VANCOUVER 鈥� B.C. forest firms are still struggling to properly clean up wood dust, according to inspection reports. Such dust was cited as the fuel source for two deadly mill explosions last year.
This despite widespread publicity about the four workers killed in the explosions, directives and warnings from regulators, and promises from industry to clean up dust with equipment upgrades and the creation of an independent dust audit.
Of about 150 sawmills inspected between October 2012 and May 2013, 20 per cent were cited for wood dust accumulations that posed a fire or explosion risk, according to WorkSafe B.C. inspection reports obtained by the 91原创 Sun through a freedom of information request.
A handful of other problems related to ventilation and the use of high-pressure air to clean dust were also identified.
During the inspections, 25 sawmills were issued orders by WorkSafe B.C. to clean their mills of wood dust and sawdust. The safety agency says the companies complied.
B.C. lumber giant Canfor Corp. figured prominently. Six of its mills were issued orders to remove accumulations of wood dust.
Its Canal Flats mill in the southern Interior was cited in October 2012. Mills in Houston, Vanderhoof, Mackenzie and Quesnel in north-central B.C. were cited in November 2012.
At the end of January, its Isle Pierre mill, also in north-central B.C., was cited for dust that had collected on flat surfaces, pipes and sawmill machinery. Inspectors also noted that a slight airborne 鈥渄ust haze鈥� was observed after wall and ceiling fans were turned off because it was cold outside (-15 C).
鈥淭hese accumulations have not been safely removed before accumulation of the dust could cause a fire or explosion,鈥� wrote WorkSafe B.C. safety officer Jeff Postnikoff.
The Isle Pierre mill and Canfor鈥檚 Vanderhoof, Mackenzie and Quesnel mills were among seven mills that WorkSafe B.C. sent warning letters to underscore the need to be vigilant.
Alistair Cook, Canfor鈥檚 senior vice-president of operations, says the company had taken steps to manage wood dust after the first deadly explosion at Babine Forest Products in Burns Lake on Jan. 19, 2012, but acknowledged 鈥渃learly鈥� its performance had slipped as shown by the re-inspections.
鈥淭his is not acceptable,鈥� said Cook. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a clear reminder of how diligent we have to be about keeping dust management at the top of people鈥檚 minds.鈥�
Canfor鈥檚 dust management program includes extra staff to manually remove dust accumulations while the company implements an extensive capital program to remove dust at the source, Cook said. Money is being spent on items such as ventilation equipment and misters which wet down dust, he said.
鈥淲e have every confidence are mills are safe,鈥� Cook stressed.
A notable sawmill cited in the revisit inspections was Decker Lake Forest Products in Burns Lake. WorkSafe B.C. cited the mill on Jan. 21 for dust building up in areas with a potential ignition source such as electric motors and a halogen lamp.
The mill鈥檚 majority owner is Portland, Ore.-based Hampton Affiliates, also majority owner of Babine Forest Products, where the first explosion killed two workers and injured more than 20 others.
The January inspection noted damaged electrical terminal boxes on electric motors; improper ventilation through the use of plastic ducting and inadequate electrical grounding; and the improper use of compressed air to clean hot equipment.
Hampton CEO Steve Zika says B.C. mills have been scrambling to make dust-control upgrades, a particularly big issue at an older mill such as Decker Lake which was never designed to eliminate dust through ventilation.
鈥淲e felt like we鈥檝e done most of the major stuff, but it shows you there are still some issues with your process around cleaning,鈥� said Zika. 鈥淚 think it is much safer, but it is a challenge.鈥�
Three West Fraser mills (another major B.C. lumber producer) were also cited: in 100 Mile House, Quesnel and Chetwynd.
Other mills with dust accumulations in the revisit inspections include: Apollo and Conifex (Fort St. James), Ardew Wood (Merritt), Box Lake Lumber (Nakusp), Cambie Cedar (Sicamous), Galloway Lumber (Galloway), Interfor (Grand Forks and Castlegar), Long Hoh Enterprises (Qualicum Beach), Western Forest Products (Ladysmith), Porcupine Wood (Salmo), Tolko (Williams Lake), J.H. Huscroft (Creston), Atco Wood (Fruitvale) and numbered company 4217123 BC Ltd. (Ymir).
WorkSafe B.C. ordered all sawmills to clean up wood dust just days after the second deadly explosion, at Lakeland Mills in Prince George on April 23, 2012, killed two workers and injured 19.
The WorkSafe B.C. vice-president of prevention, Al Johnson, noted it takes time to upgrade dust-removal equipment, but also acknowledged some mills had started to get 鈥渓ax鈥� on their cleanup programs.
Inspections took place at a time when lumber prices were rising, and some mills started to add second or weekend shifts without addressing the increased dust accumulation, he said.
Johnson said safety inspectors will be back in sawmills again. 鈥淲e will be monitoring the situation.鈥�
All but four of the sawmills cited by WorkSafe B.C. are in the Interior or northern B.C., in areas where dead, dry timber from the mountain pine beetle epidemic has created a greater-than-normal dust levels for sawmills.
