A flooring company based in Cambridge, Ont,, has been fined $70,000 after a worker was critically injured due to carbon monoxide exposure at a London construction site.
BNE Concrete Floors & Coatings Inc. was sentenced on July 11, 2024, following a guilty plea in provincial offences court in London. The company was fined $65,000 for failing to ensure adequate ventilation while a worker operated a propane-powered polishing machine indoors, and an additional $5,000 for not promptly notifying an inspector of the critical injury, as required by Ontario’s Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The incident occurred on Jan. 4, 2023, at a construction project located at 3400 Dingman Drive in London, Ont., where the company had been contracted to coat and polish concrete floors for a new warehouse. According to court documents, the worker operated the polishing machine for approximately two and a half hours before beginning to feel unwell. After exiting the room, the worker lost consciousness due to carbon monoxide poisoning, attributed to insufficient ventilation in the enclosed space.
Ontario Regulation 213/91 mandates specific measures to protect workers from hazardous environments. The court found that BNE Concrete Floors & Coatings Inc. failed to adhere to these measures, violating section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Moreover, the company did not report the injury to a Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development inspector until six days after the incident, during which time the scene had not been preserved, further contravening section 51(1) of the Act.
Justice of the Peace Kristine Diaz presided over the case, with Crown Counsel Wes Wilson representing the Ministry. In addition to the fines, the court imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, which will be directed to a provincial fund that supports victims of crime.