Canada | Metals corporation faces over $710,000 fine for safety violations

Canadian Occupational Safety
| Metals and mining corporation Rio Tinto Alcan Inc. has been fined a total of $710,488.79 after two workers were hurt at the company’s facility.

Both incidents happened at the firm’s smelter worksite in Kitimat. WorkSafeBC responded to both incidents.

In the first incident, a subcontracted worker received an electrical shock injury from an energised conductor on an electrical power distribution system.

WorkSafeBC found that there were inadequate controls in place to warn workers of and protect them from the electrical hazard.

In the second incident, a subcontracted worker was injured when they made contact with a rotary valve on a dust collector.

Rio Tinto also failed to ensure machinery was effectively safeguarded, and to ensure no work was done until the machinery was locked. These were all high-risk violations.

— Accurate at time of publication | March 2025