WorkSafeBC has levied a $175,000 penalty against the City of Cranbrook for a number of alleged health and safety violations stemming from a monster truck show at Western Financial Place earlier this year.
In a statement, the City says it is appealing the penalty.
According to a penalty summary, the allegations include failing to test the race trackway dirt for contamination from hazardous substances, which WorkSafeBC alleges was taken from a wastewater treatment plant.
Further, WorkSafeBC says the gas detection monitors for carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide were reading levels above the acceptable exposure limit.
The penalty summary also alleges the City failed to remedy workplace conditions that were hazardous to the health and safety of workers.
WorkSafeBC also says the City failed to conduct a walkthrough survey to assess the potential for overexposure to hazardous substances, failed to assess the work area to determine the potential for exposure to harmful levels of exhaust from mobile equipment, and failed to implement an exposure control plan.
"These were all high-risk violations," reads the WorkSafeBC penalty summary.
In response, the City statement notes that in arenas anywhere "always experience high exhaust levels" when holding those types of events.
The City also said the dirt used for the race trackway was clean fill taken from the 30th Avenue road construction project being completed by the College of
the Rockies.
"This fill was being stored on a portion of City owned land, which also has the lagoons located on a different part of the property," said the City, in a statement.
The City says it will provide more information once the appeals process is finished.
