The Burns Lake mill that burnt to the ground last week had recently been written up for excessive sawdust.
According to a WorkSafe BC report dated December 28, 2011, workers in various positions at the Babine Forest Products Ltd. mill were “exposed to pine wood dust in excess of the exposure limit.”
The inspection report suggested at the time the “the current ventilation systems and water misters” were not “adequately protecting some workers.”
The WorkSafe BC inspector noted that the excessive dust contravened occupational health and safety regulations, and exceeded the eight-hour exposure limits in the basement clean-up and lead hand positions of the mill.
Two people died and another 19 were injured when an explosion ripped through the mill last Friday.
Babine employed some 250 workers in the Burns Lake area, and the disaster is expected to have wide-ranging impacts on the local economy.
Joel McKay
@jmckaybiv