FLAVIO NIENOW
Black Press
WorkSafeBC has completed its investigation into the incident at the Pinnacle Pellet plant in Burns Lake.
On Oct. 9, 2014, during maintenance shutdown at the wood pellet plant, three workers were standing at the opening of a burner door when an explosion occurred in the dryer system. The three workers were knocked backwards by the force of the explosion and suffered burn injuries.
WorkSafeBC has issued five orders to improve safety in the workplace, and Pinnacle Pellet was ordered to pay an administrative penalty of $55,989.
Leroy Reitsma, president of Pinnacle Renewable Energy, said the Burns Lake plant has made great strides in the past year in advancing a culture of “owning safety.”
“All of our employees, contractors and management are proud of the work that has been done, and continues to be done, to create and continuously improve the safety of our work environment,” said Reitsma.
“The 2014 event brought to light a previously unknown risk associated with the use of rotary dryers that we have used as a catalyst to create positive change across our organization.”
“While we are respectful of WorkSafeBC’s decision, we are proud of the progress we have made on safety and are appreciative of the efforts that all employees and contractors have made to achieve better results,” added Reitsma.
According to WorkSafeBC, there were grounds for imposing an administrative penalty because the employer “has failed to take sufficient precautions for the prevention of work related injuries or illnesses.”
According to the incident investigation report, the accumulation of flammable gases was the main cause of the explosion.
“An accumulation of flammable gases in a contained dryer system was exposed to high temperatures and oxygen, leading to an explosion,” says the report. “A fire or hot spot was present in the system, and with the burner door open, an in-rush of oxygen occurred, resulting in an explosion that injured three workers.”
The report also says one of the underlying factors of the explosion included not following procedures to permit adequate cooling time.
“Pinnacle’s written procedure for burner cleanout was not followed. The combustion air fan was turned off before the burner outlet cooled to 80 C. Also, the burner manufacturer’s instructions were not followed; the instructions require the combustion air fan to remain on for three hours before the burner door is opened,” says the report. “By not incorporating the manufacturer’s instructions, Pinnacle’s procedures were not adequate to safely cool the dryer system. These two failures resulted in cleanup work being started in the combustion chamber while high temperatures were still present.”
According to the report, another underlying factor was not having an operator in the control room.
“The production superintendent told the day shift operator to assist with the cleanup, and the control room was left unattended,” says the report.
“High temperatures developed within the system, and the day shift operator was not in a position to monitor or control them.”
In addition, the report points out that there was a “lack of effective coordination.”
“Lack of co-ordination between the production superintendent, the lead hand, and the welder were factors in this incident as well as the failure to effectively coordinate the control room operator’s duties,” says the report.
For more details about the incident investigation report, the orders and penalty issued by WorkSafeBC, visit http://worksafebc.com/news_room/default.asp
Pinnacle operates a pellet plant in Lavington.