Thunder Bay, ON – Charges under Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act have been laid against Terrace Bay Pulp of Terrace Bay, ON, Venshore Mechanical Ltd., Thunder Bay, ON, and three unnamed supervisors by the Ontario Ministry of Labour. The charges relate to the events that led to a fatal explosion that occurred in October 2011 at the Terrace Bay Pulp mill.
TJ Berthelot of Schreiber, ON, was killed and two other workers were taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries after a large blow tank exploded while a worker was welding it, sending metal and debris flying.
All the charges are related to the defendants failure to ensure that the tank was drained and cleaned before welding work was performed, and for failing to provide adequate instruction and supervision for how to safely drain and clean the tank.
A court date of November 23, 2012, is scheduled in Thunder Bay.