A recent court decision to fine a Toronto-based property maintenance company for failing to protect a crew of workers from exposure to carbon monoxide, one of whom died, reveals that formal health and worker safety training is still lacking in the facilities maintenance industry.
The incident occurred at a condominium building in 2014 as a cleaning crew power washed an underground parking garage. Six workers were using four gasoline-powered washers to perform the work, and the power washers emit carbon monoxide (CO) gas. According to the Ministry of Labour who investigated the case, while the workers were washing, the internal exhaust fans in the garage stopped working. The building superintendent told the company supervisor that an electrician should be on site to repair the fans; however, the crew continued to work with portable fans in use.
As a result, workers were taken to the hospital, treated for carbon monoxide exposure and later released. One worker who had collapsed on site was later pronounced dead. Further investigation found both the work crew and its supervisor had not received formal health and safety training on carbon monoxide poisoning risk and prevention, and only a few had received Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) training.
Ground Maintenance Cleaning Contractors Inc. pleaded guilty and was fined $75,000. The court also imposed a 25-per-cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
Lorraine Davison, senior project manager of chemical services at the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), says employers need to take every reasonable precaution to protect workers and provide training on how to work safely.
Sources run the gamut. Carbon monoxide is generated by burning fuel, such as propane, gasoline, diesel fuel or wood where gases are not properly vented. Indoor areas, such as storage or parking garages that house fuel-powered vehicles or equipment are of great concern, along with areas that store furnaces, stoves, ovens and fireplaces.
While signs and symptoms vary according to the individual, they appear as flu symptoms: headache, tiredness, nausea and dizziness at first. High exposures can quickly lead to more serious health effects, such as confusion, chest pains, vomiting, collapse and possibly brain damage and death.
Facility managers need to show that both workers and supervisors have been trained on health and safety concerns around carbon monoxide, and how to work safely with it. Even if a manager hires a contractor to complete work, he or she is still responsible for workplace safety. As a safeguard, ensure that contractors have knowledge of health and safety and are registered with a provincial workers compensation board, such as the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) in Ontario.
"The contractor may have responsibility, but if you're hiring someone and something goes wrong, like the contractor brings in equipment that generates carbon monoxide, the facility manager can still be responsible," Davison stresses.
Consequences are likely to unfold. Workplace health and safety inspectors can write orders that the facility manager must comply with, such as unexpected costs, or, if there is any concern, they can put in a stop work order.
"And if a poisoning incident or fatality happens, there is usually an investigation that could lead to charges against the facility manager," adds Davison.
A first step is ensuring all supervisors and managers are trained in general health and safety, so they understand their own responsibilities laid out in the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHS). Once supervisors know their obligations under the law, they will better understand what they need to do to train employees.
In Ontario, for example, a good resource is CCOHS' Health and Safety Awareness for Supervisors Course.
If employers chose to use a training services provider, they should use caution.
Employers should not use a "fly by night" training service provider, says White. At the end of the day, its employers and supervisors who are accountable for ensuring that their workers are more knowledgeable and can recognize risks related to carbon monoxide and any other chemical and biological agents.
Employers must prepare a written OHS policy and develop and maintain an OHS program to implement that policy. CCOHS has some free resources called OSH Answers that can help any facility manager write a policy and develop a program to meet their needs.
Awareness acquired through training will help managers and supervisors know what to implement into a prevention program, such as conducting ongoing inspections and maintenance of systems. Regarding carbon monoxide, in order to prevent occurrences, facility managers need to make sure they're properly installing and maintaining equipment, and properly ventilating combustion gases.
In some provinces, like Ontario, building and fire codes require installation of carbon monoxide detectors in buildings where people are sleeping—from nursing homes and hospitals to other residential buildings. Other facility managers may be required by law to have carbon monoxide detectors. Either way, alarms are not foolproof and should be able to work through a power failure.
"You could end up with someone bringing in a propane heater indoors and creating a carbon monoxide situation," adds Davison.
Incidents from exposure are vast and varied. For instance, security staff at the front door of a facility could be exposed if a loading dock is close by and ventilation systems aren't working properly.