HALIFAX, N.S. — The Workers’ Compensation Board of Nova Scotia (WCB) is developing a new strategic plan for 2016 to 2020 and has received feedback from hundreds of Nova Scotians representing organizations and individuals. A summary of the feedback is available at http://www.wcb.ns.ca/Portals/wcb/Summary%20of%20Input%20on%20Strategic%20Plan%202016-2020%20for%20website.pdf. The WCB said in a release that it would develop a draft strategic plan “over the next few months.” Once it is complete, there will be an opportunity for a stakeholder review before the draft plan is finalized. “More details on this aspect of the consultation process will be provided in the coming months,” the release said.

LACHUTE, Que. — More than 80 workers at Les Aliments Lebel in Lachute, Que. have joined Local 501 of the United Food and Commercial Workers Canada (UFCW), after voting to join the union late last year. The company manufactures ice cream, frozen yogurt and other frozen foods at a production facility northwest of Montreal, the UFCW said in a Jan. 12 press release. The UFCW reported that the newest Local 501 members decided to join the union to obtain improved wages and recall conditions and to have their rights and seniority respected at work.

TOWNSHIP OF CENTRAL FRONTENAC, Ont. — Hydro One Networks Inc. was fined $325,000 on Jan. 13, in connection with the death of a worker on March 5, 2013. That day, a crew of five workers at the power company’s distribution station in the Township of Central Frontenac was engaged in replacing a voltage regulator, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour (MOL) said in a press release. The crew used a method called “jack and roll,” which involved moving the regulator on wooden rollers. As the 15-ton replacement regulator was being moved across wooden planking between two concrete pads, it stopped because the rollers were not fitting properly beneath the regulator, the MOL explained. One worker mounted a jack, but as the regulator was being raised, the jack slipped out of its position, tipping over and fatally crushing the worker. An MOL investigation found that no written procedure existed for the “jack and roll” process and during other such procedures, workers had used equipment that stabilized movement; this equipment was not used in this case. Hydro One was fined after pleading guilty to failing as an employer to ensure that materials or equipment at a project was stored and moved in a manner that did not endanger a worker, as required by the Construction Projects Regulation.

BRAMPTON, Ont. — An Ontario company has been fined and two of its directors jailed, after pleading guilty on Jan. 13 to safety violations that led to the death of a warehouse worker. New Mex Canada Inc., an importer and retailer of furniture and accessories, was fined $250,000, and directors Baldev Purba and Rajinder Saini were each jailed for 25 days, Ontario’s Ministry of Labour (MOL) said in a statement. On Jan. 18, 2013, a worker was moving merchandise at the company’s warehouse using a combination forklift/platform called an order picker, the ministry explained. The order picker had been modified and had an additional platform supported by the forks that had been tack-welded to the manufacturer-equipper operator platform, but the added platform did not have a guardrail and the worker was not wearing fall protection or safety shoes. The worker was found dead on the floor; the cause of death was later determined to be blunt force trauma to the head. New Mex Canada Inc. was fined after pleading guilty to failing to provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker regarding fall protection and/or working from heights, the statement said. Purba and Saina pleaded guilty to failing to comply with the Occupational Health and Safety Act and the Industrial Establishments Regulation. Each director was ordered to served 25 days in jail, to be served on the weekends, and to take an oh&s course within two months.

NANAIMO, B.C. — An employee of a liquor store in Nanaimo, B.C. was not injured in a robbery attempt at the store in Terminal Park. The incident occurred at about 10:25 p.m. on Jan. 10, when three men entered the store and one fired a round into the ceiling from a sawed-off shotgun. The suspects then left the store — possibly with several bottles of wine — and discharged two bursts of bear spray at the worker, the Nanaimo RCMP said in a release. “The employees, while not physically harmed, were left shaken by the ordeal and have been offered police victim services,” the release said, adding that no customers were in the store at the time.

Just two hours of exposure to diesel exhaust fumes can lead to fundamental health-related changes in biology, a new study from the University of British Columbia (UBC) and Vancouver Coastal Health has suggested.

The study, Short-term diesel inhalation in a controlled human crossover study is associated with changes in DNA methylation of circulating mononuclear cells in asthmatics, was published in January in the journal Particle and Fibre Toxicology. It found that diesel exhaust caused changes in methylation, the carbon-hydrogen “coating” that attaches to many parts of a person’s DNA, affecting about 400 genes at about 2,800 different points. In some places, it led to more methylation, but more often, it decreased methylation, the study said.

The study involved putting volunteers in a polycarbonate-enclosed booth — about the size of a standard bathroom — where they breathed in diluted and aged exhaust fumes “that are about equal to the air quality along a Beijing highway or under certain conditions at busy ports, rail yards, mines and industrial sites,” the UBC said in a statement. The researchers examined how diesel exhaust exposure affected methylation, which can silence or dampen a gene, preventing it from producing a protein — sometimes to a person’s benefit, sometimes not.

The statement said that the next step for researchers is to examine how these changes in gene expression translate to health. “Usually when we look at the effects of air pollution, we measure things that are clinically obvious — air flow, blood pressure, heart rhythm,” said Dr. Chris Carlsten, an associate professor in the UBC’s Division of Respiratory Medicine. “But asthma, higher blood pressure or arrhythmia might just be the gradual accumulation of epigenetic changes,” he added, referring to the field of gene expression. “So we’ve revealed a window into how these long-term problems arise.”

The fact that DNA methylation was affected after only two hours has positive implications, added Dr. Carlsten, who is also the AstraZeneca chair in occupational and environmental lung disease. “Any time you can show something happens that quickly, it means you can probably reverse it — either through a therapy, a change in environment, or even diet,” he said.

The study has implications for workers who are at risk of diesel exhaust exposure, such as toll booth operators, mechanics, loading/shipping dock workers, farmers, railroad workers and ship crew members. According to information from the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety, exposure to diesel exhaust can cause coughing and itchy/burning eyes, while breathing in exhaust can cause lung irritation and/or an allergic reaction, causing asthma or making pre-existing asthma worse. “Years of exposure to diesel exhaust may increase the risk of lung cancer and possibly bladder cancer,” the information added.

To read the study, visit http://www.particleandfibretoxicology.com/content/11/1/71.

The Temporary Foreign Workers Association (TFWA) has created a confidential hotline to help workers get answers about their rights, both under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program and on the job.

The association — a group started by Unifor and Migrante Canada, the Canadian chapter of a global alliance of over 100 organizations in more than 22 countries that advocates for the rights of Filipino migrant workers — announced the hotline on Jan. 12. The toll-free number, 1-888-366-0194, will provide information about legal entitlements, such as rates of pay, overtime and immigration requirements, to callers.

“In many sectors of the economy, employers have taken advantage of language barriers and other challenges to exploit foreign workers,” Unifor contended in a statement. “Temporary foreign workers have rights just like Canadian workers, and we intend to ensure that they are enforced across the country,” added Wally Ewanicke, an organizer with Unifor, in the statement. “The new hotline is a confidential resource for workers who need answers about their rights at work.”

Marco Luciano, a spokesperson for Migrante Canada, argued that TFWs deserve dignity and respect in the workplace, just like any other worker. “If they are good enough to work in Canada, they are good enough to stay,” Luciano said about the path to immigration sought by many foreign workers. “There is no such thing as disposable labour.”

The announcement of the hotline came on the heels of a report from the Alberta Federation of Labour (AFL), which said that some of the work on Edmonton’s new downtown arena was being done by TFWs from the U.S., even though hundreds of qualified Canadian ironworkers were available.

Construction on Rogers Place, a 20,000-seat venue that is set to become the new home of the Edmonton Oilers in 2016, began last March. AFL president Gil McGowan said that contracts to build several portions of Edmonton’s Arena District were awarded to local firms that employ Canadian workers, but that Rogers’ Place was given to an outside firm.

McGowan said that members of the AFL, Ironworkers Local 720 — which has 300 qualified ironworkers on the “jobs list at the hiring hall a few blocks from the arena’s location” — and the Edmonton and District Labour Council held a protest in Edmonton on Jan. 15. He said that trades organizations are also petitioning the federal government to rescind any TFW permits granted for the project.

The unique scenario of damage to a plane wing from a tree strike likely contributed to a fatal accident in the Northwest Territories (N.W.T.) two years ago, the Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has revealed.

On Jan. 8, the TSB released its investigation report into the Aug. 22, 2013 accident that claimed the life of the pilot, the only person aboard the float plane. At about 6:50 p.m. that day, a Transwest Air DHC-3 turbine-powered Otter aircraft left Scott Lake, N.W.T. on a flight to Ivanhoe Lake, but did not arrive at its destination, the TSB report said. The company notified the Joint Rescue Coordination Centre, which dispatched a search and rescue aircraft. The following day, the wreckage of the plane was found on Aug. 23 in an unnamed lake between the take-off location and the destination.

Interestingly, the TSB found that damage to the plane from a prior tree strike and a number of stressors throughout the day had contributed to the accident. “The right wing was damaged [from] impact with several trees, and the damage was not evaluated or inspected by qualified personnel prior to the subsequent takeoff,” said a statement from the TSB. “The investigation also revealed that a number of stressors throughout the day disrupted the pilot’s processing of safety-critical information and likely contributed to an unsafe decision to depart and operate a damaged, uninspected aircraft.”

To enhance its operations, Transwest held discussions with its pilots concerning their responsibilities to remove themselves from flight duty if they do not feel fit to fly, the statement said. The company also issued a safety directive, outlining the company’s expectation of compliance with the Canadian Aviation Regulations and action to be taken if aircraft is damaged (refrain from flying until a licensed engineer has inspected and signed a release for that aircraft).

“If you have reason to suspect that an aircraft may have sustained physical damage that you cannot observe, enter a snag in the logbook and speak to an engineer immediately,” Transwest advised in the safety directive, issued on Sept. 30, 2013. “If you observe actual physical damage to an aircraft — even if you are not a pilot — you are required by [the Canadian Aviation Regulations] to ensure that the aircraft is grounded until it has been inspected and determined to be airworthy.”

The release of the report came two months after the TSB announced that it would conduct a safety issues investigation into Canadian air taxi operations to understand the risks that persist in the sector. The TSB has said that the study will engage industry, Transport Canada and other stakeholders to gain an understanding of the issues affecting air taxi operations and that the board may make recommendations to address any identified systemic deficiencies.

Hilde Notø, Yngvar Thomassen and Wijnand Eduard, Department of Chemical and Biological Work Environment, National Institute of Occupational Health (NIOH), Oslo, Norway; Karl-Christian Nordby, Helge Kjuus and Øivind Skare, Department of Occupational Medicine and Epidemiology, NIOH

An exposure study was conducted as part of a multi-national longitudinal study of lung function in cement production workers. The aim was to examine exposure to thoracic aerosol among cement production workers during a 4-year follow-up period. Personal shift measurements of thoracic aerosol were conducted among the cement production workers within seven job types, 22 plants, and eight European countries (including Turkey) in 2007, 2009, and 2011. The thoracic sub-fraction was chosen as the most relevant aerosol fraction related to obstructive dynamic lung function changes. Production factors, job type, and respirator use were recorded by questionnaire. The exposure data were log-transformed before mixed models analysis and results were presented by geometric mean (GMadj) exposure levels adjusted for plant or job type, worker, and season as random effects. A total of 6111 thoracic aerosol samples were collected from 2534 workers. Repeated measurements were obtained from 1690 of these workers. The GMadj thoracic aerosol levels varied between job types from 0.20 to 1.2mg m−3. The highest exposure levels were observed for production, cleaning, and maintenance workers (0.79–1.2mg m−3) and could reach levels where the risk of lung function loss may be increased. The lowest levels were found for administrative personnel (0.20mg m−3) serving tasks in the production areas. Office work was not monitored. GMadj exposure levels between plants ranged from 0.19 to 2.0mg m−3. The time of year/season contributed significantly to the total variance, but not year of sampling. Production characteristics explained 63% of the variance explained by plant. Workers in plants with the highest number of employees (212–483 per plant) were exposed at a level more than twice as high as those in plants with fewer employees. Other production factors such as cement production, bag filling, and tidiness were significant, but explained less of the exposure variability. These determinants factors can be useful in qualitative exposure assessment and exposure prevention in the cement production industry. Respirator use was minor at exposure levels <0.5mg m−3 but more common at higher levels. Production, cleaning, and maintenance work were the job types with highest exposure to thoracic aerosol in cement production plants. However, plant had an even larger effect on exposure levels than job type. The number of employees was the most important factor explaining differences between plants. Exposure reached levels where the risk of lung function loss may be increased. No significant differences in exposure between sampling campaigns were observed during the 4-year study period.

Ann Occ Hyg, Volume 59, Issue 1, pages 4-24. Correspondence to: Wijnand Eduard, Department of Chemical and Biological Work Environment, National Institute of Occupational Health, PO Box 8149 Dep., 0033 Oslo, Norway; tel: +47-23195324; email: wijnand.eduard@stami.no.

Hanns Moshammer, Michael Kundi, Peter Wallner and Hans-Peter Hutter, Institute of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Alois Herbst and Anton Feuerstein, voestalpine Steel Division, Occupational Safety, Linz, Austria

Occupationally acquired noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is the most prevalent occupational disease in Austria and among the most common in many other countries. Because of the wide variation in hearing loss after equivalent exposures it has long been assumed that some individuals are more vulnerable to occupational NIHL than others. Earlier attempts to define predictors of NIHL before starting occupational noise exposure have largely failed. The authors present results of a prospective study evaluating the potential of temporary threshold shift (TTS) after a test exposure to predict NIHL. Between 1982 and 1989, overall 311 apprentices were included into a prospective study during their initial health screening visit. At this occasion, a standardised noise exposure was applied (20 min, 200–500 Hz, 100 dBA) and the TTS at 4 kHz was determined during at least 10 min after exposure. Hearing loss was monitored at follow-up visits every 3–5 years. Follow-up was 13 years on average. Permanent threshold shift was predicted by duration of noise exposure, frequency of wearing noise protectors and especially by the initial TTS at 4 kHz. Using 14 dB TTS as a cut-off had 82% sensitivity and 53% specificity to predict 20 dB or higher levels of NIHL. The TTS model can be successfully applied as a method to detect individuals at greater risk of occupational NIHL. It is recommended to routinely include such a procedure into initial workers’ examinations for suitability to work under occupational noise conditions and for counselling on the use of hearing protectors.

Occ Environ Med, Volume 72, Issue 2, pages 85-89. Correspondence to: Professor Michael Kundi, Institute of Environmental Health, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Kinderspitalgasse 15, Vienna A-1095, Austria; email: michael.kundi@meduniwien.ac.at.