Algoma Steel in Sault Ste. Marie pleaded guilty Tuesday to an Ontario Ministry of Labour charge connected to the 2023 death of an employee working for a contractor. Damien Bryant of Sudbury, Ont., was just 21 when he died June 15, 2023, while working for GFL Environmental. Algoma pleaded guilty to one regulatory offence under Ontario’s occupational health and safety legislation for not having warning signs in place. The company agreed to a fine of $250,000, including a victim fine surcharge. At the time of Bryant’s death, GFL had been contracted by Algoma to clean lines that transported gas produced from emissions from coke ovens during the steelmaking process. “Algoma operates a series of coke ovens, which, as a byproduct, emit coke oven gas,” said the agreed statement of facts. “In order to recover heat and reduce emissions from coke oven gas, it is directed to and burned in reheat process furnaces.” The gas was transported through a main, 54-inch diametre pipe. A 36-inch pipe branched from the mainline, and it started at a valve known as the ‘C Valve.’ The lines that transported the gas must be periodically cleaned or they will become plugged. Cleaning the lines is the job that GFL was contracted to complete. Algoma Steel was shut down June 13-15, 2023, to allow the cleaning to occur. The C Valve was removed to allow the 36-inch pipe to be cleaned. “Algoma retained GFL to clean out this pipe on the basis of the company’s extensive expertise and experience in performing this type of specialized work,” the agreed statement of facts said. “GFL had previously performed similar work for Algoma and other industrial customers.” As part of the cleaning process, the lines had been purged with nitrogen. As part of the purge, all oxygen had been removed from the pipe, “making it unsafe for human entry without numerous safety protocols being implemented.” “There is no question that entering the pipe is not required to perform the procedures for cleaning the pipe,” the statement of facts said. Workers were ‘well-regarded’ Meetings were held before the work began to go over potential hazards and proper procedures. Two workers assigned to the job, Bryant and Justin Warne, were experienced, had worked at Algoma before and “were well-regarded.” Before his death, Bryant was feeding a camera into the pipe so Warne could take photographs. “During this process, Warne noticed that the camera had not moved for some time and went to check on Bryant,” the statement of facts said. “Tragically, Bryant had crawled into the pipe and died due to a lack of oxygen.” When speaking later to Sault police, Warne said that he “knew that workers were not supposed to enter the pipe, and he could not understand why Bryant did what he did.” “The parties agree that there was no work-related reason for Bryant to have entered the pipe and that the work did not require entry into a confined space.” However, under Ministry of Labour regulations, Algoma was required to “ensure that the space is secured against unauthorized entry or warning signs regarding unauthorized entry are present.” “Algoma admits that warning signs regarding unauthorized entry were not present,” the statement of facts said. The company pleaded guilty to one charge under the Occupational Health and Safety Act, while two others were dropped. Algoma Steel released a statement on its plea Sept. 1. “Any loss of life at our workplace is a tragedy, and we continue to extend our sympathies to the worker’s family, friends and colleagues,” CEO Rajat Marwah said in the statement. “We recognize the responsibility Algoma has for workplace safety. We take that responsibility seriously, including when specialized work is performed by contractors, and we continue to strengthen our systems and practices to protect everyone working at our facilities.” The statement said Algoma “remains committed” to learning from what happened, improving safety processes and “applying those lessons across its operations.” “Algoma recognizes that the conclusion of the legal proceeding cannot change the tragic loss of life or its impact on the worker’s family, friends and colleagues,” the statement said.
