[Healthandsafety] News April 16-08

["Barry Doyle" <bdoyle@cupe.ca>]

Welder killed in explosion
The Calgary Herald 
Wed 16 Apr 2008 
Page: B1 / FRONT 
Section: City & Region 
Byline: Gwendolyn Richards and Gina Teel 
Dateline: HIGH RIVER 
Source: Calgary Herald 

A Cayley man has died following an explosion at a biodiesel plant north of High River that shook neighbouring buildings. 

Kevin David Lodge, 33, had been welding at the top of a 10-metre biodiesel settling tank just before noon when it exploded. 

"It appears fumes in the tank may have ignited," said RCMP Const. Ferida Balic. 

Paramedics, firefighters and RCMP officers were called out to the Western Biodiesel Inc. plant just north of High River for the industrial accident. 

Lodge, a subcontractor, was killed in the explosion. 

He lived in the hamlet of Cayley, just south of High River. Two other people working nearby, at the bottom of the tank, were uninjured. 

"A lot of people (were) shaken up," Balic said. 

Western president and CEO Dean Cockshutt had no comment about the incident. 

More than 100 metres north of the biodiesel plant, staff at Eveready felt the blast. 

Area manager Dean Macleod said at first he thought the blast had been in its building because the noise was so loud. 

"It shook the foundation of our building," he said. "It felt like a bomb went off." 

After gathering everyone together, they realized it had happened down the road, Macleod said. 

At the scene of the blast, the roof was slightly buckled and what appeared to be insulation was fluttering in the wind. On the opposite side of the building, it looked as if the rivets had popped out from the force of the blast. 

Alberta Occupational Health and Safety is heading up the investigation into the deadly explosion. 

The investigation is expected to take a number of months, said Barrie Harrison, spokesman for Occupational Health and Safety. 

Following an initial inspection of the site by the agency, it's possible that orders could be issued against the company. 

This could include a stop-work order until it's determined, at least initially, how the incident happened, Harrison said. 

"One of the first priorities, aside from the immediate safety of other workers right now is to ensure that it doesn't happen again," he said. 

Western Biodiesel's corporate headquarters are in Calgary, but its production facility, where Tuesday's explosion occurred, is 20 kilometres south of city limits, halfway between Aldersyde and High River. 

The facility is poised to produce up to 19 million litres of fuel-grade biodiesel annually from feedstocks, including rendered animal fats, recycled frier oil and canola oil. The cleaner-burning fuel is being produced for American markets. 

Construction of Phase 1, worth $10 million, was finished late last year, with production starting in January. 

grichards@theherald.canwest.com 

gteel@theherald.canwest.com 


Illustration:
* Colour Photo: Leah Hennel, Calgary Herald / A welder working at the Western Biodiesel Inc. plant near High River was killed in an explosion Tuesday. 


Idnumber: 200804160064 
Edition: Final 
Story Type: News 
Length: 423 words 




Subprime crisis affects us all . . . 

Turmoil cuts Worksafe profits
Times Colonist (Victoria) 
Wed 16 Apr 2008 
Page: B3 
Section: Business 
Source: Canwest News Service 

Turbulent financial markets cut a major swath into WorkSafeBC profits last year as the provincial work safety agency posted $250 million in "total comprehensive income," down from $971 million a year earlier. 

Profit dropped by $721 million despite total claim costs falling by more than $150 million. 

WorkSafeBC chief financial officer Steve Barnett attributed much of the drop to a $621-million reduction in the value of its equity investments, which were worth about $4.7 billion at the end of last year. 

He said the U.S. subprime mortgage crisis forced a major downturn in global equity markets, causing WorkSafeBC investment returns to fall to 4.4 per cent last year following four years of double-digit growth. 

The total value of WorkSafeBC investments was $11.8 billion at the end of 2007 --with 40 per cent of the portfolio in equities, 40 per cent in bonds, 15 per cent in real estate, and five per cent in cash. 

Despite the profit decline, WorkSafeBC still posted its fifth consecutive surplus. 

To protect against further equity market fluctuations, the organization has established a new capital reserve with a targeted goal of $2.65 billion. That target will change in the future, depending on WorkSafeBC's mix of assets and liabilities. 

It has allocated $590 million toward the reserve, and transferred $300 million from a previously established investment fluctuation reserve to reach 34 per cent of the long-term target. 

Barnett said WorkSafeBC plans to put 75 per cent of its income into the fund every year. The $590 million allocated so far represents three-quarters of its 2007 income, calculated on a five-year "smoothed" or averaged basis. 

He said the new reserve fund is unique in the Canadian workers compensation sector, following a common practice in the insurance industry. 

WorkSafeBC said average employer premiums this year will fall by 6.6 per cent from $1.66 per $100 of assessable payroll to $1.55 for each $100 of payroll. 



Idnumber: 200804160078 
Edition: Final 
Story Type: Business 
Length: 316 words 



Two Six Nations schools in Ohsweken closed; safety concerns
Sault Star (ON) 
Wed 16 Apr 2008 
Page: A9 
Section: Algoma 
Source: CANADIAN PRESS 

Two Six Nations Mohawk-language schools in Ohsweken, Ont., have been closed after being deemed unsafe. 

The decision was made Monday to close both the elementary and secondary schools after a parent produced a videotape showing dozens of hazards and safety concerns. The tape showed feces-covered bathroom stalls, fuel tanks stored near the kitchen, mould, asbestos, a lack of sprinklers, and a tarp held down by sandbags covering part of the roof. A total of 50 deficiencies and hazards have been identified. 

© 2008 Osprey Media Group Inc. All rights reserved.


Idnumber: 200804160038 
Length: 81 words 

Barry Doyle
Senior Officer, Health and Safety
Canadian Union of Public Employees
1375 St. Laurent Blvd.
Ottawa, ON  K1G 0Z7
o.613-237-1590 x289
c.613-294-9424
f. 613-237-5508
bdoyle@cupe.ca
www.cupe.ca