A multi-million-dollar investment in safety was announced Friday by Conifex Timber.
The local company, with sawmill operations in Fort St. James and Mackenzie, held a day of information and activities in Prince George for senior management and everyone involved in company safety. At the day's main event, CEO Ken Shields, executive vice-president Pat Bell, and safety director Darren Beattie took turns explaining how the company was taking a major step forward in company-wide workplace safety.
"When we purchased the Fort St. James operation, we spent a little over $12 million. We are spending about the same amount this year - $12 million - to reduce dust and safety hazards across our company," said Shields. "These expenditures are to take a safe company and make it even safer."
The Fort St. James operation will get about $7 million of that investment, and Mackenzie about $5 million, which is about even when indexed to each mill's production.
That work is already underway as giant air filters are being added to each mill site. The interior air will be almost constantly sucked out, piped through a series of filters, then piped back into the mill buildings still warm, keeping the fine ambient dust away. It is strongly suspected that the fatal fiery incidents that destroyed Babine Sawmill in Burns Lake and Lakeland Sawmill in Prince George were caused by too much of this fine airborne dust suddenly igniting.
The announcement was made at UNBC where chemistry professor Todd Whitcombe used a tiger torch to demonstrate how various levels of wood fiber burn. Almost none are dangerous when casually contacted by an open flame, even when so fine it blew easily in the wind. But when particles reach the degree of fineness of icing sugar, it erupts like a gunshot.
All mills in B.C. are required by WorkSafeBC to cut that dust to minimal amounts. Beattie said, "Conifex has selected the highest level of control to address the hazard posed by combustible dust." The specific equipment includes 50,000 and 60,000 CFM Cyclo dust collection systems and a 50,000 CFM low pressure multi-cone.
"Basically, it's the best type of bag-house you can get," Beattie said.
It will clean the air so effectively, it will cut the need to save major cleanup operations for operational shut-downs or using major cleaning teams. What the filters don't gather, a compact janitorial staff will be able to handle.
Other elements of safety are also being addressed with this investment, said Bell. The construction work is already underway and should be complete by the end of November at both sawmills.
