‘Worker’s clothing became entangled in the unguarded shaft, resulting in a fatal injury’
Ontario manufacturer Pigments Services Canada—operating as Monteith—has been fined $150,000 after a worker was fatally injured while operating a paint mixing machine.
The incident took place on April 29, 2024, at the company’s facility on Wharton Glen Avenue.
According to the Ontario government, a worker was creating a batch of paint at the company’s Mississauga facility when the incident happened.
The paint mixing process involved lowering a paddle into a vat driven by an exposed rotating shaft.
“While working alone, the worker’s clothing became entangled in the unguarded shaft, resulting in a fatal injury,” the provincial government said.
An investigation by the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development determined that the mixer and similar machines were not properly guarded to protect workers. “Pigments Services Canada Inc. failed to ensure that the measures and procedures prescribed by section 24 of Ontario Regulation 851 were carried out at the workplace, contrary to sections 25(1)(c) and 66(1) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act,” the Ontario government stated.
Following a guilty plea in the Provincial Offences Court in Mississauga, the company was fined $150,000 by Justice of the Peace Veruschka Fisher-Grant. The court also imposed a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge, which will be credited to a provincial fund to assist victims of crime, according to the Ontario government.
In response to the incident, Pigments Services Canada Inc. has since installed protective covers and mesh guards to prevent access to rotating parts.
According to the Association of Workers’ Compensation Boards of Canada (AWCBC), there were 18 reported injuries involving workers in the paint mixing process across Canada in the past 12 months, including two fatalities.
