WorkSafeBC has fined a company more than $26,500 for not properly protecting workers in Burnaby from dangerous welding fumes and arc flashes.
JWC Environmental Canada ULC makes and repairs wastewater management equipment at 2889 Norland Ave.
A WorkSafeBC inspector visited the plant on Oct. 23, 2024, and saw a worker welding on stainless steel near a bay door without local exhaust ventilation, according to an inspection report obtained by the Burnaby NOW.
The worker was wearing a respirator but was not clean shaven, interfering with a proper seal on the mask and putting the worker at "high risk of overexposure to hazardous welding fumes," the report said.
Other workers in the area were not wearing respirators at all — or eye protection — leaving them unprotected from and overexposed to welding fumes and arc flashes, according to the investigator.
Welding fumes contain hexavalent chromium, a known carcinogen, and manganese, known to cause "adverse reproductive effects," the report said.
The worker reportedly told WorkSafeBC welding on stainless steel and mild steel was taking place at the workstation over a nine-to-10-hour work shift, Mondays to Fridays.
The company reportedly told WorkSafeBC the welder had been working at another work station with local exhaust ventilation two weeks earlier but was relocated to near the bay doors after another worker returned and took over that spot.
"With production demands and limited space, this worker was expected to weld stainless steel/mild steel using natural ventilation along with their assigned respiratory protection," the report said.
A JWC representative proposed purchasing a portable welding fume extraction unit, and WorkSafeBC advised the company to provide interim measures in the meantime.
When the inspector returned to the site on Oct. 25, however, she was told interim measures had not be implemented.
That led to a stop-work order stating the welding station had to stay out of service until effective local exhaust ventilation was in place.
JWC was also ordered to provide evidence each worker assigned to wear a respirator must be clean shaven where the mask seals with the face.
The company was also required to have welding screens or curtains in place whenever welding was going on.
A follow-up inspection on Jan. 7 confirmed the company had put in place a clean-shaven policy and instructed workers to use welding screens, partitions or curtains when welding was going on.
The company had not yet installed a local exhaust ventilation system at the welding station near the bay doors, but a contractor was scheduled to install one within the month, according to a report on the follow-up inspection.
On Jan. 7, WorkSafeBC imposed a $26,514.60 fine on JWC for the violations found during the Oct. 25 inspection.
"The firm failed to implement an exposure control plan to maintain workers' exposure as low as reasonably achievable, a repeated and high-risk violation," stated a summary of the incident on the WorkSafeBC website.
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