MRO Magazine

BC sawmills to be checked again for explosive dust

Richmond, BC – Inspectors are heading back to 150 British Columbia sawmills to ensure the operations are doing everything possible to reduce the build-up of potentially explosive wood dust.

December 1, 2013 | By MRO Magazine

Richmond, BC – Inspectors are heading back to 150 British Columbia sawmills to ensure the operations are doing everything possible to reduce the build-up of potentially explosive wood dust.

WorkSafeBC said that a team of 10 officers will inspect the mills between Nov. 1, 2013, and Jan. 31, 2014, as part of a drive to reduce dust levels aggravated by the processing of pine beetle-killed timber.

“We’ve been into these mills before a number of times and we just want to ensure that the progress we’ve seen in the mills to address dust continues, and the compliance with wood-dust management really is being sustained,” said Al Johnson, vice-president of prevention services at WorkSafeBC.

This is the third white-glove inspection for the mills since dust accumulation was implicated in an explosion and fire that killed 45-year-old Robert Luggie and 42-year-old Carl Charlie at the Babine Forest Products operation in Burns Lake, BC, on Jan. 20, 2012. The blast levelled the mill and injured 20 other people.

Advertisement

An investigation conducted by WorkSafeBC concluded that dry wood dust, which had accumulated from pine beetle-killed wood, fuelled an explosion ignited by machine parts.

A second fatal mill explosion occurred in April 2012 at the Lakeland Mills in Prince George, BC. Two workers, Alan Little and Glenn Roche, died in the fiery blast.

The cause of that disaster hasn’t been revealed by investigators, as WorkSafeBC has asked the Crown to review whether the companies or any individuals could be charged for violations of the Workers Compensation Act.

The organization’s officers have carried out more than 1,000 inspections of sawmills and other wood processing operations since the combustible dust safety initiative began in late April 2012.

Johnson noted all sawmills in BC complied with an order to cut build-up, and he said the upcoming round of checks will also focus on preventive maintenance of equipment and machinery, and dust control.

“We want to make sure that those dust collection systems, where they’re removing dust mechanically and then transferring it through piping into a collection system … are working as they should,” he said. (Canadian Press)

Advertisement

Stories continue below

Print this page