NOVA Chemicals has been fined $130,000 after a contractor was seriously injured by hot liquid from an exhaust stack at the Corunna facility.
The incident happened during routine maintenance on May 7, 2024 and the Calgary-based company recently pleaded guilty in Sarnia Provincial Offences Court.
The court heard that on the day of the incident, one of the heaters was being cleaned out using a intermittent blow down (IBD) technique.
This is when valves are manually opened to release boiler feed water from a heater storage drum into an IBD drum.
Two contractors from Kel-Gor were on a scaffold adjacent to an IBD drum exhaust stack, and hot boiler feed water was discharged from the top of the IBD stack causing serious injuries to a worker.
A Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development investigation found that the scaffold and IBD stack were not equipped with shields or barriers to protect workers from hot liquid discharges.
It said NOVA failed to provide information, instruction and supervision to protect workers from hazards associated with intermittent blowdown operations, contrary to section 25(2)(a) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act.
It's credited to a special provincial government fund to assist victims of crime.
