Supervisor & Company Fined $59,000 for Student’s Burns from Welding

A student working for a company as a co-operative education placement was assigned a welding task while wearing a polyester-blend sweatshirt. Polyester is susceptible to ignition and shouldn’t be worn while welding. He wasn’t given a welding jacket, welding sleeves, neck shroud or flame-retardant clothing. The supervisor didn’t make sure the student removed the sweatshirt and wore appropriate apparel. While welding, his sweatshirt ignited and caught fire, causing second degree burns. During the MOL’s investigation, an inspector saw another worker also not wearing apparel sufficient to prevent injury while welding. The company pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a competent person was appointed as supervisor and was fined $55,000. The supervisor pleaded guilty to failing to ensure that a worker was wearing apparel sufficient to protect him from injury while welding and was fined $4,000 [CRS Specialties Inc. and Chad Corriveau, Govt. News Release, April 9, 2013].