The labour tribunal in Quebec has ruled in favour of a Trois Rivieres man who says he developed “aggressive” cancer from radiation exposure at work.
As the director of quality control at a sugar refinery previously known as Sucre BBR, Michel Plante used an X-ray machine to ensure the sugar was free of metal. He was diagnosed with bladder cancer in 2014, and underwent surgery. Less than a year later, he was also diagnosed with prostate cancer.
Plante is now taking legal action because he claims his workplace made him sick. His claim is backed by the labour tribunal, which recently ruled that there’s reason to believe the X-ray machine exposed Plante to unsafe amounts of radiation.
After the X-ray machine Plante used at work was sold to a company in Ontario, it was tested and determined to be emitting higher levels of radiation than permitted.
Plante’s lawyer, Sophie Mongeon, said the objective of the legal action is “not financial.”
“Our objective is purely for the workers,” she told CTV Montreal.
Radiation oncologist Dr. Bernard Fortin, who studied the files related to Plante’s case, said he agrees that the workplace radiation exposure was unsafe.
“Even if the cancer was not related to the radiation exposure, (Plante) must have been exposed, and that’s not OK,” Dr. Fortin told CTV Montreal.
SucreBBR was sold last year and the company now operates under the name Sucre Solution.
In a statement to CTV Montreal, Sucre Solution said that CNESST, Quebec’s labour safety board, never sanctioned the company, “and the device mentioned in the (labour tribunal) judgement was never evaluated by the CNESST.”
The company said the X-ray equipment “has not been in operation for several months.”
It also said that new management met with employees this week “and will offer a program to help employees if they express the need.”
With a report from CTV Montreal
