In Port Mellon, WorkSafeBC fined Howe Sound Pulp & Paper $320,952 in 2017 after toxic gas exposures during an expansion, while former workers say injuries have persisted.
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WorkSafeBC fined Howe Sound Pulp & Paper $320,952 on Oct. 26, 2017 after investigations into high-risk health and safety violations tied to toxic gas exposures at the mill, located 35 kilometres northwest of Vancouver.
The mill had been warned before boosting production. A 2015 report from NORAM Engineering and Constructors Ltd. said the mill’s gas-collection system was already 20 per cent underpowered, adding that increasing output would reduce its safety capacity to just 55 per cent of what was required to protect workers. Despite that warning, Paper Excellence moved to boost output by about a third without making the recommended safety upgrades, and WorkSafeBC inspectors concluded this violated B.C. workplace safety regulations.
Workers’ accounts and regulatory findings describe repeated failures of the ventilation and vacuum systems used to capture airborne toxins produced during kraft pulping. The process can release gases including methyl mercaptan and hydrogen sulphide (H2S), and the system is designed to prevent heavy gases from pooling in low-lying areas. Any break in the system’s seal can collapse the vacuum and lead to venting of toxic gases into working spaces.
Former mill workers described a rapid change after Paper Excellence contracted its subsidiary, Iyinisiw Management Inc., in 2016 to increase pulp production to about 1,800 tons per day. Richard Rudniski, who worked at the mill for 23 years before leaving in 2016, said, “They started cutting corners. … Safety was definitely compromised,” adding, “There were consequences.”
The first gas exposure described in the evidence struck contractors in early 2016 while they worked on a pipe leading to a boiler. Investigators cited a “culture” that failed to fix the mill’s malfunctions and defects. Investigations found the ventilation system failed again nine months later during onsite commissioning of new equipment, and investigators said at least 77 people were exposed, with later learning that many others did not report symptoms.
In that later incident, 56 workers reported to a first-aid station with acute chemical exposure symptoms, and two were sent to Sechelt Hospital’s emergency room. WorkSafeBC issued an order to halt work, leading to the Oct. 26, 2017 penalty.
Documents described in the evidence also point to specific operational failures during exposure events, including cases where contractors and workers repeatedly left the lid off a massive tank designed to hold harsh chemicals, preventing the gas-collection system from maintaining vacuum pressure. Dave Beauchesne, an HVAC journeyman and trained safety investigator who was assigned to carry out internal investigations following gas exposures, said, “They pushed and pushed and pushed to get this online. But the bugs weren’t worked out,” describing the situation as “All hell is breaking loose.”
WorkSafeBC’s enforcement record described in the evidence includes 257 inspection reports, 145 orders and two warning letters at the Howe Sound mill. The evidence also describes that over time, WorkSafeBC recorded only 37 claims involving exposure to toxic substances at the site, and WorkSafeBC acknowledged it does not reliably track workers exposed to toxic gases at pulp mills. A 2021 WorkSafeBC report reviewed in the evidence concluded that, for years, a “significant number of exposures” resulted in no formal claims and were not recorded.
The evidence includes additional concerns about emergency response during exposure events. Over one 75-day period in 2021, internal records warned workers to stay clear of toxic gas leaks on at least 42 occasions, and documents described firefighters, paramedics and RCMP officers attending during several exposures.
Former worker accounts describe lasting effects after multiple exposures. Stefan Weston said, “Today I’m feeling great. But I do have my days: the headaches, the migraines … they come and go as they please.” Weston left the Howe Sound mill about three years earlier and now works in elevator installation and maintenance. The evidence states a medical evaluation concluded his neurological deficits were most likely caused by gas exposure at the mill, and that a full recovery was unlikely, with Weston describing health deterioration after additional exposures.
Another former worker, Stephen Braden, said he was present during three gassings and told a “revolving door” pattern of emergency response, saying, “People were just dropping like flies.” Raelene Bathgate, a safety contractor monitoring confined spaces in February 2021, said gas filled her area and she blew an evacuation horn three times; she later reported blurry vision, collapse, emergency treatment and ongoing numbness, adding, “I’m so messed up,” and “I didn’t know what to do.”
Domtar, which the evidence says is the name Paper Excellence adopted in 2024 after rebranding under a major subsidiary, disputed claims that safety has slipped. In an email, spokeswoman Brenda Martin said lost-time injury rates at the Howe Sound mill have fallen by 75 per cent since 2017 and that no lost-time injuries from gas exposure have been recorded since July 2022. Martin also said, “This is normal practice for this type of project,” describing that deficiencies and solutions were engineered and implemented as part of the expansion project, and acknowledged there were “problems at start-up,” adding the system “had to be shut down while the issues were addressed.”
The evidence also states WorkSafeBC confirmed it has no outstanding health and safety orders against the mill, and that Domtar said WorkSafeBC has no confirmed cases of employees being forced into medical leave or early retirement due to toxic gas exposure.
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