Several Richmond firms have been fined by WorkSafeBC for safety-related violations.

Seattle Environmental Consulting was fined $20,000 for an infraction related to asbestos removal work it was doing at a two-storey Richmond house that was slated for demolition.

“The poly containment sheeting on these windows was open and billowing outward,” a WorkSafeBC report said. “The workers later confirmed that these bags, one of which was punctured from the impact of being thrown, held drywall debris, an identified asbestos-containing material for this worksite.”

Seattle Environmental was fined for failing to provide and maintain appropriate containment facilities, and failing to use procedures for controlling and handling asbestos acceptable to WorkSafeBC.

B King Construction fined was fined $2,500 for an asbestos related violation.

“A WorkSafeBC inspection found that the firm had issued a clearance letter while asbestos-containing materials…remained on site,” the report said.

A WorkSafe inspector also spotted two workers bagging insulation without using respiratory or personal protective equipment.

“The firm’s failure to have a qualified person ensure and confirm in writing that hazardous materials had been removed prior to demolition was a repeated and high-risk violation,” the report said.

Sarao Framing and Forming was fined $2,500 for failing to have its workers use fall-protection equipment while framing a two-storey house in Richmond.

Tom Huang/TH Contracting was fined a total of $7,500 for two offences involving asbestos abatement and mould remediation at a two-storey home in Richmond. It was found to have failed to safely contain or remove all hazardous materials as required, which it described as a repeated and high-risk violation. It was also found to have failed to meet its requirements for the safe containment and removal of asbestos-containing material.

Patara Framing Enterprises was fined $20,000 for failing to properly use fall-protection equipment.

Three workers were found on the edge of a roof installing trusses and sheathing, and were exposed to a risk of falling between 20 and 30 feet. And while one of the workers was wearing a fall-protection harness, it was not connected to a lifeline.

Eagle Mount Roofing was fined $2,500 after two of its workers failed to use fall-protection harnesses while performing roofing activities.

3D Environmental Groups was fined a total of $37,092.96 for two violations at Richmond homes about to be demolished.

It was fined $24,728.64 for a violation involving single-storey Richmond house where it was removing asbestos-containing material.

The firm’s worker and supervisor were found removing and storing asbestos-containing materials in a partial containment area that was not sealed off.

It was also fined $12,364.32 for issuing a clearance letter indicating all asbestos-containing material had been removed when that was not the case. This was a repeated and high-risk violation.

Trig Roofing and Construction was fined $2,500 for

Garda Canada Security Corporation was fined $75,000 on June 23 as a result of an investigation into an accident where a worker sustained serious injuries while driving a golf cart through a sawmill complex in Richmond.

The worker was patrolling the complex in the dark and rain when the cart fell three metres into a wood-chip pit, according to a WorkSafeBC report.

The worker was pinned under the cart and sustained serious injuries.

WorkSafe’s investigation found that the firm’s worker had not been made aware of the workplace hazards and that safety and supervision for the firm’s workers was lacking, the report said.

The firm’s occupational health and safety program was not effectively implemented, the report said.

“These deficiencies show that the firm failed to ensure the health and safety of its workers,” WorkSafeBC ruled in the report.

One Plus One Construction Ltd. was fined $2,500 for falling hazards its firms were exposed to at a work site in Richmond.

Four workers were seen on the second level of a house that was under construction, and were explosed to a 3.2 metre falling hazard in the form of a floor opening that lacked a guard rail.

Described as a “repeated and high-risk violation”, WorkSafeBC said the firm failed to ensure that guardrails or a fall restraint system was used for the work.

PR Pomeroy Construction Inc. was fined $42,948.74 for exposing two of its workers to a falling hazard of more than 50 feet at a work site in Richmond.

The workers were on the roof of an apartment, and one was crouched on top of a parapet wall, installing flashing, while the second was installing siding while standing on a roof with a 12:12 slope.

Neither was using personal fall protection systems and no other form of fall protection was in place, the report said.

PR Pomeroy was fined for failing to ensure that fall protection was used. This was considered a repeated and high-risk violation.

A $2,500 fine was handed to Baba Roofing for a repeated and high-risk violation involving fall protection.

WorkSafeBC observed two workers, including a representative of the firm, installing roofing underlay on a steeply pitched roof in Richmond.

While both workers were wearing fall protection harnesses, neither was connected to a lifeline and no other form of fall protection was in place.

The workers were exposed to a risk of falling 22 feet, the WorkSafeBC report said.

Gregory V Redmond/Onsite Custom Aluminum were fined $2,500 for a repeated, high-risk violation involving fall protection.

WorkSafeBC observed the firm’s worker standing on a work platform supported by a ladder-jack system at a two-storey house that was under construction in Richmond. The worker, who was not using fall protection equipment, was exposed to a risk of falling about 20 feet.

AAA Roofing Ltd. Historical was fined $7,500 after a WorkSafeBC inspector observed two workers installing strapping on the roof of a new two-storey home in Richmond.

According to the WorkSafeBC report, this was also a repeated, high-risk violation involving a failure to use fall-protection equipment. The workers were exposed to a hazard of falling about 28 feet.

Advanced Framing Ltd. was fined $3.541.13 for a high risk violation involving the use of fall protection equipment.

Two of the company’s workers were installing sheathing on the roof of a new house, but the workers were not using fall protection equipment which exposed them to a risk of falling about 30 feet.