The high risk nature of health and safety violations stemming from a monster truck event was a central reason in a $175,000 penalty that was levied against the City of Cranbrook, according to a WorkSafeBC report.
WorkSafeBC issued the fine in June, following an investigation into three monster truck shows at Western Financial Place over two days in February.
The WorkSafeBC report identified a number of alleged issues that arose from the event, particularly elevated levels of carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide and nitrogen dioxide, as well as the use of potentially contaminated dirt that was stored at the city waste water treatment plant lagoon property.
"The employer has the resources, expertise and obligation to anticipate risks and put preventative measures in place. In this case, the employer should have been fully aware of the risk posed by the engine exhaust emissions during an indoor motocross event," reads the report.
"Indoor events with motorized vehicles are inherently risky in terms of air quality and municipalities are expected to have a higher level of planning and risk management."
Further, the HVAC shut down during the first event due to cold weather, after being adapted to help prevent a buildup of engine exhaust emissions in the building, while the ammonia detection system was temporarily disabled because the alarm was triggered due to the sensitivity of the exhaust emissions.
According to the report, "upper management told workers to contact the manufacturer of the ammonia detection system to assist in silencing the alarm."
The dirt was taken from the waste water treatment plant lagoons property. However, according to the city, the dirt was clean fill from the 30th Ave reconstruction project near the College of the Rockies, which was being stored on a different area of the property.
The WorkSafeBC report notes the dirt was not tested for contamination and that once the dirt was removed after the event, there was no opportunity for testing samples.
"Workers were required to truck in large quantities of this dirt into the arena and spread it out into the desired track using mobile equipment. Workers were not required to use PPE [Personal Protective Equipment]. Many workers came into direct contact with the dirt and were at a very high risk of inhaling the dust generated from handling the dirt."
Each event included approximately ten workers on shift, with more involved in set up and take down.
In a statement, the City of Cranbrook says it is appealing the penalty.
"The City is appealing this allegation by WorkSafeBC, which is part of the overall investigation process," reads a statement from the city. "The City takes these allegations seriously and will work with WorkSafeBC to ensure all events protect public and staff safety."
The size of an administrative penalty is based on the nature of the violation, a company's history of violations, and the size of the company's payroll.
A request for a review of a decision must be made within 45 days of the decision, while a review decision can also be appealed to an external, independent appeals tribunal known as the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal.
