Credibility, WorkSafe BC

WorkSafe BC is a Workers Compensation Board and an organization with a poor reputation, thankfully this is their problem, not ours. There is a common belief in Canada that Workers Compensation Boards represent injured workers. This is not true, WCB’s represent their stakeholders, the companies not you.

In January 2009, CBC News ran a story about the situation we face and it was a fairly decent representation of what went on regarding a major chemical exposure incident in 2002. You can find the story here: http://tinyurl.com/7xewjx As we are talking about credibility, please take a close look at this report: http://tinyurl.com/yacjynd

Ok, in March 2002 two organizations were responsible for workplace safety issues in federally regulated industries in Canada. In this case it was WorkSafe BC and HRSDC/Labour Canada. It is not known if HRSDC/Labour Canada responded to this incident in 2002 in any form, the first I personally am aware of took place late in 2003, more on this later. WorkSafe BC however did send a hygiene official to investigate the situation. This is the person who wrote the previously mentioned report.

Exactly what happened with this report back at the WorkSafe BC office seems to be a bit of a mystery. The cover page for this legal document was removed intentionally or simply lost. According to the WorkSafe BC Communications Director in 2009, it is not their policy to remove pages or alter documents like this, however the cover page for this particular document is missing.

Why this report is important is that is establishes causation between the workplace and the disabling conditions many employees are presently dealing with. The removal of this page causes the document to become legally null and void.

Even though this report is in the condition it is, WorkSafe BC has made much from the fact it mentions high levels of Formic Acid in the building as it is unlikely, in their opinion that exposure to this chemical product could leave all of these people with the conditions they have. This is misdirection, WorkSafe BC focuses on Formic Acid as out of all the chemicals personnel have been exposed to at this workplace it is the “least” hazardous. The do not give consideration to the fact that the level of Formic Acid in this building was recorded EIGHT times higher than the maximum allowable.

Clean up from this incident did not begin until weeks after its occurrence. No consideration was/is given to the fact the personnel were exposed to this product as well as others produced by this incident for well over a month inside a building with a negative pressure differential. Forty hours a week for a minimum of four weeks, personnel from this company were exposed to this product and others above the maximum allowable exposure levels. This occurred without intervention from either of the two organizations responsible for workplace safety: WorkSafe BC or HRSDC/Labour Canada.

No consideration was/is given to the exposures of other chemical products mentioned in this report such as: Monoethanolamine or levels of benzyl alcohol which was recorded at its maximum allowable. Again these products were recorded at dangerously high levels inside a building with a negative pressure differential which by its very nature prolonged these exposures by weeks.

No consideration was/is given to personal exposure limits (PEL) which is usually given as a time-weighted average (TWA) to personnel working in these conditions. Many of the personnel now disabled worked 13 or 10 hour shifts while exposed to these chemical products.

No consideration was/is given to the fact the overexposure event described in this report was in fact only one of many chemical overexposure events. Other exposure events involved epoxy based paints containing isocyanates as well as a host of products containing volatile organic compounds.

More on this and circular responses from WorkSafe BC to follow