A rash of fatal accidents at area sawmills will not cause WorkSafeBC insurance rates to jump across the industry.
Explosions at two mills -- first at the Babine Forest Products mill in Burns Lake in January then at Lakeland Mills in Prince George in April -- resulted in the deaths of four workers. Two others workers have also died in construction and maintenance-related incidents so far this year at area sawmills.
Prior to this year, there hadn't been a fatality in an area mill since November 2006.
However a spokeswoman for WorkSafeBC said the nature of the sawmill industry and the overall claims that are paid out each year means these types of accidents won't cause worker's compensation insurance rates to spike.
WorkSafeBC is in the process of working with employer groups to set the rates for 2013.
