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May 1-7 was spent celebrating and
promoting ongoing health and safety in the workplace and
the community. It’s known as “NAOSH WEEK”.
Within
weeks of this event, Mother Teresa Catholic High School
in Ottawa Ontario, experienced a tragic health and
safety accident. A student was in the process of
cutting an empty used steel barrel when it exploded.
Although still under investigation, it is believed that
the combination of the residual menthol-smelling cream
containing peppermint oil and a cutting saw produced
vapours and when combined with oxygen became an
explosive mix. This would have been the second barbecue
that this shop class would have completed.
Cutting
open used metal containers is a potentially hazardous
operation and serious incidents have been reported all
over the world. If this process is part of your
workday, remember to review your company’s “Best
Practices for Cutting Open Used Metal Containers”.
The PSHSA (Public Services Health and
Safety Association) has issued the following news
statement:
PSHSA Expresses Sympathy in Tragic School Accident
May 30,
2011
Public Services Health & Safety Association (PSHSA) was
saddened by the news that Grade 12 student, Eric
Leighton was killed by an explosion in the automotive
shop/tool room area at Mother Teresa Catholic High
School, Ottawa on May 26. Several students and a teacher
were also injured, suffering non-life threatening
injuries. Our thoughts are with Eric's friends and
family.
This tragedy is currently under investigation by the police,
as well as the Ministry of Labour, whose role is to
investigate fatalities and health and safety incidents
at workplaces. Working with the local police service who
is the lead on this investigation, the Ministry’s
priority in this investigation is to ensure that the
occupational health and safety act is followed and
enforced.
In response to this tragedy, PSHSA is mobilizing to assist
clients with school shop safety. We will be developing a
number of tools available in the near future including
webinars Chemical Safety in the Shop Environment, Due
Diligence for Shop Teachers and Job Hazard Analysis and
Risk Assessment. PSHSA also offers numerous resources
for the education sector including WHMIS training,
Workplace Specific Hazard Training (e.g. Chemical, Fire
& Explosion, Environmental, Machine Guarding, etc.) in a
variety of formats including CDs, DVDs, workbooks,
on-site and regional training, webinars and free
downloadable fast facts. Look to our website for a new
Risk Assessment Fast Fact and other tools coming soon.
Please
visit the PHSHA website for more information.
http://www.healthandsafetyontario.ca/PSHSA/Home.aspx
http://www.healthandsafetyontario.ca/PSHSA/News/School-Explosion.aspx
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