BC sawmill explosion prompts safety reviews

Apr. 26, 2012, BC – After the two explosions at sawmills in BC within the
last three months, WorkSafeBC has ordered immediate investigations into
sawdust levels and other possible
hazards to determine what could have caused these unfortunate accidents
and if they can be prevented.

According to an article in the Vancouver Sun, WorkSafeBC vice-president Roberta Ellis said that both accidents (Lakeland sawmill earlier this week and Babine Forest Products in January) do have some parallels – the presence of dust within the facilities and milling mountain pine beetle wood which is extremely dry. He added that every BC mill will be visited within the next two weeks to ensure that safety procedures and hazard assessments have been done properly.

"So while we recognize that there were similarities between the
explosions – dust was present as in all sawmills and they were working
with beetle-infested wood – it's too soon for us to speculate on the
basis of the pine beetle wood being milled," said Ellis.

For more, please see the Vancouver Sun.