A Calgary-based fuel company has been penalized $116,000 for a 2017 West Kelowna explosion that is just now being publicly disclosed as a fatal incident.
According to a WorkSafeBC incident investigation report obtained by Castanet News, the worker involved in an explosion on June 28, 2017 at the Parkland Fuel location at the end of Dominion Road succumbed to his injuries.
On Jan. 15, WorkSafeBC issued a $116,458 penalty to Parkland Fuels for the incident.
The investigation into the explosion determined it was caused when an electrostatic discharge ignited a vapour cloud while the driver of the tanker truck was pumping gasoline from the trailer through an open-access hole on the tanker.
The report concluded the electrostatic discharge could have originated from “several sources.”
“After the explosion, liquid gasoline spilled from the hose and nozzle the driver had been using onto the side of the truck and the ground below,” the investigation says. “The spilled gasoline ignited and burned. The driver fell off the truck and was engulfed in the ground fire. He did not survive his injuries.”
WorkSafeBC investigators found two violations under the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and four sections of the Workers Compensation Act.
Because the refueling yard where the explosion occurred was a bare gravel lot, Parkland Fuels failed to ensure the space was equipped with a grounding system to control for electrostatic discharges, the report says.
Different types of hosing, both conductive and non-conductive, were supplied to workers without any marking to indicate what continuity existed through the hose assemblies.
WorkSafeBC went on to conclude that the worker had inadequate supervision and the company’s health and safety program did not control for electrostatic discharge.
The worker was working in isolation at the time in an area with no emergency measures in place.
“Parkland did not inform West Kelowna Fire Rescue that bulk fuels, which are hazardous products, were being stored and handled at the Dominion Road parking lot for extended periods of time,” the report says, adding there was no water system in place at the time of the explosion.
“The spread of fire was mitigated by the actions of workers from nearby businesses who were alerted by the sound of explosion — not through a coordinated emergency response plan developed and maintained by Parkland.”
The fact that the worker succumbed to his injuries was not made public until Parkland Fuels was penalized. His identity and hometown have not been released, although the report suggests he lived in the area and made weekly trips to Parkland's Kamloops terminal to resupply the West Kelowna tanker station.
Parkland Fuels did not immediately respond to request for comment Friday afternoon (March 6). The company currently trades on the TSX for about $36 per share and operates in 25 countries.
Photo: WorkSafeBC
The fatal explosion occurred at "C"
— Colin Dacre, Castanet
