Lafarge Canada fined $674K after worker killed by debris in Richmond, B.C.

Lafarge Canada cement plant in Richmond, B.C.

Lafarge Canada has been ordered to pay more than $674,000 after a worker was killed by falling debris at the company’s cement plant in Richmond, B.C.

A WorkSafeBC investigation determined the employee was killed when a large fan failed in November 2020, sending debris through the fan’s housing and down onto the worker.

Workplace safety investigators found that a rotating component in the fan, called an impeller, had just been repaired about five months before the fatal incident.

The company, however, “failed to ensure the installation, inspection, testing, and repair of its equipment was done as specified by the manufacturer or a professional engineer,” according to a recent WorkSafeBC summary of the incident.

The safety regulator says Lafarge also failed to ensure that the reassembled fan was checked over by a qualified person to determine whether or not it was safe before operating.

“These were all high-risk violations,” the WorkSafeBC summary said, identifying a failure to properly inform, train and supervise workers as another health and safety infraction at the cement plant.

The safety authority ordered Lafarge to pay $674,445.93 as a result of the death. A spokesperson for the company did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the penalty.

WorkSafeBC’s monetary penalties are calculated primarily based on an employer’s payroll, while also considering the nature of the violation and the company’s history of prior infractions, if any.

“The primary purpose of an administrative penalty is to motivate the employer receiving the penalty — and other employers — to comply with occupational health and safety legislation and regulation, and to keep their workplaces safe,” the agency says.

In July 2021, the Richmond cement plant was fined $339,444.78 for “repeated violations” related to employees performing work in confined spaces and without adequate company procedures to minimize safety hazards.