The five-man jury that sat through coroner's inquest into the Lakeland Mills disaster issued a sweeping set of recommendations Thursday aimed at tackling a broad range of issues raised during four-and-a-half weeks of testimony.
In all, jury members issued 33 recommendations, with several aimed at strengthening joint health and safety committees, including a call on WorkSafeBC to establish mandatory training and education for committee members.
The inquest heard members are entitled to at least eight hours of educational leave each year for such training in B.C. but it is not a requirement. The inquest also heard committee members in Ontario receive as much as two weeks of training and education each year.
The jury also recommended WorkSafeBC develop a tool to help inspectors audit committees' effectiveness and that the Workers Compensation Act be amended to ensure the committees review any changes to equipment and processes for impacts on worker safety.
The jury also called on employers, unions and technical experts in the wood manufacturing sector to hold an annual meeting to share health and safety best practices after hearing about the effectiveness of such a get-together following the disaster.
Another recommendation called for a "heavier emphasis on workers' rights and that the worker has the right to refuse unsafe work" in response to hearing that employees at Lakeland continued to perform their duties even though it was unsafe to do so.
Other recommendations were aimed at the ways subsequent investigations into the explosion were carried out with two of them aimed at the RCMP.
After hearing the Mounties' investigation for criminal wrongdoing wrapped up after two-and-a-half days and without interviewing any mill managers or reviewing workplace practices, the jury called on the RCMP to improve training for investigations for criminal negligence in the workplace.
The other urged the RCMP to include serious workplace injuries and deaths among the so-called "benchmark offences" automatically reported to any of the RCMP's four district senior investigation officers in B.C.
Benchmark offences are given "urgent case management priority," the inquest heard.
Additionally, the jury called for a review of the onus of proof regarding criminal negligence in the workplace after hearing such cases are very difficult to prosecute.
And the jury recommended the Workers Compensation Act be reviewed and clarified in regards to providing access to disaster sites for investigation initiated by employers and unions and the obligations of employers to provide their findings to WorkSafeBC.
The WCA should also be amended to require an employer to immediately notify WorkSafeBC of any fire or explosion that causes a business interruption, the jury said. A "near miss" in the form of a dust-fueled burst of flame occurred at Lakeland only a day before a Jan. 20, 2012 explosion destroyed Babine Forest Products near Burns Lake. Lakeland was to eventually succumb to a similar blast just three months later.
The B.C. Ambulance Service was targeted with two recommendations after the jury heard about a reluctance from ambulance personnel to venture any closer than the mill's River Road entrance, despite assurances from firefighters that it was safe to go onto the site. As a result injured workers were left unattended, or in the care of fellow workers, and many were transported to hospital by private vehicle.
The jury recommended a review of BCAS protocol regarding potentially dangerous sites and that no ambulance should ever be used as a command post.
And the City of Prince George was urged to hold a multi-agency exercise every second year after hearing about communication and coordination challenges between emergency responders on the night of the blast.
There were also recommendations to make the B.C. Fire Code freely available in the same manner as provincial statues and regulations, to strengthen the fire commissioner's ability to impose penalties for non-compliance and to set minimum standards for training fire prevention officers.
A concern over static electricity prompted a recommendation to ensure airwands are properly grounded. As well, the jury called for sensors to automatically measure dust levels and for a "safety watch person" on every shift to continually monitor dust systems.
