THE WESTERN CANADIAN LUMBER WORKER 5 Safety Regulation Changes Urged © After the fullest cooperation from our Local Unions in preparation, the Regional Council, on March 15th, commenced a full week of presentation on the W.C.B. Regulations. The job of considering, arguing for and fighting against some 800 proposed changes has been challenging for all. The task is now half completed. The last general revision to the regulations was made in 1950. More than 34,000 employers and 450,000 work- ers will be affected by the new regulations, which will go into effect later this year. THE GREAT PRINCIPLE That industry, both Union and management, shall join : The Union... “Mr. Chairman and Members of the Board: First, this Union fully understands the tre- mendous task which faced the Board in presenting to interested parties a compilation of the xneces- sary changes to the Accident Prevention Regula- tions. Technical change has made it essential that we in Industry discard outworn concepts in reg- ulation, and be prepared to critically assess new approaches. new fields, = field.” a “To regulate or . . S ne BS RC Bo : ete se Sete x BS Bd BS wate a a Pa oo on fete os mS ae . oe wo : S a x Bo is . However, in trying to achieve orderly and compact regulations competent of legal enforce- ment, we must take care not to discard concise advice in favour of convenient generalization. We are of the opinion that a time-tested specific should be scrutinized carefully before it is discarded. At the same time, we must not fear to venture into We believe the objective here must be the maintenance and furtherance of the unrivaled position of this Province in the accident prevention NotetatetetatatetetetshetatetetetaPatctatatatatetetetatetetetetetet stat tststef ana anata antes a at a*ate'nte a a'a ete a a a atatatanata ane sre tetat state! The Board... together to ensure the safety of all who labor to build our society. That difference of approach shall not impede progress to- wards this goal. We have said this in es- sence over the years. Do these Public Hearings reflect the principle? A quick J. A. MOORE, March 1st, 1965 The control of hazardous circumstances in in- dustry and the development of prudent behaviour by workmen cannot be accomplished solely by leg- islation, Regulations are an important part of the industrial safety effort but are valueless if a proper climate for their acceptance is lacking or if they are not strictly enforced. To be acceptable and enforceable, regulations must be understandable in their phrasing and prac- tical in their application. In some circumstances, hazards are not subject to regulatory control and some risk is involved wherever there is motion or utilization of any form of energy. In many fields of industrial activity safety is dependent on the exercise of controls, and man- datory requirements are essential. there are situations where complete freedom from control does not endanger workmen. Conversely, Between these two extremes, there is a great area not subject to regulation and enforcement, where hazards are present intermittently in vary- & ing degrees and where safety depends on experience, = knowledge, judgment and foresight. 8 = To attempt to stipulate all the permissive or 2 _probibitive actions and circumstances under vary- 3 ing situations would result in a state of confusion and give rise to impractical and irrational pres- sures that would tend to undermine the sense of * S = res & the intelligent adult.” § = assessment of the torrent of debate and of the sharp differ- ences would seem to indicate that the er grag is sae’ ing apart at seams, _ longer and closer scrutiny shows still, a common aim, a > ion of means, and a de- ponsibility that is the inherent characteristic of ARTHUR FRANCIS March 1, 1965 sire to finally agree upon the framework of _ regulation within which we will work in the future. The proceed- ings demonstrate how con- sensus can be reached in Safety without compromise of individual principle. a eee etereescninaesnenninete se ° -_ herria ~ rN R é = : IWA REGIONAL PRESIDENT Jack Moore presenting the Union’s brief on changes to the WCB Regulations at the Public He N > rat 3 fi arings presently under- way at the Workmen’s Compensation Board in Vancouver. Aiding Moore at the Hearings are Gil Ingram, Business Agent, Local 1-85, left, and Bob Ross, former Regional Safety Director, right. Space prevents us from printing more than the sub- stance of important amend- ments made by the Regional Council: Interpretation — that a ° “competent person” not only be authorized by the employer to-do the work: but that he also be “able” to do it. 2 Employer Responsibility ° —that the employer alone be held responsible in law for the safe operation of his busi- ness. (this not to relieve the employee of his moral and practical responsibility) . 3 Accident Prevention Com- ° tees (a) That a reduction from 20 to 15 men crews as the yardstick be the require- ment for a joint safety committee. (b) That safety inspections be joint and equal. (c) That accident investiga- tions be joint and equal. (d) That minutes of Safety Committee meetings be signed by both the Chairman and the Secre- tary and that copies be furnished to each mem- ber of the committee. 4 Smoke and Dust — that * the safety as well as health of workmen be pro- tected by regulation. 5 Gasoline Propulsion — * that gasoline propulsion of mobile equipment in en- closed plants be prohibited. 6 High and Low Temperat- ° ure Hazards — that the W.C.B. research the material necessary to protect workmen from extremes of temperat- ure 7 Safe Transportation—that * land, water and air trans- portation be made safer for workmen. 8 Overcrowded Plants — * that the employers be granted no relief from a re- quirement to ensure sufficient room in plants to work safely. 9. Personal Protective Equipment —that wher- ever the regulations require ' word the use of personal protective equipment, the employer shall pay the cost. (Of interest is the interpretation given at the hearing that wherever the “supplied” applies to personal protective equip- ment, it shall mean “paid for by the employer.”) | 0 Safety Training — that ° in addition to training in production methods, train- ing in safe work procedure be mandatory. Tl Safety Responsibility — ° that any person shall take action “forthwith” to correct an unsafe condition. (There is a proposal to weak- en the requirement by adding the words “or without de- lay.’’) 1 2 Responsibility of Oper- ° ator—that a supervisor may no longer order the op- erator of mobile equipment to proceed when the operator considers the conditions of the equipment or the material to be unsafe. In addition to these import- ant general regulations, close attention was devoted to the many specific instructions needed in the Regulations. These pages will report further as-the Public Hear- ings deal with logging, ply- wood and sawmill sections of our industry. New Wood Preservative Poisons Workers Pentachlorophenol, one of the ingredients used in a wood preservative mixture, has caused one death in Man- itoba and near-fatal intoxica- tion in four other workers in a wood-processing plant. In a Canadian Medical As- sociation Journal report, three doctors working for the Winnipeg health department, give case histories of five workers in a wood-processing plant who were poisoned by absorbing pentachlorophenol through the skin on their hands or by inhalation. The factory made window sashes and each frame was dipped in a wood preservative at one stage in the manufact- ure. The man who got the fatal dose of poison was en- gaged in dipping the sashes. Although rubber gloves were available, this worker preferred to dip the frames with his bare hands and evi- dently nobody was aware that the solution containing the pentachlorophenol was lethal. Within a week from the time he started the job he complained of fatigue, exces- sive sweating, and thirst. He was taken to hospital, lapsed into a coma and died within five hours of admission. Subsequently, four other workers were admitted to hospital and all were found to have heavy concentrations of pentachlorophenol in their urine. ; Investigations in the sash plant showed that the dipping vat was inadequately venti- lated and that there was no label on the dipping container to warn of its toxicity. During the investigations four other wood-processing plants in the province were found where the same haz- ardous conditions existed. _ Manitoba is preparing leg- islation to cover the uses of this chemical in the province, the doctors’ report states, Better Drivers A recent study of provi- sional licence holders in Con- necticut revealed that the students who had received in- struction in the secondary school program had approxi- mately 50 per cent fewer ac- cidents and violations than those who had received in- struction from their parents or from commercial driving schools.