A Niagara Falls-based company has been fined $170,000 following the death of a worker at a quarry in Orillia.
Walker Aggregates produces limestone, sand and gravel from 15 quarries in southwestern Ontario.
Court heard the worker suffered fatal head injuries after being pulled into moving machinery at the Severn quarry. The company pleaded guilty to a charge under the Occupational Health and Safety Act in connection to the death of the worker in February of 2017.
According to a press release from the Ministry of Labour it happened on Feb. 6 when workers at the Severn Quarry were preparing machinery to go back into production after a six-week winter shutdown.
The release says the work involved removing the ice buildup on the two conveyors.
"While removing ice buildup on a pulley on the conveyor, a metal bar being used by the worker was caught by the pinch point formed between the conveyor and the steel drum of the pulley," the release reads. "As the conveyor moved, the bar was pulled in, and the worker holding the bar was pulled in with it, suffering fatal head injuries as a result. The worker was pronounced dead at the scene by emergency services."
The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge as required by the Provincial Offences Act. The surcharge goes to a provincial fund to assist victims of crime.
