba and Ontario have become frontrunners in recognizing occupational PTSD, Manitoba’s new bill took things one step further by extending presumptive coverage to all workers eligible under the WCB who have been diagnosed with PTSD by a medical professional.

According to a spokesperson for the Manitoba government, Manitoba’s bill was conceived through consultation with firefighters, police, nurses and public-sector unions.

“When someone experiences a traumatic incident in the workplace, we want to ensure that they don’t suffer in silence,” he says. “Presumption allows them to get [the] treatment and support they need to deal with traumatic incidents quickly.”

Preece says the board expects a “small bump” in claims as a result of the new legislation, but he assures that it is unlikely to lead to an increase in the average assessment rate. “We are in a strong financial position here in Manitoba. So we have got very healthy reserves, enough to accommodate some extra costs without affecting the average rate.”

But the Canadian Federation of Independent Business (CFIB) is concerned about the potential change in costs. “The provincial government has said that the cost will be manageable and they shouldn’t affect premiums, but we haven’t seen any fully-costed explanations,” counters Elliot Sims, director of Manitoba provincial affairs for the CFIB in Winnipeg.

Even if costs are manageable to the system overall, smallbusiness owners may need to devote additional resources to get up to speed on the requirements of the new legislation and dispute claims that may arise. He adds that this new approach to claims will shift certain responsibilities that were previously under the purview of the WCB onto employers. According to Sims, Manitoba is one of four provinces in which the workers’ compensation board does not have an employer’s advocate office to assist employers with their claims.

But Preece thinks that this concern is unfounded. “Our duty to adjudicate remains,” Preece explains, clarifying that the duty to investigate PTSD claims remains with the board.

“It is just that if it ends up being a toss-up between where do we think the source of the traumatic event was or is, then the presumption pushes us towards it happening at work.”

The investigation includes gathering information from the worker, such as whether other factors outside of work may have contributed to their symptoms, the mental-health provider’s diagnosis and doctors’ reports, if available. “If it turns out that in your history you have had other traumatic incidents that could be responsible for your PTSD, then it is possible that your claim could be rebutted or we could say, ‘No, this isn’t work-related,’” Preece says.

For Sims, it is important to ensure that a process is in place to adjudicate such matters. “There might be all sorts of other factors and conditions and situations that that person may have encountered outside of the workplace that may have triggered the PTSD or caused it to occur.”

While it is important to help those who have developed PTSD as a result of their professions, efforts must also be made towards prevention. “Let’s fix them before they get there,” stresses Paul Charbonneau, director of emergency and transportation services and chief of paramedic services for the County of Frontenac in eastern Ontario.

For Charbonneau, presumptive coverage is “a political answer to only one area of concern about mental wellness.”

He sees PTSD on one end of a spectrum of mental-health conditions and would like mental-wellness training to be incorporated into paramedics’ education in colleges. Employers should also provide programs that deal with these issues.

Robin Bender, a mental-health first-aid trainer and founder of Mega Health at Work Inc. in Waterloo, Ontario, agrees. “Where we should be focusing, in my view, is on the prevention side, on the wellness side — investing money on people’s health and awareness and education around trauma and how to prevent PTSD.” In Frontenac County, a paramedic who has responded to a traumatic call is taken off duty so that he or she can decompress. The county also offers a peer-support program in which paramedics are paid to counsel co-workers during their spare time. Also available are an employee-assistance program, a list of psychologists who can be booked for appointments and benefit coverage for sessions with psychologists and psychiatrists.

Charbonneau says employers have an obligation to put tools in place to help workers overcome mental-health stigma, but unions, too, have a role to play. “I see a lot of blaming about [how] management isn’t doing enough. Well, what are the unions doing?”

A LONG WAY Recognizing PTSD has come a long way since Charbonneau, as a young paramedic, arrived at the University of Toronto where a student had fallen off the roof on March 17, 1975. “I didn’t really think I was going to see that kind of stuff on the job. Maybe I was naive. It bothered me,” he recounts. “I told my partner about it when we got to Toronto General [Hospital]. His exact words were, ‘Suck it up, buttercup. What the hell did you think you were going to see being a paramedic?’”

Thirteen years later, former paramedic Vince Savoia says PTSD was still unheard of within the field. That was when Savoia encountered 25-year-old Tema Conter lifeless on her bed after being raped and murdered in her Toronto apartment. It was his sixth year as a paramedic. “When I pulled back the bed sheets to do my patient assessment, that was when I froze, because when I looked at Tema for the first time, I thought it was my fiancée.”

After that call, Savoia developed anger issues, had difficulty making decisions and became socially withdrawn and emotionally fragile. “I would cry at the top of the dime,” recalls Savoia, who also developed hyper-vigilance. “I started to become extremely overprotective, almost a paranoid state of trying to protect my wife and my kids from danger.”

Another classic symptom of PTSD is the questioning of www.ohscanada.com

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Getting the Word Out

When it comes to workplace mental health, many employers are clueless, according to Robin Bender, founder of Mega Health at Work Inc., a Waterloo, Ontario-based training and consulting company offering workshops on workplace mental health and wellness. She says that it took 15 years of working as a disability manager before she finally received training on mental illness from the Canadian Mental Health Commission (CMHC).

“If you don’t know what PTSD is,” Benders says, “how are you going to manage it?” She adds that employers have a responsibility to educate themselves on mentalhealth issues.

Bender believes that every university and college should train students in mental-health first aid. Through the CMHC, her consultancy firm offers a two-day certification program that teaches participants how to support someone who is struggling with mental illness, as well as provide information about various disorders, including risk factors, symptoms, behaviours and warning signs.

Among first responders and nurses, she says there is a lot of stigma surrounding mental illness, because they see themselves as “helpers”. For healthcare workers who suffer from mental-health issues, each case is handled differently. For example, Bender notes that many people with PTSD can continue to work, because they can manage their symptoms, while others may be waiting for treatment. As well, each worker may be at a different stage in recovery, depending on when they were diagnosed and if they have been in active treatment.

If the worker has taken time off work due to PTSD, the return-to-work process should be a collaborative effort between the employer and the employee, as well as the union if the workplace is unionized. And ongoing communication is vital, Bender advises. Often, employers do not work with employees to create a plan that gradually returns them to their pre-injury positions. She recommends regular meetings between the employer and worker, so that the former can find out what support the worker needs in the return-to-work process.

For paramedics and police officers, one modification that can be made for a worker suffering from PTSD is to put them on lower-priority calls, which are generally less traumatic, before gradually increasing their exposure to higher-priority calls. “But you need the on-boarding and assistance of the person [and] their treating professional,” she stresses. “You, as an employer, are no expert and doctor to be able to make those calls.”

one’s morals and values. Savoia calls this a “spiritual” symptom of the disorder, which can cause a person to question why misfortune befalls good people. “That is when something like PTSD becomes extremely difficult to handle, because your morals and values may be shattered. You just can’t make heads or tails as to why circumstances are what they are.”

Four years after that call, Savoia decided to leave emergency medical services and went into the financial-planning field. He says he had no idea at the time that he had PTSD. “I did not make any claims at WSIB. It just wasn’t spoken about.

I didn’t tell anybody about it. I kept it quiet.”

But he never forgot Conter. In 2001, he founded the Tema Conter Memorial Trust in her name. The organization offers $30,000 in scholarships annually to public-safety students conducting research on acute stress, compassion fatigue, vicarious trauma and post-traumatic stress. It also provides a support line for first responders, a mental-health-referral program and a family- and peer-support assistance fund for mental-health services. This fall, the organization will launch an online first-responder trauma-management and -recovery program with Simon Fraser University.

MOVING FORWARD Savoia and his organization applaud Ontario Labour Minister Kevin Flynn for the province’s new PTSD strategy. He says giving presumptive coverage to first responders is a good start, although he considers the recently introduced presumption that applies to all workers in Manitoba “the gold standard.”

Savoia suggests that raising awareness through training and education is as important as making available measures that take care of first responders after they have been traumatized. “You can’t prevent PTSD,” he says, “because PTSD is normally caused by one experiencing a traumatic event that is outside of their normal range of experience.”

He encourages all first responders, especially those who are new to the profession, to see a therapist every six months.

“By visiting a mental-health professional when you are healthy, you can now establish a baseline for future claims,” he advises. In the event that PTSD does develop, the first responder can follow up with the same mental-health professional and get the proper care and support needed.

Charbonneau has developed several mechanisms for coping with traumatic incidents over four decades in the paramedical field. He seeks support from his wife and colleagues and, when necessary, uses his employee-assistance program.

“You talk about it, you compartmentalize it.”

But Charbonneau continues to be disturbed by some of the things he saw on the job. Soon after the birth of his first child, he was called to the scene of a murder-suicide where a woman had jumped off a bridge in Toronto with her baby.

“I was just so excited about having a baby and a son that I couldn’t comprehend why would a mother do that. But it wasn’t mine to comprehend,” he says. “I have to deal with it, but I can’t own it.”

Carmelle Wolfson is a writer in Toronto.

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First Aid and

Your Workspace

Mental Health First Aid

Mental health issues affect everyone in the workplace. Making sure your employees can support those experiencing mental health issues in a compassionate and effective way will help alleviate misconceptions and reduce the stigma around mental illness.

What First Aid Content Do Your Employees Need?

Guidelines affecting first aid and resuscitation are changing. To support first aid education in the workplace, the lead training agencies in Canada have built a consensus around the guidelines for Canada. These can be found at redcross.ca/firstaidguidelines.

A New Standard for Workplace Injury Reduction

There is an exciting new initiative spearheaded by the Canadian Red Cross, Canadian Standards Association (CSA), and the Workplace Injury Reduction Collaborative (made up of provincial worker safety regulators, labour groups, and other training agencies) that will build a competency framework for workplace first aid training.

Free First Aid App

For the employees who have smartphones or tablets, here is a tool to make first aid training part of their life. The app helps people learn or refresh skills, can be a quick reference for emergency situations, and provides mini tests to validate knowledge. Obtaining one or more of the badges (which can also be shared on social media) can be a weekly goal to help keep health and safety education top of mind.

With the support of Bell Let’s Talk, Canadian Red Cross will add Mental Health First Aid content to our programs in 2017. This fall, our First Aid App will carry strategies and tools to help those supporting people with a mental health crisis. We encourage you to start a dialogue around mental health in your workplace.

Using evidence-based practice can in fact help us save more lives. As our global understanding of clinical and educational science continues to evolve, we can use the latest science to update our practices for better outcomes for persons in need of care.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC) just released international guidelines for 2016, which reflect the latest in evidence-based science on how to reduce suffering and save lives. The Canadian Red Cross will develop more comprehensive educational techniques as training is more than the direct interventions applied in an emergency; how we engage our learners is also a critical component.

OHS professionals who have employees in more than one province can attest to the differences in first aid training requirements based on legislation. It is very tricky to ensure that all employees meet legislation requirements and also have the same level of safety training across Canada.

The CSA is working with the Collaborative and a working committee to support the development of a standard for workplace first aid in Canada. More on this initiative—due in the spring of 2017—can be found on the CSA website csagroup.org.

Download our Free First Aid App from Google Play, iTunes or redcross.ca/apps.

Red Cross First Aid. The Experience to Make a Difference.

1.877.356.3226 redcross.ca/firstaid redcross.ca/catalogue redcross.ca/apps

HEALTH WATCH

WORKPLACE FATIGUE

When a Cuppa’s Not Enough full alertness. “If you can’t remember things, and if you are not sharp, you can’t react quickly,” Morehouse says.

By Jeff Cottrill

W

orkplace fatigue came under the spotlight of late after two recent developments in the transporta- LAST TRAIN TO SNOOZEVILLE As for the CP case, operations inspector Todd Horie wrote in tion sector were found to be fatigue-related.

An investigation report published on March 14 by the a letter dated January 14 to CP that train crews were required Transportation Safety Board of Canada concluded that fa- to do the following: report for duty at away-from-home tertigue had likely led to a minor marine accident in which a minals’ rest facilities before their shifts began, forcing them diesel tanker made bottom contact on October 14, 2014. to allow time for transit to the terminals; follow revised orThe master ordered the helmsman to turn port, but the lat- ders after cancellations without sufficient rest between serter turned starboard instead and the helmsman did not turn vice times; and anticipate train calls with inaccurate train the boat the correct way until 51 seconds after the initial or- lineups. As a result, workers were deprived of rest necessary der. The investigation determined that both the master and to perform at peak ability, Horie charged.

Horie’s letter also included orders to take helmsman had been experiencing fatigue at the time and that fatigue management aboard Fatigue is common into consideration transit time to and from rest facilities at away-from-home terminals in the tanker had been ineffective. crews’ on-duty hours, allow extended-serviceEarlier this year, a rail safety inspector with in industries that run crews to schedule up to eight hours of rest Transport Canada (TC) issued an order to Ca- rely on 24-hour after cancellations and improve the accuracy nadian Pacific Railway Company (CP), citing of train lineups so that employees know when worker fatigue as a significant hazard on rail business cycles. their next shifts begin. lines and demanding that the company change A former CP employee in British Columbia, who asked to freight-train lineups and fatigue-management practices on remain anonymous, says fatigue has been a serious issue with certain British Columbia runs.

Lewis Smith, a communications coordinator with the the railway for a long time, and many employees rarely know Canada Safety Council in Ottawa, says fatigue can exacerbate when they will be at work. “You go to sleep, you get up, and the risks already inherent in hazardous jobs. “You see a lot of then you are not going to work for another 10 hours, and by lack of attention to detail, or sort of cutting corners to avoid then, you get tired. You are ready to go to sleep, but you have extra work or the extra effort needed to make sure that things got to go to work.”

Douglas Finnson, president of the Teamsters Canada Rail are being done safely,” Smith says.

Although lack of sleep is the most obvious cause of work- Conference, which represents CP employees from its Ottawa place fatigue, worksites with dim lighting can worsen the headquarters, says he and the union have been fighting faproblem, Smith notes. Unusually warm or loud environ- tigue in the rail industry for decades. He adds that the Teamments can also contribute to fatigue, while improper nutri- sters set up a fatigue-management system for rail workers in Calgary in the 1990s. “It is still running in Calgary to this day, tion can interfere with a worker’s circadian rhythms.

Rachel Morehouse, a member of the Canadian Sleep Soci- although CP was able to get rid of it for half the employees.”

Smith advises employers to educate their staff on best ety and a professor who researches sleep and mood disorders at Dalhousie Medicine New Brunswick in Saint John, says practices to prevent fatigue, especially exercise, proper nutrifatigue is common in industries that rely on 24-hour business tion, stress control and sufficient sleep.

Morehouse suggests that employers should recognize cycles, especially healthcare and long-haul trucking. Morehouse notes that doctors and nurses lose their ability to func- their employees’ physical limits more, as safety risks come tion when they are on duty for periods as long as 16, 24 or into play when work hours become too long, too often.

“We are human, and we are designed for approximately 16 36 hours. “Humans just weren’t designed that way,” she says.

Common symptoms of fatigue on the job include con- hours of continuous wakefulness followed by approximately tinual tiredness and mood-related effects. “You do see people eight hours of sleep,” she says. “And so when you go against who tend to get either more depressive, more irritable or it, that is when you get problems.” giddy. Those are the most overtly visible signs,” Smith says.

Fatigued employees cannot approach routine tasks with Jeff Cottrill is editor of canadian occupational health & safety news.

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PARTNERS IN PREVENTION 2016 HEALTH & SAFETY CONFERENCE & TRADE SHOW

New Frontiers in Health & Safety

KEYNOTE SPEAKERS

Martin Ford

Dr. James McLurkin

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3M CANADA

ANSELL

Ansell is a global leader in protection solutions, with operations in North America, Latin America/ Caribbean, Europe, Middle East and Africa and Asia Pacific, manufacturing innovative products that provide unmatched quality, comfort and technology to millions of consumers, workers and first responders. Information on Ansell and its products can be found at www.ansell.com.

BCRSP

The Canadian Registered Safety Professional (CRSP®) certification is administered by the BCRSP through an independent, accredited process which verifies competency in professional safety practice.

CRSPs exemplify professionalism, a commitment to high standards, continuous learning, and follow an established Code of Ethics set forth by the governing board. Celebrating 40 Years of Excellence!

3M provides safety solutions that improve comfort while helping employers increase compliance.

Across diverse industries and applications our technology, expertise, and energy drive innovative solutions to help you control your environment so you can focus on the job at hand. 3M Science helps you get smarter about safety.

THE DEB GROUP

The Deb Group is the world’s leading away from home skin care system company — the supplier of choice for companies and organizations that value employee and customer well-being.

See the new Deb-Stoko global product range! Make Hands Matter in the Workplace.

www.debgroup.com Website: www.bcrsp.ca Visit us at booth #537

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DSX™ DOCKING STATION GIVE YOUR GAS DETECTOR A HOME

MASTER LOCK

MSA

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DENTEC

At last a DEET-FREE insect repellent!

The unique new formula for 1012 insect repellent, SkeetSafe is a game changer. DEET’s harmful properties are eliminated and it lasts longer as well – 10 hours from black flies and 12 hours from mosquitoes.

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Give your gas detector a home.

A place to check in. A place to recover. A place to recharge. A place to disclose every detail about a shift, and let you know when it is ready to take on the next one. The new DSX Docking Station easily maintains the gas detectors that keep your people safe in hazardous environments. Visit www.indsci. com/dsxhome to find out more and ensure that your gas detectors are ready when you need them and your people are back home safely at the end of every shift.

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You want your employees to be safe from workplace accidents.

Their lives and the reputation of your company depend on the safety initiatives you take.

Master Lock Safety Solutions protects your employees by reducing the possibility of disastrous mistakes when multiple employees have access to machinery. As the industry leader, Master Lock Safety Solutions can help protect lives in virtually every industrial workplace.

MSA’s complete lines of safety solutions help protect workers at the heart of your operation. Core products include portable gas detection instruments and sensors, respiratory protective equipment, fall protection products, head, eye, face, hearing and communications protection, and fixed gas and flame detection systems. See us at Booth 512 at Partners in Prevention Show or visit www.MSAsafety. com; 1-800-MSA-2222

EXHIBITOR PREVIEWS SHOWA

1.877.356.3226 redcross.ca/firstaid Visit us at booth #627

Now available: Working at Heights in Ontario! The first MOL approved blended learning program. Visit our website to find out more! YOW Canada Inc. also provides high quality occupational health and safety training and materials to aid Canadians with safety compliance. Courses include WHMIS 2015, Transportation of Dangerous Goods and many more!

Workrite Uniform Company’s multihazard protection (MHP) coveralls provide a flame-resistant (FR) barrier against arc flash, flash fire and small molten metal splatter. Made from DuPont™ Nomex® MHP fabric, the coveralls wick moisture and dry quickly for improved onthe-job comfort while also offering exceptional long-term durability and colorfastness.

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CANECT HALL 2

WORKRITE UNIFORM COMPANY’S MHP COVERALLS

www.workrite.ca 800-521-1888 Visit us at booth #849

HALL 4 EXIT

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DERRY ROAD

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With more than 65 years’ experience in developing and delivering first aid and CPR training, the Red Cross trains more than 600,000 participants every year. Our training portfolio includes a broad spectrum of courses required by provincial/territorial legislation.

We offer certification courses in first aid, CPR, and automated external defibrillation (AED) as well as a growing menu of online health and safety courses.

YOW CANADA

Showa is synonymous with the highest degree of hand protection and innovation. Pioneering revolutionary technology, we have forever changed our industry with over 1,800 gloves, meticulously engineered for excellence. Down to every fiber, our gloves are created to perform better, unleashing new potential for hands at work.

EN

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RED CROSS

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SNACK BAR

Contour Design, Inc. 1045

1047

INFO DESK

1049

AISLE 1000 1050

Bon-Mar Textiles Inc.

ELEVATOR CANECT LOUNGE Staples Advantage Canada

EUROTEX

905

DS Handling Systems/Aerdon Lifts

Alert Safety Products

913

915

912

914

917

Kuraray America Inc. 919

Bolle Safety Canada by Groupe Regard Securite

921

925

A.L.G. Safety

Fast Rescue 929Inc.

935

Dynamic Safety International

906

Industrial Safety Trainers

949

Industrial Scientific Corporation

Hawaiian Moon

918

eCompliance

Helly Hansen Leisure Canada Inc. Workwear Div.

813

Mechanix Wear

924

926

Act First Safety 825

3E Company 827

Lifemark Health Corp.

Racknowledge 819

Deb Canada

DuPont Protection Technologies

934

Liftow Limited

Surgically Clean Air

829

942

1529

1531

837

843

1519 1522

1524

1526

1532

Ringers Technologies LLC

804

701

1534

1518

705

1533b

1312

1315

1316

1317

1435

Custom Protect Ear

713

818 THINK'n Corp

820

824

Cardiac Science Corporation

Baffin Inc

ANTRIS 717

719

718

Securo Vision Inc.

828

Pacesetter Sales & Associates

Ergo Advantage

725

729

Master Lock FTT Ltd, 735

728

734

VF Imagewear

Gensuite LLC

727

SOS

834

1318

1323

1424

1426

1325

1428

1432

1329

1327

1333

1335

1337

AISLE 1300 (13'6" WIDE) 1322

1324

1326

1328

1332

1334

706

International Sew-Right

Roadpost Inc.

Safecross First Aid

Intelex Technologies 605 Inc.

R 1440

501 Shoes

Hazmasters

613

Gateway International

505

Parklane Systems

724

720

CSA Group

Wellpoint Health

BluMetric Environmental Inc.

Superior Glove

SiteHawk

Canadian Red Cross

Accessilbility Directorate of Ontario

739

Barefoot Ergonomic Flooring by Beagle I, Inc.

617

619

621

625

627

629

616

618

620Action First Aid Inc.

624

626 Magical Pest Control

628

Cognibox

Institute for Work & Health

ESDC Labour Program 527

736

743

738

CCOHS UFRED

HeartZAP Services

Impacto Protective Products Inc.

L.I.F.T. Training

Rapid Evac

612

Starquip Integrated Systems

Electrical Safety Authority

BSI Group Canada 614

NeoSystems Inc.

Ryerson University

635

639

Climatrans Inc.

Can-Technologies Inc.

1223

1225

1229

1227

1212

1216

1218

1222

1224

506 Defender

Guardian Equipment

515

517

521

512

MSA The Safety Company

516

518

1234

1236

1238

404 CannAmm

Occupational Testing Services

Tillson Brands Inc.

Workplace Medical

305

SNACK BAR

16

14 15

DRIVE-IN DOOR

LOADING DOCKS

E 8

E 7 6

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5 4

9

HALL 1

CEILING HEIGHT 15'

Scale 0

10'

20'

40'

60'

954

UNB Workrite Uniform Company

849

Abus Canada

955

Altiplato Industrial

851

Tiger-Vac

Hetek Solutions

R

855

R

854

Argus Hazco

744 Winter Walking

Rescue 7 643Inc.

Avatara Software

746

752

Ronco

DriverCheck Inc.

645

649

644

646

80'

Ministry of Labour

ContractorCheck

Aird Berlis

CFT Canada

SawStop

Safe-Tech Training

525

Ergomat Canada

Conveyerail Systems

417

419

416 Threads of Life

418

Featherlike Footwear Inc.

317

313

100'

E

205

E X H I B I T O R

Business Information Group

312

306

Detox Environmental Ltd.

E

IHSA 529

WSIB 535

BCRSP 537

TheSafetyNET

OMNI SAFETY SOLUTIONS

539

543

Workplace Safety & Prevention Services

425

536

534 VelocityEHS

St. John Ambulance

ProTELEC Checkmate

435

437

Protective Industrial Products

Kodiak Group Holdings Co.

SDSpro

E

Distracted Driving Pavilion

661

755

R

Paragone Inc.

OHS Canada

651

Kee Safety

653

754 DriveWise

Bogs

Dentec Safety Specialists

655

652

R

R

Ansell

CYANVIS

KEEN Utility

Your Workplace

549

Power Pusher Canada

551

555

552Rips

554

R

560

Kimberly-Clark Professional

Zenith Safety Products

ABB Air Hockey Robot Challenge Sponsored by KCP

Shoe Re-Nu

451

443A

443

Innova Inc.

319

424

Mister Safety Shoes

Nimonik

Radiation Safety Institute of

Swenco Limited 325

321Canada

426

428

Campbell Institute

SureWerx

327

434

Weber Supply Company Inc.

Acton Canada CONCEPT Storage Solutions Ltd.

329

335

Occupational Safety Group Inc.

442 Nilfisk Industrial Vacuums

Delta Prevention

Jenalex 343

339

Mellow Walk Footwear

Worksite Safety Compliance Centre

Walmart Canada 213

318

324

Concept Controls Inc.

Lemaitre Securite

Industrial Metal Fabricators

Buff Canada

215

326 FireZerO

Jubb Utility

Supply 225 Ltd.

219

231

328 Blickle Canada Inc.

Royer Inc.

334

Alliance Mercantile Inc.

reGuarding Solutions

235

ICC Compliance Center

237

350

338 Association

of Canadian Ergonomists

Goodlife Fitness & Mobile Charging Centre

Geroline Inc.

239

SHOWA

Vitality Assurance Vacations

YOW Canada

R

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444

PSHSA Sleep Disorder Center

HL1

HL5Toronto Central Regional Cancer Program

WSPS Volunteer/Community Outreach

HL9

18'

E N T R A N C E

DDP

DEVTRA Inc The 'CHECKER' 862

446 Roberts Onsite Inc. Colorectal Cancer Association of

HL2 Canada

448

Honeywell Safety Products 355

Dairy Farmers of Canada HL3

HL4

HL6

Canadian HL7

HL8

Get The World Moving HL11

HL12

CoreChair

R Johnston Equipment Co. Ltd.

AISLE 300 (10' WIDE)

E 12 13

406

307

304

11

Westex by Milliken

AISLE 400 1232

400

10

Thomson Reuters

413

405

CANECT

E

Sales Agency Ltd.

Tingley

R

1228

1226

950

AISLE 500 504

1233

AISLE 1200 (13'6" WIDE)

742 DEKRA Insight

642

Levitt-Safety

For Crews Canadian PRO Drivers

1217

948

Working at Heights Pavilion

513

634

Logiserve Inc.

500

1241 1213

952

1058

AISLE 600 604

Lakeland Protective Wear

1336

World Kitchen Canada/OLFA

3M Canada

PS Doors

600

1341

1061

SafeMap

Heritage Safety Products 953 Ltd.

AISLE 700 704

R R

1434

Chemscape Safety Technology

845

838

FireWise Training & Consulting

1437

10' WIDE AISLE

1313

1422

10' WIDE AISLE

10' WIDE AISLE

16' WIDE AISLE

E

1433

AISLE 1400 (13'6" WIDE)

1418

1417

816Ronin Safety & Rescue

Cansafe Safety Zone

700

1419

1429

1427

1423

E

812

Portofino Inc.

1536

1421

Talbot Marketing

AISLE 800

1533

1528

1063

1054

Western Plastics

Ministry of Transportation

Cintas Canada Ltd.

Able Translations

Work Authority

1525

AISLE 1500 (13'6" WIDE)

1052

Blackline Safety

AISLE 900 904

Walter Surface 805 Technologies

1523

AGO Ind.

Kit Care Corporation

1051

Edge Eyewear 951

Apex Occupational Health Solutions

901

R

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E

Cambridge Materials Testing

MEGAComfort Int'l

ListenUP! Canada

Mood Food Culinary

HL10

Association for Music Therapy

R

Life Enhancement Essentials

Weight Watchers

B

2 HL13

100

1

LEAVE ACCESS TO EXIT DOORS

B

Better Lounge Massage Chair Centre

E 23 22

E

2'

0

10'

17

E

20'

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LOADING DOOR

40'

60'

80'

100'

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www.ohscanada.com

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 16

33

ACCIDENT PREVENTION

METALWORKING FLUIDS

When Blade Meets Metal FORGING METAL: For workers who cut metal workpieces into shape, metalworking fluids (MWFs) are indispensable. In industrial machining and grinding operations, the term “metalworking fluids” refers to a range of oils and liquids used to cool and/or lubricate metal workpieces and help prevent burning and smoking when they are being cut, ground or milled.

Applying MWFs also helps improve the quality of the workpiece by removing the fines, chips and small pieces of metal from the tool being used and the surface of the workpiece, according to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS) in Hamilton, Ontario.

But handling these fluids can also put workers at risk of exposure and the associated adverse health effects, such as dermatitis, respiratory conditions and even cancer.

THE BIG FOUR: Metalworking fluids can be grouped into four basic classes: straight oils; soluble or emulsifiable oils; semi-synthetic fluids; and synthetic fluids. Each class of MWFs varies greatly in composition, and each may contain additives, which include corrosion inhibitors, biocides, dispersants and fragrances. The composition of MWFs also changes with storage or use. Nitrosamines, a classified carcinogen, can form slowly in water-based MWFs that have been stored for long periods of time, the CCOHS notes.

In use, fluid complexity is compounded by contamination with substances from the manufacturing process, such as tramp oils, hydraulic fluids and particulate matter from grinding and machining operations. Furthermore, as waterbased MWFs support microbial growth, biological contaminants like bacterial and fungal cells may be introduced, according to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in Washington, D.C. BREAKING BARRIERS: Metalworking fluids can enter the body through inhalation, dermatological contact and ingestion. The exposure level through inhaling MWF mist, aerosols or vapour depends on the kind of machining being done, how the fluid is applied and whether the machine is enclosed and ventilated. Higher exposures occur when working close to a metalworking machine, in operations involving highspeed tools or deep cuts and machines without an enclosed process and poor ventilation, the CCOHS states.

The risk of absorbing MWFs through skin contact is high if there are cuts, rashes or breaks in the skin. Hands and arms are most at risk if adequate precautions are not taken. Exposure through ingestion can also occur if a worker eats, drinks or smokes at the workstation or prior to washing hands.

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BREATHING AIR: According to NIOSH, asthma is one of today’s most prevalent occupational disorders. Respiratory conditions resulting from MWF exposure include hypersensitivity pneumonitis, chronic bronchitis, impaired lung function and asthma.

In July 2010, NIOSH evaluated the exposure to a new formulation of a semi-synthetic MWF introduced in an aircraftengine manufacturing facility in Ohio in January of that year.

Employees who worked with MWFs and those who did not completed a questionnaire. MWF-exposed participants reported significantly higher rates of work-related asthma and dermatitis symptoms in the previous 12 months than those who were not exposed to MWFs, even though all airborne MWF concentrations were below applicable occupational exposure limits.

A DEADLY CARCINOGEN: The most concerning effect stemming from MWF exposure is probably cancer. According to a 2012 study on the risk of cervical cancer among female autoworkers exposed to MWFs conducted by the University of California in Berkeley, water-based MWFs may play a role in the etiology of cervical cancer. A study of 4,374 female autoworkers in Michigan from 1985 to 2004 found an elevated standardized incidence rate for Caucasian and African American women. The standard mortality ratio was also, statistically, significantly elevated for Caucasian women.

According to the CCOHS, cancers associated with MWF exposure include rectum, pancreas, larynx, skin, scrotum, esophagus and bladder cancer. As the latency period for cancer is often 20 years or more, it is likely that the diseases studied recently are associated with older formulations of MWFs dating from the mid-1970s and earlier.

ENGINEERING CONTROLS: Whenever possible, select MWFs with the least toxic materials. Choosing delivery methods that minimize the creation of fine mists is also key.

These include using low pressure to deliver MWFs, adding mist suppressants, lowering MWF flow rates and ensuring proper machine maintenance to prevent leaks.

Exhaust ventilation helps prevent accumulation and recirculation of contaminants. Local exhaust near the source is most effective, while enclosed operations are easier to ventilate. When feasible, installing complete enclosures or splash guards can contain MWFs away from the operator.

ADMINISTRATIVE CONTROLS: To reduce the amount of contaminants in MWFs, keep equipment in good working order. Make sure that all systems are maintained properly and that all machines are cleaned. When changing the MWF periodically, clean the entire system thoroughly to remove bacterial deposits.

As well, keep good personal hygiene and housekeeping practices in mind. Wash skin with gentle soap, use clean water and towels and wear work clothes not contaminated by MWFs. Prevent accidental ingestion by washing hands prior to eating, drinking and smoking and away from the work area. Barrier creams developed for specific hazards may offer an added level of protection. Keep the general work environment clean, and train all workers on how to clean MWFs. KEEPING AN EYE OUT: Instituting comprehensive preventive measures aside, having an exposure-monitoring program provides a means of determining the effectiveness of engineering controls and work practices, as well as the overall performance of the metalworking system management program, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) in Washington, D.C. notes.

Monitoring workers’ exposure to MWFs requires both qualitative and quantitative assessments. According to OSHA, a qualitative assessment identifies the work areas where exposure is possible and estimates the level of airborne exposure and the extent of mist or dermal exposure hazards, while quantitative assessments measure the amount of exposure to MWFs. Exposure monitoring is generally performed in response to employee concerns, or when experience indicates that exposure to MWF aerosol may be relatively high. Exposure monitoring is generally not needed if an employer can show that a process, operation or activity has low exposures.

www.ohscanada.com

M A R C H / A P R I L 2 0 16

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SAFETY GEAR

GAS DETECTION

It’s a Gas

By Jeff Cottrill

T

here are many jobs in which workers risk inhaling dangerous gases or impurities. This is particularly true of work in confined spaces. Gas-detection or instrumentation devices that test the air quality of workspaces prevent workers from being canaries in a coal mine.

The scope of occupations that use some kind of instrumentation device is broader than one might think, according to Bob Henderson, president of Good for Gas Instrumentation (GfG), an international manufacturer of gas-detection products based in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

“It is an extremely large and horizontal group,” Henderson says, citing those who work in traditional oil and gas, the petrochemical industry, municipalities, heavy-industry power generation, mining, fire services, hazmat, emergency response and military programs. “It is just hard to find almost any category of employed individual who does not have the opportunity occasionally to need or use gas detection.”

Gas hazards are not limited to confined spaces, he stresses.

Firefighters and other first responders may attend fuel spills, traffic accidents, train derailments and other outdoor accidents that can release hazardous gases or vapours, while hazmat workers are Gas constantly under risk even when workhazards are ing in open spaces.

“At a refinery, every person onsite not limited generally is going to have a gas detector or multiple gas detectors, because anyto confined where onsite is subject to certain hazards,” Henderson adds. spaces.

MANY MAKES Although gas-detection devices come in different forms — most commonly, portable or wearable — they work on the same basic principle. A device contains at least one sensor designed to react to a specific type of gas. A single-sensor monitor can detect one gas, while others are built with multiple sensors for environments where multiple gas hazards can be present.

Dräger Safety Canada Ltd in Mississauga, Ontario carries a wide range of gas monitors. National accounts manager Manish Gupta says that its customers usually ask for detectors that identify one or more of four basic types of gases: lower explosive limit (LEL) gases, oxygen (O), carbon monoxide (CO) and hydrogen sulfide (H2S). “Generally, most gas monitors comprise those four sensors,” Gupta says.

Workers tend to carry these basic monitors in their shirt pockets or hook them onto their belts, so that they remain 36

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handy and can be readily deployed. In some cases, detectors can be custom-built for certain gases.

“One of the trademarks of our product line in particular is that we are very flexible on the type of sensors that we can put into an instrument,” says Dave Wagner, director of applications engineering and product knowledge with Industrial Scientific Corporation in Pittsburgh. The company manufactures portable single-gas and multi-gas instruments for a range of applications. Although basic four-gas instruments make up the depth of the company’s line, many variations are available.

“We can vary those sensors quite a bit and put in a sensor for sulphur dioxide, or we can put in a sensor for maybe chlorine or nitrogen dioxide, hydrogen cyanide, a variety of other gases, or we can put in some other more specialty sensors,” Wagner explains. An employer can even request infrared sensors, which can detect more specific types of combustible gases or carbon dioxide, he adds.

Another company that offers infrared gas sensors is Gas Clip Technologies, headquartered in Cedar Hill, Texas. According to service manager Jeremy Majors, the company carries monitors with infrared LEL sensors that run for as long as 60 days. “That is 60 days continuous, without having to be recharged,” he stresses, as opposed to competitor products that have to be recharged roughly after 12 to 18 hours.

The advantage of using a monitor that runs longer is that it can last for an entire shift. An employee who has to work a 24-hour shift will require two monitors just to get through one shift, Majors cites by way of example. “Whereas, say, you have our monitor that will run for 60 days — you don’t have to worry about that,” he says.

Instruments that are equipped with photo-ionization detectors have also become more common in recent years, Henderson observes. “And you see increasing numbers of substance-specific electrochemical toxic sensors and a few broad-range toxic sensors that are also available for use in multi-sensor and single-sensor instruments.”

SHOPPING AROUND Before an employer decides what type of gas monitors to purchase, it is necessary to conduct a risk assessment of the work environment to determine the atmospheric hazards to which workers may be exposed at any given time. “That is your number-one obligation,” Henderson says. “And you have an obligation to make sure that you do not exceed the toxic-exposure limits, whatever they are in the province.” The next step is to determine what types of devices detect these hazards, and that can vary depending on the job or industry.

In most confined spaces, the four basic gases (LEL, O,

At 5 years, our sensor warranty is the longest on the market.

But we expect our sensors to last much longer than that.

Choose the detector with sensors that are warranted for 5 full years, not 12 months.* It’s a mistake to overlook something as small as a sensor when buying gas detectors. That’s because the purchase price of a gas detector is only a fraction of the cost to operate one.

Sensor replacement over time can cost you thousands of dollars in sensors, labour, calibration, and downtime. At Dräger, we believe a quality sensor needs to be more than just accurate. It should last, too. That’s why selected sensors in the X-am® 2500, X-am® 5000, and certain Pac® 7000 devices come with a 5-year warranty – the longest on the market. Isn’t it time to start thinking small and saving big? Find out more at www.draeger.com/xam-discount

9015

*Applies to certain sensors only.

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MISCONCEPTIONS OF DETECTIONS “There is more to gas detection than just buying the gas detector,” says William Ball, Calgary-based technical specialist for portable gas detection with Honeywell Safety Products. Ball notes that many employers have strong misconceptions about how gas-detection devices work.

One common misunderstanding is the notion that gasdetection products can work from a long distance away. “I often get questions about what is the detection range, and they are not talking about the sensor range from zero to 100 VPN,” Ball explains. “They want to know, can it see 10 feet or 20 feet away? And no, it doesn’t. Unless you hook tubing up to it.”

The sensors on a device work on the principle of diffusion.

Gas molecules diffuse into the sensors, and this can happen

MARCH/APRIL 2016

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only at the spot where the device is located. “So it can’t detect something 50 feet away or 30 feet away,” Ball says.

“It is detecting where the gas detector is.”

A number of users are also unaware that gases can stratify, meaning that gases with higher mass density tend to settle lower while those with lighter molecular weights rise.

This is particularly important in confined spaces.

“It is very important to sample at different levels within that confined space, to make sure the heavier-than-air gas isn’t lying low,” Ball says. It is also vital to allow sufficient time for the sensors to detect and respond to all of the gases that might be present. If the user works too quickly, he or she risks missing hazards, which Ball says is a common mistake. “You want to make sure you have good confined-space entry protocols.”

PHOTOS (CLOCKWISE FROM TOP): HONEYWELL SAFETY PRODUCTS; GOOD FOR GAS INSTRUMENTATION; GAS CLIP TECHNOLOGIES.

condition. Some employers find it wise to do due diligence by having employees keep records of their bump tests.

Technological advances have made performing bump checks an easy process in recent years. “You now have bump-test stations, where you literally just put the device in the bump-test station and it does everything for you,” Gupta explains. “You don’t have to press any buttons, you don’t have to check any settings.” The station gives the user an “OK” indication to show that the device has passed the check.

Even after a successful bump check, workers must remain cautious when entering some confined spaces where certain pre-testing procedures may be required.

“Before you lift the manhole cover,” Gupta cites by way of example, “pop open the cover a little bit, test the gas under the covGas-detection products on the er and then go in, because you don’t want market include Honeywell’s Cona cloud of the contaminants sitting under neXt Pack wireless system (top), the cover, and as soon as you open it, you handheld portable instruments from suddenly inhale a cloud of gas.”

GfG (bottom right) and Gas Clip’s It is also vital to be aware of how sudfour-gas detectors (bottom left). denly the atmosphere can change. “As you work, you are changing how the air flows and the gas flows within that area, and so it can change from safe to unREADY TO USE In Canada, the CSA Group standard C22.2 No. 152-M1984 safe very quickly,” Gupta adds.

In addition to bump tests, gas monitors must also undergo (R2011), or Combustible Gas Detection Instruments, provides regular calibration to ensure accurate operation. Industrial recommended practices for construction, performance and Scientific Corporation advises its customers to calibrate their testing of gas monitors. To keep a detection device in workgas-detection devices monthly, as opposed to many manufacing condition after purchase, CSA recommends that the turers who recommend semi-annual or quarterly calibration. worker perform a “bump check” before each use.

Majors recommends doing a bump test after each time a A bump test exposes each sensor of a gas-detection device monitor has been dropped or knocked around, to verify that to a specific, limited concentration of the appropriate gas. If the sensors are still operating properly. Keeping the sensors the device’s reading is within an acceptable range from the acclean and clear is also important.

“You want to make sure it tual amount of gas provided, the sensor is in good working CO and H2S) are the minimal concerns, but many might also present the risk of volatile organic chemicals and other contaminants, which would require a device outfitted with extra sensors, Henderson explains. “If diesel exhaust is around, then you probably have nitrogen oxides to consider,” he notes.

In addition, hydrogen, ozone and ammonia tend to be major issues at many powergenerating stations, depending on what kind of power the plant is producing. “In many cases,” Henderson adds, “the easiest way to deal with a specific hazard is by means of a substance-specific electrochemical sensor, because they don’t take much power, they are compact and they lend themselves to a small, easily used instrument.”

According to Majors, ease of use is important, and that can mean different things — from durability and portability to simplicity of operation. For example, he cites a detector with one-button operation as an example of a less complicated product.

With a simpler product, “the employer can have his employees out doing their job, instead of worrying about their gas monitor,” Majors says.

is not caked with mud, dirt, sand, grit, those types of things,” he advises. “If they are dirty, then you’d want to replace the sensor filters themselves.”

The shelf lives of sensors vary, and although they can be replaced easily once damaged, there may come a point when it is more feasible and cost-effective to replace the entire gas monitor, Majors advises. “The cost of replacing sensors may not warrant replacing the sensor. It may warrant purchasing a new monitor with a full warranty on it,” he says.

Train PS i

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WS

UP AND COMING Honeywell Safety Products covers a large share of the gasdetection market in Canada, from basic single-gas and fourgas monitors to more complex products. One recent development that has become more prominent in gas detection and instrumentation is wireless technology, according to Calgary-based William Ball, Honeywell’s technical specialist for portable gas detection.

“You have to have an attendant present who is keeping his eye on what is going on in a confined space while people are occupying it,” Ball says. Today, an attendant can stand outside of the confined space and use a wireless device that can pick up information from all of the gas detectors worn by the people in the space.

In the past, an attendant had to conduct a pre-examina-

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tion of the atmosphere in the space, determine whether it was safe and maintain verbal contact with the workers in the space while standing outside. “But what the attendant sees at one spot may not be what somebody else who is working in a confined space would see at another location within the space,” Ball illustrates. The wireless method today allows the attendant to cover multiple locations. “He can see a number of gas detectors on one device.”

It is worth noting that the more complex and technologically advanced a gas detector is, the more expensive it is likely to be.

Ball estimates that a simple four-gas or single-sensor detection device could cost an employer about $500, but additional features and powers will jack up the price, sometimes to as high as $2,500. Among product functions that can add cost are additional sensors, wireless capability and built-in radios. “Some detectors even have GPS capability as well,” Ball notes.

Regardless of price, Majors believes that technical advances in gas detectors will continue to develop and make the instruments more user-friendly. “With the technology we have today, we are able to do more, and I think people just expect that in every aspect of their life,” he says. “I think that they want their gas monitors to be able to be easier to maintain, easier to use and run longer.”

Jeff Cottrill is editor of canadian occupational health & safety news.

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Canadian Occupational Health & Safety News

So, what’s on your mind?

March/April 2016

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Should WCBs get second opinions from doctors regarding injured workers’ treatment plans?

Does union representation make workplaces safer?

Yes 77%

Yes 80% No 15%

No 18%

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TIME OUT

UNCIVIL SERVANT: For some people, putting up with keys. According to an Associated Press report from February

annoying co-workers is a fact of life, but a data-quality manager for the Parole Board of Canada in Ottawa decided that she had had enough when she filed a grievance claiming that the behaviour of her co-worker literally made her sick. According to a Canadian Press report dated February 24, the co-worker’s bizarre office behaviour included swearing, making weird yawning noises, passing gas, walking around barefoot and even washing his bare feet in vinegar. His lack of common hygiene and courtesy prompted the manager to take sick leave in 2011 and disability leave in 2013. The labour board finally granted the manager the right to work in a separate building this year.

BIRDS OF A FEATHER: Although the Toronto Police Service captures criminals of all kinds every day, the force is now struggling against a different breed of foe, one that has taken over the police boathouse with no sign of surrender: common barn swallows. The police claim that the birds are a health and safety hazard in the way they nest in the boathouse and leave droppings everywhere, The Canadian Press reported on March 3. But these swallows are endangered and cannot be moved during nesting season without government permission. Fortunately, plans are underway to build an alternate nesting site for them.

ROBBER BLUNDER: A would-be robber in Oshawa, Ontario certainly made it easy for the police to identify him.

According to The Canadian Press, the 25-year-old entered a restaurant on February 28 and asked a female worker about specials. But when asked to pay in advance for his order, he became angry, indicated that he had a gun and threatened the employee. The customer fled the restaurant when the worker called the cops, but left a vital piece of evidence behind: his health card. Police found and arrested the man with little difficulty. If only all crime investigations were so simple.

SCI-FI SOLUTION: Williams Lake, British Columbia is

notorious for its per-capita rate of violent crime, which is high for a population of little more than 10,000. CTV News reported on February 25 that the city council had voted unanimously on a positively Orwellian solution: inject all high-risk offenders with microchips capable of GPS tracking.

The idea has appalled civil-liberties advocates, but their concerns may be unfounded, as this technology does not seem to exist in real life — at least not just yet. Chips have reportedly been implanted in humans and animals before, but for identification or informational purposes only.

ANGRY BIRDS: Mail carriers usually beware of dogs when doing deliveries, but for one postal worker in Hillsdale, New Jersey, it is not canines that are the problem, but wild tur 42

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17, the carrier was accosted by about seven aggressive turkeys while delivering mail. The birds forced him inside his mail truck, where he called the postmaster, who contacted 9-1-1.

Two police officers arrived and scared the feisty turkeys away.

The mail carrier went back on his route, although he may have mixed feelings about Thanksgiving dinner this year.

FIGHT OR FLIGHT: A Delta Air Lines captain en route to Minneapolis from Los Angeles had to make an emergency stop in Salt Lake City on January 22, after a fistfight broke out between two flight attendants. The Aviation Herald reports that the crew members were violently disagreeing on work issues. A third attendant tried to calm them down, but was struck by the other workers’ fists. The plane stayed on the ground for about 80 minutes, and all three crew members were sent away for “bad behaviour.” Maybe Delta should offer free anger-management counselling for employees.

BALLET BARKS: Showbiz can be stressful and competi-

tive, especially at the American Ballet Theater (ABT) in New York. This prestigious dance company has its own way of helping performers deal with work anxiety: puppy love. A Huffington Post story from March 1 documents the company’s longstanding practice of allowing dancers to bring their dogs along to studio rehearsals and even on tours. Canine buddies are always there to help their owners overcome the physically and emotionally exhausting workplace, based on research suggesting that animal companionship provides health benefits. And who knows, this may even inspire ABT to put on a doggy dance production someday.

DOUBLE-DECKER DETONATION: An exploding

bus on Lambeth Bridge in London, England spurred a brief panic on February 7. It turned out that the explosion had occurred on a film set as part of an upcoming action movie, The Foreigner, starring Jackie Chan and Pierce Brosnan. Twickenham Studios had set up warning signs around the bridge and sent out written notices to locals prior to the bus blowup, The Independent reported, but that did not stop people from expressing disdain on social media. Things should go more smoothly during the next Jane Austen film adaptation.

DRUNKY MONKEY: Firefighters in Patos, Brazil were

called to a bar on February 5 to handle a soused simian with a knife. According to a UPI report, a staff “oversight” allowed a monkey to drink rum, arm itself with a knife and begin chasing people. The animal eventually found its way to the roof and began scratching on it with the knife. Firefighters eventually disarmed the primate and released it into the woods, but it was later busted again for harassing residents.

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