HALIFAX — A new study says Canadian homeowners and communities can slash wildfire risks to buildings if they start taking steps like cutting buffer zones and using fire resistant construction materials. The study by the Intact Centre on Climate Adaptation at the University of Waterloo is noting that the 2023 wildfire season saw wildfire losses that shattered previous records. The report, titled “Ahead of the flames,” says Canadians living in forested and grassland regions need to follow “well-tested actions” that can reduce the risk of their home burning “by up to 75%.” …They include calls for homeowners to store wood away from the house, remove shrubs and other flammable material near the foundation and take down trees within 10 metres of the building. More complex steps include installing fire-rated roofing made from asphalt, fibre cement or metal, which can limit the potential for embers to ignite a roof.
More coverage in the National Observer: How Canadians can stay ahead of the flames
In November 2023 more than 50 participants—from wood pellet producers, operators, suppliers, and regulators—from across Canada met in Prince George, B.C. to discuss evolving trends and regulatory topics. If you missed this event or want to share the discussions with colleagues, you can find a full report summarizing the Wood Pellet and Bioenergy Safety Summit on 
Silos play a vital role in storing and handling a wide variety of materials. …However, when it comes to storing combustible materials like wood chips, additional precautions must be taken to ensure safety and mitigate the risk of fire or explosion. One critical aspect of maintaining safety within a wood chip storage facility is the proper grounding and bonding of silos. This establishes an electrical connection between equipment or structures and the earth, while bonding prevents the buildup of static electricity. These measures are crucial for dissipating electrostatic charges and minimizing the potential for ignition. By familiarizing ourselves with them, we can take proactive steps to prevent accidents and mitigate potential damages. The evaluation and interpretation of combustible dust hazards in the wood industry starts with NFPA 652, The Standard on the Fundamentals of Combustible Dust and NFPA 664, the Standard for Combustible Dust Safety in Wood Processing Facilities. [Article can be found on page 12]
Wilfred Tomma… from Skwlāx te Secwepemcúl̓ecw east of Kamloops, suffers from COPD. He partly blames “the stuff” he inhaled working the firelines so many years ago, often when the protective gear was sparse compared to now, but acknowledges it’s difficult to pin down an exact cause. …The health risks of wildfires and their disproportionate impacts on First Nations have left health experts calling on Ottawa to increase funding and centralize environmental health research. Currently, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research is falling short of the funding found in the United States and the European Union. The so-called stuff Tomma inhaled during his time working as a wildland firefighter is called fine particulate matter, which has a diameter of 2.5 microns or smaller, Dr. Kamran Golmohammadi, medical officer for the First Nations Health Authority in BC, explained. …In Québec, heavy smoke caused most of the Cree Nation evacuations.
The province says it plans to appeal the amount of a penalty imposed by WorkSafeBC for “unsafe” wildfire practices in B.C.’s northeastern region. WorkSafeBC issued the $710,488 administrative penalty on Oct. 26, 2023. The incident happened in Wonowon, northwest of Fort St. John. …B.C. Forests Ministry said the province agrees that process improvements are warranted, but that the amount of the penalty imposed is “arbitrary and disproportionately high.” The ministry says the penalty was calculated using he entire Government of B.C.’s payroll for what they “believe should be a specific location infraction.” It will appeal the penalty to “ensure it is appropriate for the level of work carried out” and the region it happened in. …The Forests Ministry will be reviewing its safety and contracting processes and procedures to ensure all contractors meet the current requirement to be fully certified for hazardous work, such as falling trees.
January 2024 virtual public hearing on proposed regulatory amendments. WorkSafeBC will be holding a virtual public hearing on proposed amendments to the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The virtual public hearing will be streamed live on January 10, 2024, in two sessions. The first will take place from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. and the second from 3 to 5 p.m. We welcome your feedback on the proposed amendments. All feedback received will be presented to WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors for their consideration.
One person is dead following a forestry industry-related incident on northern Vancouver Island. The Nootka Sound RCMP were called to the fatal incident around 6 a.m. Friday. …Western Forest Products says it can confirm that one person died at the Nesook dryland sort in Nootka Sound, located west of Gold River. WFP suspended its harvesting operations Friday following the death, though the company notes that the Nesook dryland sort is used by multiple companies. “While the information we have received so far indicates the contracting company was not working for Western at the time of the incident, the safety and security of our employees and contractors is our first priority and we have suspended all harvesting operations at this time,” said WFP in a statement. …WorkSafeBC says it was notified of a “serious workplace incident” on Friday and that it has launched an investigation.
Welcome to the Winter edition of Forest Safety News, covering news about safety topics in forestry. Two story highlights include:
The Wood Pellet Association of Canada (WPAC), BC Forest Safety Council (BCFSC), Dalhousie University, and DustEx Research Ltd., along with Obex Risk Ltd. as project technical lead, recently completed a research project to look at the implementation of process safety management (PSM) using the CSA standard Z767 Process Safety Management as the framework. Around the world, process safety management (PSM) is becoming central to worker safety and managing risk. …For the pellet sector, much of our risk lies in combustible dust. The recommendation from Integrating Process Safety Management into Canadian Wood Pellet Facilities that Generate Combustible Wood Dust, was the industry proceed with PSM implementation through a strategic long-term plan. …To support the ongoing development of the CSA Z767 standard from the perspective of the wood products manufacturing industry, Kayleigh Rayner Brown, MASc, P.Eng. (Obex Risk Ltd.), Bill Laturnus (BC Forest Safety Council), Gordon Murray (WPAC) and Fahimeh Yazdan Panah (WPAC) have joined the technical committee. [Article starts on page 19 of the newsletter]
In April 2023, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors approved amendments to Part 3 of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation, relating to the provision of occupational first aid. These amendments will take effect November 1, 2024. In summary:
IGNACE, Ontario — Resolute Forest Products has been fined $500,000 for the 2022 death of an employee who was killed while trying to repair machinery at the company’s Ignace Sawmill. On March 28, 2022, an industrial electrician was attempting to repair a photo-eye on a debarking machine. “Before the electrician attempted the repair, they worked with a maintenance team to lock out the machine according to the company’s written lockout procedure,” the Ministry of Labour said. …However, it emerged that the company’s lockout procedure was inadequate and failed to identify all sources of power. As the worker began to make the repairs, he positioned himself in a gap between the machine’s infeed roller gears. “The rollers slowly and unexpectedly moved, trapping and fatally injuring the worker,” the release said. …The company was convicted Nov. 28 in provincial offences court in Dryden. In addition to the $500,000, the company must also pay a 25 per cent victim fine surcharge.
DUBAI — With Planet Earth running a fever, U.N. climate talks focused Sunday on the contagious effects on human health. …World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said, “Although the climate crisis is a health crisis, it’s well overdue that 27 COPs have been and gone without a serious discussion of health,” he said. “Undoubtedly, health stands as the most compelling reason for taking climate action.” …In the US, 8.5% of greenhouse gas emissions come from the health sector and the Biden Administration is trying to use funds from the Inflation Reduction Act to try to cut that down. …Forest fires caused in part by climate change can have dramatic effects on homes, health and lives. Heat waves, which can be deadly, also can weigh on mental health, Gibert said, while poor air quality can make life harder for those facing lung and heart ailments and cause respiratory issues.
CALIFORNIA — It’s widely known that wildfire smoke is bad for your health, but a group of researchers recently found a known carcinogen in California wildfire ash, raising concerns about just how harmful it could be to breathe the air near a blaze. According to a study in 
WILMINGTON, N.C. – Driving through Wilmington’s Sunset Park neighborhood, you may notice two large white inflatable domes built by wood pellet manufacturer Enviva Biomass. The domes have been in operation since 2016. That’s when residents said they began to see sawdust on their property and in the air. They claim the sawdust blows from the domes onto their property and in the air. “Days within them firing up these things, that’s when we started noticing all the dust in the air. Cars getting covered. Plant life getting covered. Our houses. I mean, everything,” Dane Larson, a neighbor in Sunset Park, said. …The North Carolina Department of Environmental Quality calls it fugitive dust, and, according to Hillaker, it’s been linked to premature death and heart disease.
FLORENCE, Wisconsin — A federal agency wants to fine a northern Wisconsin sawmill more than $1 million after inspectors said they found “egregious” violations at the site following a June accident that killed a teenage worker. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration said Tuesday that it proposed fining Florence Hardwoods $1.4 million for numerous violations of federal safety and health regulations, including for “the most serious violations the agency issues.” Florence Hardwoods previously agreed to pay nearly $191,000 and stop hiring children under the age of 16 to settle a federal lawsuit labor regulators filed against the mill. …OSHA said it has cited Florence Hardwoods for eight willful, six repeat, 29 serious and four other-than-serious violations of federal safety and health regulations. Five of the willful citations were categorized as “egregious — the most serious violations the agency issues.” Florence Hardwoods said Tuesday that it plans to appeal the findings.
PARMA, Ohio — Angela Presti couldn’t wait to decorate her first real Christmas tree with her daughter. She found the perfect one at a Northeast Ohio tree lot, brought it into the house and started decorating. Except a few hours later she noticed one side of her face was swollen. …Angela’s father rushed her to UH Parma Medical Center. She collapsed when she got there and medical staff gave her epinephrine. “They knew it was an allergic reaction right away and kept asking me what I had eaten, but I knew, it was the Christmas tree,” she said. That didn’t surprise them. It’s estimated about 7% of the population suffers from what’s known as 
Smoke from wood heaters causes between 11 and 63 deaths per year in the Australian Capital Territory (ACT), according to a new study from researchers at The Australian National University (ANU), the HEAL National Research Network and the Center for Safe Air. The research is published in 