WorkSafeBC has released the last 5 years of inspection records of the Lakeland Mills sawmill in Prince George, British Columbia that exploded on Monday, resulting in the death of two employees.

The inspection records show that as recently as February, inspectors found piles of wood dust throughout the mill.

The records note that the mill operator was told to prevent the accumulation of “hazardous amounts of wood dust”, however, no corrective orders were issued.

Greg Stewart, president of Sinclar Group Forest Products Ltd., said he was not aware of the report until Wednesday; since no order was issued, the operations manager would have dealt with the matter. But he did acknowledge that the company had cleaned away debris after the inspection, reviewed its procedures, and increased its clean-up crew to five from three workers, characterizing those actions as “a significant response.”

Inspectors also flagged wood dust as a concern at the mill three years ago, saying it should be monitored because the wood that was being processed was extraordinarily dry, coming from trees that had been infested and killed by pine beetles

View the Inspection Reports

Read more:
Wood dust accumulation at Lakeland Mill flagged in February (Globe and Mail)
B.C. mill inspection records show dust concerns (CBC)