Worker died from hydrogen sulphide exposure while clearing a residential sewer line
Manitoba plumbing company Lockhart Plumbing and Heating has been fined following the death of a worker who was fatally exposed to toxic gas while attempting to clear a residential sewer line.
The employer was ordered to pay a $5,000 fine after pleading guilty to a charge under provincial workplace safety legislation, according to a report from The Canadian Press (CP). The company was charged with failing to provide the employee with proper information, training and supervision, the Manitoba Ministry of Labour and Immigration said.
The incident occurred in 2022, when a plumber employed by the company was sent to a home in southern Manitoba. The worker “had been dispatched to a home to investigate a sewer smell,” the ministry told CP.
The plumber was later found to have been overexposed to hydrogen sulphide, a toxic gas commonly associated with sewage and organic waste.
“The plumber was exposed to too much of the toxic gas while trying to unclog the drain,” the ministry said, according to the report. Hydrogen sulphide can cause rapid respiratory paralysis and death at high concentrations, particularly in enclosed or poorly ventilated spaces.
An investigation by Workplace Safety and Health officials led to a single charge against Lockhart Plumbing and Heating for failing to provide adequate information, training and supervision to the worker. The company ultimately pleaded guilty, The Canadian Press reported.
In addition to the $5,000 fine, the court ordered the company to contribute a further $2,500 to an education fund, according to CP. The ministry indicated the payment is intended to support initiatives aimed at improving workplace safety awareness and training.
No further details about the worker’s identity or any additional conditions imposed on the company were provided in the report.
How do hazardous gases affect people in the workplace?
According to the Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety (CCOHS), in order for a chemical or gas to harm a person’s health, it must first come into contact with or enter the body, and it must have some biological effect on the body. There are four major routes by which a chemical may enter the body:
- Inhalation (breathing)
- Skin (or eye) contact
- Swallowing (ingestion or eating)
- Injection (skin penetration)
“Regardless of the way the chemical gets into the body, once it is in the body, it is distributed in the body by the bloodstream. In this way, the chemical may harm organs which are far away from the original point of entry as well as where they entered the body,” said the CCOHS.
