Overview

From October 3, 2022 to December 30, 2022, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development (MLITSD) conducted a health and safety initiative which focused on occupational disease hazards. Each sector focused on a different occupational disease hazard or hazards which included asbestos, crystalline silica, occupational dermatitis and a combination of diesel exhaust, exposure to designated substances and ventilation systems.

We began by focusing on education, outreach and awareness in partnership with our health and safety associations (HSAs) to provide training and education to employers. In collaboration with HSAs, all programs conducted either a live or pre-recorded webinar that outlined the focus of their initiative, what to expect during an inspection and the importance of notifications, planning, reporting, training, controlling hazards and supervision when it comes to occupational disease hazards. The goal was to help employers comply with the requirements under the Occupational Health and Safety Act (OHSA) and its regulations prior to focused inspections.

Beginning October 31, 2022, we conducted a focused inspection blitz at workplaces to check that employers were complying with the OHSA and its regulations. In particular, inspectors checked for employers taking appropriate action to assess and deal with hazards specifically for the protection of workers including:

  • employers, supervisors and workers complying with their general duties under OHSA
  • employers meeting their occupational illness reporting obligations under OHSA and reviewing incidents to take steps to prevent recurrence
  • employers, supervisors and workers being aware of their program specific regulations that apply (for example, the industrial regulations)
  • employers, supervisors and workers being aware of additional regulatory responsibilities and duties under various regulations based on the occupational hazard focus of the particular program area (for example, the asbestos regulation in construction)  

Inspectors took appropriate action if contraventions were found under the OHSA or its regulations. This included:

  • issuing orders to employers, supervisors and workers to have them comply with legal requirements
  • issuing stop work orders requiring employers to comply before work could continue

MLITSD inspectors:

  • conducted 1,478 field visits with 200 support role activityfootnote i
  • visited 867 workplaces
  • issued 2,191 orders and requirements, including 148 stop work orders

Background

Construction

Asbestosis, mesothelioma and other asbestos-related diseases are one of the main sources of non-traumatic illness, disease and deaths in construction. According to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB), the construction sector accounted for 41% of all mesothelioma claims and 50% of asbestosis claims between 2010-2019.

Health care

Occupational dermatitis is associated with illness, time lost from work or need for change in occupation and can have negative long-term impacts on quality of work and home life. It is a common condition among health care workers. Wet work, such as frequent handwashing, makes health care workers susceptible to occupational dermatitis.

Industrial

Workers who manufacture, finish and install natural and engineered stone countertops are at risk of exposure to crystalline silica. Crystalline silica dust particles can become trapped in the lungs resulting in permanent damage (silicosis). Workers exposed to crystalline silica may also be at increased risk for other diseases such as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). According to Cancer Care Ontario, crystalline silica is the second leading cause of occupational lung cancer after asbestos.

Mining

87% of all fatalities in the Ontario mining sector are caused by occupational diseases. Between 2011 and 2021, 179 workers were reported as having died as a result of an occupational disease in the mining sector. The Mining Health, Safety, and Prevention Review, completed in 2015, identified occupational disease, particularly those related to airborne hazards, as one of the five key issues that posed the greatest risk to worker health and safety.

Full report

Workplace inspection initiatives

Inspection initiatives are part of our compliance strategy. We announce to the sector, in advance, that we will be conducting an initiative, although individual workplaces are not notified in advance. The results of the initiative are typically posted online within 90 days. Inspectors’ findings may impact the number and level of future inspections of individual workplaces.

Inspectors may also refer employers to health and safety associations for compliance assistance and training.

Construction Projects: inspection focus on asbestos

The focus of the initiative was to raise awareness of the asbestos regulation (O. Reg. 278/05) and the importance of conducting hazard assessments and examinations to identify Asbestos-Containing Material (ACM). Increased compliance was encouraged by checking to ensure workplaces:

  • had ACM plans, programs and records in place
  • were providing workers with required information and training
  • were submitting notifications and reports as required by constructors and employers

The Internal Responsibility System (IRS) in workplaces is strengthened through constructors, employers, contractors, sub-contractors, supervisors, joint health and safety committee (JHSC) and workers sharing in the duties and requirements to readily communicate and monitor asbestos hazards, records, measures and procedures, information sharing, education and training and supervision at all times.

Workplaces visited included residential, commercial and industrial construction projects. Inspectors checked, among other things, that:

  • adequate controls and work practices were in place to eliminate or reduce the exposure to the hazard of asbestos
  • proper hazard assessments and examinations were completed
  • Asbestos Management Plan and programs were place
  • proper notifications had been filed by the constructor or employer (Notice of Project, Notice of Removal, Discovery)
  • all necessary reports had been filed (owners report, employer’s worker report)
  • workers had been provided with information when they do work in a building in close-proximity and may disturb ACM
  • training requirements for workers working in Type 1, 2 or 3 removal work were in place
  • supervisors were supervising at all times (IRS)
  • all personal protective equipment (PPE) was being used appropriately to the task and hazard
  • removal measures and procedures were being followed based on proper removal classification

Visits to workplaces (construction)

  • 303 field visits with 66 support role activities
  • 258 workplaces visited
  • 754 orders and requirements issued
    • 696 orders issued for contraventions under the OHSA and its regulations, including 95 stop work orders
    • 58 requirements issued to provide an inspector with workplace information
  • an average of 2.92 orders and requirements issued per workplace visited
  • an average of 2.49 orders and requirements issued per visit

Most frequently issued orders (construction)

During the initiative there were 754 orders issued under the OHSA and its regulations including:

  • Reg.  213/91: Construction Projects
  • Reg.  278/05: Asbestos on Construction Projects and in Buildings and Repair Operations
  • O. Reg. 833: Control of Exposure to Biological or Chemical Agents
  • O. Reg.297/13: Occupational Health and Safety Awareness Training
  • O. Reg.856: Roll-Over Protective Structures

Some of the most frequently issued orders were:

  • stop work orders [OHSAs. 57(6)(b)] - 80 orders
  • to ensure every worker shall wear protective headwear at all times when on a project [O. Reg. 213/91 s. 22(1)] - 67 orders
  • to require the production of any drawings, specifications, licence, document, record or report, and inspect, examine and copy the same [OHSA s. 54(1)(c)] - 35 orders
  • of the constructor to keep the completed notification form posted in a conspicuous place at the project or available at the project for review by an inspector [O. Reg. 213/91 s. 6] - 33 orders
  • worker shall be adequately protected by a guardrail system that meets the requirements of subsection 26.3(2) to (8) - 25 orders
  • project owners before beginning a project, the owner shall determine whether any designated substances are present at the project site and shall prepare a list of all designated substances that are present at the site [OHSA s. 30(1)] - (22 orders)
  • following measures and procedures apply to Type 2 operations and to Type 3 operations [O. Reg. 278/05 s. 15] - 5 orders
  • the owner shall have an examination carried out in accordance with section 3 to establish whether any material that is likely to be handled, dealt with, disturbed or removed, whether friable or non-friable, is asbestos-containing material [O. Reg.278/05 s. 10 (2)] and based on that properly classifying removal as Type as Type 1, 2 or 3 [O. Reg.278/05 s. 12] - 2 orders

Other orders specific to the asbestos regulation (O. Reg. 278/05), were issued under section 10 (owners report), section 13(3) respirators (written procedures) and section 8(3) (prepare and keeping records containing key information on all ACM locations and type).

Industrial workplaces: inspection focus on crystalline silica

Inspectors focused on factories that manufacture engineered stone countertops, ceramics and stone products, foundries, and other industrial workplaces where workers may be exposed to crystalline silica dust. They also focused on job tasks in industrial workplaces that put workers at risk of inhaling crystalline silica including grinding, sandblasting, crushing, chipping, mixing, and other tasks resulting in exposure to crystalline silica dust.

O. Reg. 490/09: Designated Substances applies with respect to silica, to every employer and worker at a workplace, other than a construction project, where silica is present, produced, processed, used, handled, or stored and at which a worker is likely to be exposed to silica.

Inspectors checked that employers were taking appropriate action to assess and address the respiratory hazards related to crystalline silica exposure, as required by the OHSA and its regulations.

Inspectors checked, among other things, that:

  • employers had completed assessments of the exposure or likelihood of exposure to silica
  • the assessments were conducted in consultation with the JHSC
  • where required, silica control programs had been implemented including, but not limited to, engineering controls, safe work practices, hygiene facilities and practices, among other things
  • training programs for supervisors and workers included the health effects of silica and the measures and procedures to follow under the control program
  • the measures and procedures in the control program were developed in consultation with the JHSC
  • employers were taking all necessary measures and procedures to ensure a worker’s airborne exposure to silica was reduced to the lowest practical level and in any event did not exceed the occupational exposure limits
  • employers were conducting sampling to monitor airborne concentrations of silica and worker exposure to airborne silica, and records were maintained
  • where required, as part of the control program, medical surveillance for exposed workers was provided
  • ventilation systems were being properly inspected and maintained
  • workers who are required to wear tight fitting respirators were fit-tested and had received information and instruction for their safe use, care, and limitations
  • employers were meeting their reporting obligations under the OHSA and had reviewed incidents to take steps to prevent recurrence
  • safe material handling practices were being followed

Visits to workplaces (industrial)

  • 436 field visits with 105 support role activities
  • 382 workplaces visited
  • 1,088 orders and requirements issued
    • 1,057 orders issued for contraventions under the OHSA and its regulations, including 26 stop work orders. This represented about 2.38% of all orders issued.
    • 31 requirements issued to provide an inspector with workplace information
  • an average of 2.85 orders and requirements issued per workplace visited
  • an average of 2.5 orders and requirements issued per field visit

Most frequently issued orders (industrial)

During the initiative, 1,057 orders were issued under the OHSA and its regulations including:

Some of the most frequently issued orders were related to failure to ensure that:

  • the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are maintained in good condition (OHSA s. 25(1)(b)) – 82 orders
  • the employer is complying with the workplace violence and harassment provisions (OHSA Part III.0.1) – 91 orders
  • a copy of the OHSA and any explanatory material prepared by the Ministry, both in English and the majority language of the workplace, outlining the rights, responsibilities and duties of workers is posted in the workplace (OHSA s. 25(2)(i)) - 54 orders
  • materials, articles, or things that need to be lifted, carried, moved, or stored are safely handled so as not to endanger the safety of any worker (Reg. 851 s. 45) - 49 orders
  • a lifting device is thoroughly examined by a competent person to determine its capability of handling the maximum load as rated, and a record of the examination is kept (Reg. 851 s. 51(1)(b)) - 100 orders
  • a machine, device or thing with exposed moving parts or pinch-points is equppe>d with and guarded by a guard or other device to protect the health and safety of a worker (Reg. 851 s. 24 and 25) – 42 orders
  • an employer who receives a hazardous product from a supplier for use, storage or handling at a workplace has obtained a supplier safety data sheet unless the supplier is exempted from providing one (Reg.  860 s. 17(1)) - 36 orders
  • an assessment of the exposure or likelihood of exposure of a worker to a designated substance in the workplace is carried out and recorded in writing (O. Reg. 490/09 s. 19(1)) – 32 orders
  • measures required to limit the exposure of workers to a hazardous biological or chemical agent have been taken (O. Reg. 490/09 s. 20(1)) – 15 orders
  • written measures and procedures regarding the selection, care and use of respirators are established (O. Reg. 833s. 9) – 14 orders
  • a worker who performs work for the employer completes a basic occupational health and safety awareness training program (O. Reg. 297/13 s. 1(1)) – 53 orders
  • a supervisor who performs work for the employer completes a basic occupational health and safety awareness training program (O. Reg. 297/13 s. 2(1)) – 31 orders

Health care workplaces: inspection focus on occupational dermatitis

The focus of the initiative was on the awareness and prevention of occupational dermatitis, including exposures and work practices that may result in occupational dermatitis.

Inspectors focused on activities, work processes and appropriate controls in health and community care workplaces that should be in place to reduce workers’ exposure to agents that may result in occupational dermatitis. Inspectors checked that:

  • workers who handle hazardous chemicals (such as, cleaning agents and preservatives) had been trained on the safe use of such agents and how to protect themselves during usage
  • where the hazard is present, workers had been provided with training and instruction about occupational dermatitis, how to recognize it and how it can be prevented
  • there were appropriate measures and procedures for the safe handling of hazardous chemicals
  • there were suitable measures and procedures on managing spills of hazardous chemicals and drugs, and that spill kits were accessible and maintained
  • workers who require the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) for hand protection:
    • were trained on its use (including putting on and taking off PPE, disposal, equipment maintenance, hand hygiene and measures to protect skin integrity)
    • could freely access such equipment when required
    • knew when, where and how to access it

Employers in workplaces under the health care and residential facilities regulation (O. Reg. 67/93) must have written measures and procedures and training and educational programs established in consultation with the JHSC or health and safety representative.

Visits to workplaces (health care)

  • 203 field visits with 17 support role activities
  • 197 workplaces visited
  • 90 orders were issued
    • 63 orders issued for contraventions under the OHSA
    • 24 orders issued for contraventions under O. Reg. 67/93
    • 3 orders issued for contraventions under O. Reg. 297/13
    • there were no stop worker orders issued and no requirements issued to provide an inspector with workplace information
  • an average of 0.46 orders and requirements issued per workplace visited
  • an average of 0.44 orders and requirements issued per field visit

Most frequently issued orders (health care)

The most frequently issued OHSA orders involved employers’ failure to:

  • take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker [clause 25(2)(h)] — 12 orders or 13.33% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • ensure that the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are maintained in good condition [clause 25(1)(b)] — 8 orders or 8.89% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • post, in the workplace, a copy of the OHSA and any explanatory material prepared by the Ministry, both in English and the majority language of the workplace [clause 25(2)(i)] — 4 orders or 4.44% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • prepare and review at least annually a written occupational health and safety policy and develop and maintain a program to implement that policy [clause 25(2)(j)] - 4 orders or 4.44% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative

A total of 24 orders were issued under the Health Care and Residential Facilities Regulation (O. Reg. 67/93).  Orders were issued under the following sections (among others):

  • the employer in consultation with the JHSC or health and safety representative, if any, must develop, establish and put into effect measures and procedures for the health and safety of workers [s.  8] –  4 orders or 4.44% of total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • at least once a year the measures and procedures for the health and safety of workers must be reviewed and revised in the light of current knowledge and practice [ss. 9(2)] – 3 orders or 3.33% of total orders and requirements issued during the initiative

As part of checking for worker training and appropriate supervision in workplaces, 3 orders were issued for contraventions under the Occupational Health and Safety Awareness and Training Regulation (O. Reg. 297/13).

Mining and Mining Plants

Focus of the inspection

During this initiative, inspectors focused on five key compliance areas which play the largest factor supporting occupational health in mines and mining plants:

  • Ventilation Systems - Inspectors checked to ensure employers met the ventilation requirements in Reg. 854, including but not limited to: ventilation where diesel equipment is operating underground, auxiliary ventilation in work headings, dilution or removal of contaminants to prevent worker exposure above the prescribed limits, accurate plans and records of ventilation system.
  • Diesel Exhaust - Inspectors checked that diesel equipment was being properly maintained and also checked to see that the required diesel emission testing was performed as per Reg. 854.
  • Mine Exposures - Inspectors checked that Occupational Exposure Monitoring, including personal sampling, was completed in areas of known or expected exposures. They also checked to ensure that assessments and control programs were in place where required and had been developed in consultation with the JHSC or health and safety representative, if any.
  • Assessments for designated substances - Inspectors checked for designated substances control programs including arsenic, asbestos, isocyanates lead and silica, reagents etc.
  • WHMIS - Inspectors checked for employee training, hazardous materials storage, up-to-date safety data sheets, and safe handling practices.

Inspectors checked that workplaces:

  • followed requirements for air quality in mines and mining plants, pits, quarries for exposures to dust, silica, diesel emissions in underground mines, chemicals, and re-agents at workplaces
  • diluted or removed contaminants to prevent worker exposure that is above legal limits
  • tested for diesel emissions and diesel particulate matter
  • completed occupational exposure monitoring in areas of known or expected exposures
  • have assessments and control programs in place for designated substances (for example, silica) and dust
  • followed WHMIS including proper labelling and worker education is completed
  • communicated Globally Harmonized System of Classification and Labelling of Chemicals components

Visits to workplaces (mining)

  • 36 field visits with 12 support role activities
  • 30 workplaces visited
  • 290 orders and requirements issued
    • 252 orders issued for contraventions under the OHSA and its regulations, including 27 stop work orders
    • 38 requirements issued to provide an inspector with workplace information
  • an average of 9.67 orders and requirements issued per workplace visited
  • an average of 8.05 orders and requirements issued per visit

Most frequently issued orders (mining)

The most frequently issued OHSA orders were for employers to:

  • ensure that the equipment, materials and protective devices provided by the employer are maintained in good condition [s.  25(1)(b)] — 49 orders or 16.9% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • provide the inspector with the production of any drawings, specifications, licence, document, record or report, and inspect, examine and copy the same [s. 54(1)(c)] — 37 orders or 12.8% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • where an inspector finds that the contravention of the OHSA or the regulations is a danger or hazard to the health or safety of a worker and orders that any place, equipment, machine, device, article or thing or any process or material shall not be used until the order is complied with [s. 57(6)(a)] — 22 orders or 7.6% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the protection of a worker [clause 25(2)(h)] — 16 orders or 5.5% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative
  • provide information, instruction and supervision to a worker to protect the health or safety of the worker [s.25(2)(a)] — 11 orders or 3.4% of the total orders and requirements issued during the initiative

A total of 112 orders were issued under the Mines and Mining Plants Regulation (Reg.  854) under the following sections (among others):

  • where dust or other material is likely to cause a hazard by becoming airborne, the dust, or other material, shall be removed with a minimum of delay by vacuuming; wet sweeping; wet shovelling or other suitable means [s. 266] – 12 orders or 4.13% of total orders and requirements
  • a machine that has an exposed moving part that may endanger the safety of any person shall be fenced or guarded unless its position, construction or attachment provides equivalent protection. basic occupational health and safety awareness training for supervisors [s. 185(2)] – 10 orders or 3.4% of total orders and requirements
  • a safe means of access to a workplace shall be provided by a walkway, stairway or ladderway where workers are required to work, operate, maintain or service equipment [s. 46(2)] – 8 orders or 2.76% of total orders and requirements
  • a walkway, stairway or ladderway shall be from obstructions [s. 54(1)(b)] - 6 orders or total orders were issued which represented about 2.06% of all orders issued

Conclusion and next steps

The results of this cross-program Healthy Workers in Healthy Workplaces initiative focused on Occupational Disease indicate the following:

  • Workplace parties need to improve compliance with respect to hazardous substances that may lead to occupational disease. The risk of occupational disease can be mitigated by raising awareness and taking proper precautions. Ministry inspectors will continue to address non-compliance during routine inspections to support worker training, reporting, supervision and appropriate measures and procedures that should be taken when dealing with hazardous substances.
  • The ongoing education and awareness of occupational diseases and their prevention in the workplace need to continue. A key to workplace health and safety in Ontario is the Internal Responsibility System (IRS). Workplace parties are encouraged to work together to identify and control all hazards.

Help for employers

Please contact our health and safety partners for more information.