A Cambridge flooring company has been fined $70,000 in provincial court in connection with a 2023 incident that led to a worker’s prolonged exposure to carbon monoxide.

BNE Concrete Floors & Coatings Inc. of Sheldon Drive entered a guilty plea in a London courtroom in association with the incident. The company was fined $65,000 for the violation that led to the incident and $5,000 for failing to notify an inspector.

The court also imposed a 25 percent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.

The incident occurred on January 4, 2023 at a construction project on Dingman Drive in London.

BNE had been contracted to coat and polish concrete floors at the construction project for a new warehouse.

A worker was operating a polishing machine that used an internal combustion engine that burned propane.After running the machine for approximately 2.5 hours, the worker began to feel unwell and lost consciousness after leaving the room. The worker suffered a serious injury from carbon monoxide exposure due to the lack of ventilation in the room. 

BNE Concrete Floors & Coatings was found to had failed to ensure that there was adequate ventilation where the machine was being used.

In addition, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development was not made aware of the incident until six days later, and the scene had not been preserved. BNE was there’re also found to have failed to immediately notify an inspector of a critical injury at the workplace.