Charges laid in Eastway Tank explosion that killed 6 workers

• The latest:'My stomach just turned': Families react to charges against Eastway Tank

Almost exactly oneyear after an explosion at Eastway Tank that killed six people the deadliest incident at an Ottawa workplace in decades the company and its president/owner are now each facing three charges under Ontario's Occupational Health and Safety Act.

According to records filed in Ottawa court on Thursday, proceedings have commenced against Eastway Tank, Pump &Meter, andNeil Greene, with a first court date scheduled for Feb. 17.

"Ultimately, I'm disappointed that six people had to die for the safety issues at Eastway to be recognized by the Ministry of Labour," said Meghan Beale, the sister of Danny Beale, one of the six employees who died.

The allegations against the companyare:

1. That Eastway Tank and Greenefailed to ensure that the process of loading and "wet testing" a truck,"that produced a vapour to such an extent as to be capable of forming an explosive mixture with air, was carried out in an area with no potential sources of ignition."
2. That Eastway Tank and Greene failed to take on one or more of the following reasonable precautions in the workplace:
   • Ensure that diesel fuel to be used for the wet testing of trucks was not contaminated with gasoline or any other flammable liquid of substance.
   • Ensure that the tank of the truck did not contain and was free of gasoline or any other flammable liquid or substance, while work and/or testing capable of being a source of ignition was taking place on or near the truck.
   • Ensure that the truck and fuel hose nozzle(s) were bonded and grounded while the truck was loaded and/or wet tested with fuel.
   • Ensure that fuel was not splash loaded or splash filled into the tank of the truck.
   • Ensurethat flammable liquid vapours in the tank of the truck were not exposed to a source of potential ignition.
3. That Eastway Tank and Greene failed to provide adequate information, instruction, and supervision to workers on safe fuel storage and handling procedures to protect the workers from the hazard of diesel fuel, used for the wet testing of trucks, becoming contaminated with gasoline or any other flammable liquid or substance.

If convicted,Eastway Tank would face a maximum fine of $1.5 millionand Greene would face a maximum fine of $100,000, jail time of up to 12 months, or both.

The actwas amended in April to increase the maximum fine for directors of corporations to $1.5 million, but itbecame lawafter theJanuary 2022 explosion and thereforecan't be applied in this case.

The allegations have not been proven in court.

Drone footage shows extensive damage after Merivale Road fire

3 years ago

Duration 1:13

A major fire on Jan. 13, 2022 left the site of a Merivale Road business, Eastway Tank Pump and Meter Ltd., heavily damaged. The explosion killed six people.

CBC News has reached out to Greene for comment, but did not immediately receivea response.

On Jan. 13, 2022, five employees Rick Bastien, Etienne Mabiala, Danny Beale, Kayla Ferguson and Russell McLellanwere killed at the tanker manufacturer's site on Merivale Road after a blast and fire. A sixth employee,Matt Kearney,succumbed to his injuries in hospital the next day.

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Ontario's Ministry of Labour had one year after the incidentto investigate and lay charges for any alleged safety lapses, according to its website.

The Ottawa Police Service is also investigating what happened and is under no deadline. The police forcesaid Friday thatits investigation is ongoing.

Exactly what caused the explosion remains unclear. The ministry'swebsite saysit does not provide details about its investigation until a prosecution is complete.

If a coroner's inquest is eventuallyheld, it won'thappen until after any legal proceedings.

Previous allegations of unsafe working conditions

Soon after the explosion,CBC spoke with three former Eastwayemployeeswho alleged there had beenunsafe working conditionsthere, includingfires, improper storage of flammable chemicals andwelding near "hot trucks" tankers that still contained fuel or flammable residue.

In a statement to CBC News at the time, Greene called the allegations"unfounded."

"Eastway Tank has always worked to maintain the highest safety standards. We are working closely with investigators and are co-operating fully to get to the bottom of what happened," Greene said.

The Ministry of Labour previously said it found issues at Eastway related to ventilation, welding safety and trainingand exposures to hazardous chemical substances in June 2017 issues the ministry said were promptly addressed.

After the explosion, the ministry found an unspecified safety issue at Eastwaythat it declined to specify, citing its investigation.

A decade before the blast, a former employee accused Eastwayof pressuring him to return to work before he'd recovered from injuries sustained froma fuel tank blast.

Those allegations were also not proven in court, as the two sidesmutually agreed to have the case dismisseddue to a provision in Ontario's Workplace Safety and Insurance Act, according to the lawyer who represented the former employee.