ArcelorMittal Dofasco fined $175K for 2021 workplace incident
ArcelorMittal Dofasco has been fined $175,000 for its role in a workplace incident that led to a critical injury to a worker in 2021.
The incident occurred at the company’s Number 2 Tube Mill on Burlington Street East in Hamilton.
Four workers were preparing a production line at the company’s steel mill for a tool change.
During the changeover, the line was put into jog mode, which enables the line to run at a reduced speed.
One worker attended to the weld coil, a component that is removed as part of the changeover. This requires the use of a socket wrench to release a bolted plate that holds the coil in place.
The tube steel product being manufactured travels through the weld coil and enters rollers used to guide the tube to the next part of the mill.
While using the socket wrench on the weld holder plate bolts, the worker’s hand was pulled by the tube into a pinch point within the machinery causing a critical injury.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found that the in-running nip hazard was unguarded. This allowed the worker to access the point of hazard.
The company was therefore found to have failed to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by Section 25 of Regulation 851 were carried out in a workplace contrary to the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
ArcelorMittal Dofasco entered a guilty plea in Provincial Offences Court in Hamilton.
The court also imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge that is credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.