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Vale, employees charged in 2014 smelter death

The Ministry of Labour has laid 17 charges against Vale under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for a workplace incident at the Copper Cliff smelter April 6, 2014, that killed a millwright and injured another worker.
Paul_Rochette_Cropped
Paul Rochette, 36, was killed April 6, 2014, when he was struck in the head by a pin that broke off a crusher and was released under high pressure.

The Ministry of Labour has laid 17 charges against Vale under the Occupational Health and Safety Act for a workplace incident at the Copper Cliff smelter April 6, 2014, that killed a millwright and injured another worker.

Paul Rochette, 36, was killed when he was struck in the head by a pin that broke off a crusher and was released under high pressure.

Another industrial mechanic, who was 28, received a concussion and facial lacerations in the same incident. He was not named.

The Ministry of Labour has laid nine of the charges against Vale Canada Limited, three charges against Vale supervisor Eric Labelle, and two charges against another supervisor, Glenn Munro.

A Vale worker, Greg Taylor, also faces three charges.

Most of the charges against Vale Canada Limited relate to a machine called a farrel crusher.

The particulars of the first charge, for example, read: "The defendant failed to ensure that while work was being done on the Farrel Crusher any gravity stored energy was dissipated or contained."

Other charges relate to the safety of the smelter's conveyor belt. The particulars of the sixth charge, for example, say: "The defendant failed to ensure that the Head Pulley and/or the Drive Pulley of the number 87 conveyor were guarded at any pinch point that is or may become accessible."

Labelle was also charged for failing to ensure the farrell crusher was safe to use. His third charge, for instance, said: "The defendant failed to take one or both of the following reasonable precautions while workers were attempting to remove a broken moil point from the Farrel Crusher: the defendant failed to ensure that any gravity stored energy was dissipated or contained; and/or the defendant failed to ensure that all energy isolating devices were properly engaged, locked and tagged."

Munro's charges also related to the farrel crusher. The details of his first charge read: "The defendant failed to ensure that while work was being done on the Farrel Crusher to remove oversized obstructions/ material any gravity stored energy was dissipated or contained."

Taylor's charges relate to his work on the farrel crusher, and his failure to "remove a broken moil point, any gravity stored energy was dissipated or contained."
A first appearance is scheduled at the Ontario Court of Justice in Sudbury on June 12, 2015.

“We have received and are in the process of reviewing the charges served by the Ministry of Labour stemming from the tragic death of Paul Rochette in April 2014. Vale has been charged with nine counts and three staff employees have been charged a combined total of eight counts under the Act,” Vale said in a statement after news broke of the charges.

“The pain is still very real for everyone at Vale, but most of all the families, friends and co-workers who knew Paul well. As we consider the legal aspects of this matter, our primary focus will remain on the health and safety of our people, and doing everything in our power to prevent a similar tragedy from ever repeating itself.”

Vale said after the incident the company completed a comprehensive investigate, with representativers from United Steelworkers Local 6500, to understand what went wrong.

“Based on the findings, 58 recommendations were put forward with a view to preventing a similar incident from ever occurring in the crushing area of the smelter and more broadly across our operations,” the company said. “Most of the short to medium-term items have been addressed and completed, and work associated with some of the longer-term systemic solutions is well underway and should be completed by the end of the year.”