Man suffers serious burns in electrical accident at mall

Ministry issues orders after electrical accident at Lansdowne Place (Ca)

The Ministry of Labour is continuing to investigate what happened in a electrical accident at Lansdowne Place Mall last Thursday (Aug. 16) that injured one man.

The 27-year-old man was working around 7:30 a.m. at the construction site where an addition is being built for the new Old Navy Store when he was injured.

According to Belinda Sutton, a spokesperson for the Ontario Ministry of Labour, the man was connecting into a 400-amp, three-phase 600-volt switch when a panel arc flashed, burning him.

He sustained flash burns to his face and arms as a result of the incident.

He was taken to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre and then transferred to Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto.
Because of the accident, the Ministry of Labour was called in to investigate and has issued several orders to the man's employer and the constructor.

On the same day as the accident, the ministry issued one order under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) to ECCI, the constructor from Oakville Ontario, stating that they must ensure every employer and worker doing any work on the project complies with the OHSA and the Regulations for Construction Projects.

The Ministry also issued four OHSA orders to Tri-Line Electric, the man's employer.

They were ordered to do the following:

• Ensure that workers exposed to the hazard of an electrical shock or burn while performing work use rubber gloves.

• That they establish and implement written measures and procedures for complying with Section 190(2) of the Regulations for Construction Projects and ensure workers are adequately protected from electrical shock and burn. The employer has until Thursday (Aug. 23) to comply with this order.

• Ensure the power supply to electrical equipment, installation or conductor is disconnected, locked out of service and tagged before work begins, and kept disconnected, locked out of service and tagged while work continues.

• Take every reasonable precaution in these circumstances for the protection of the worker by ensuring workers wear adequate protective clothing and equipment to protect against electrical shock or burn.

(Tony Moscioni)