Reports

2009 Faller Death Review Panel Report
On July 29 and July 30, 2009, a Death Review Panel was convened in Nanaimo to examine the circumstances surrounding the deaths of three tree fallers who died in coastal logging operations in the early part of 2008. Fifteen panel members were appointed under Section 49 of the Coroners Act. The panel represented a wide cross-section of backgrounds within the forestry sector, including the industry, labour, government, regulatory establishment and forest safety advocacy. Working fallers and falling contractors were also prominently represented on the panel. The purpose of a death review panel is to review the facts and circumstances of deaths in order to provide advice to the Chief Coroner with respect to matters that may impact public health and safety and the prevention of deaths... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

2009 WorkSafeBC Issues Report on Resource Roads Pilot Project
Travel on and use of resource roads in B.C. has resulted in an average of four industrial deaths and numerous serious injuries each year, over many years. Public users are also injured or killed traveling on resource roads each year. WorkSafeBC’s mandate is to promote safe workplaces and reduce the risk of injury to workers. WorkSafeBC has undertaken the Resource Roads Demonstration Project to demonstrate how safety can be managed effectively on resource road networks... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

2009 WorkSafeBC Occupational Health and Safety Serious Injury and Fatal Review
This report sets out recommendations of the WorkSafeBC internal faller serious injury and fatalities task team (“the group”), which reviewed and analyzed reports of 32 serious injury and fatal incidents that occurred from 2000 to 2008. The group focused on 20 main points, which were considered possible contributing or underlying causative factors in these incidents. The most frequently occurring categories of contributing or underlying factors were... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

2008 BC Auditor General's Report - Preventing Fatalities and Serious Injuries in B.C. Forests: Progress Needed
The forest industry in British Columbia has been marked by a long record of on-the-job fatalities and severe injuries. Every year from 1996 to 2006 an average of 22 workers died and 92 workers suffered serious injury, including maiming and other permanent disability. In 2003, the Premier called for urgent action to address the forest worker safety problem. He announced the formation of a Forest Safety Task Force, made up of senior representatives from the forest industry and WorkSafeBC, whose job was to cut the incidence of forestry-related deaths and serious injuries in the sector by... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

IWA-Canada Task Force Report on British Columbia Coastal Logging Occupational Health & Safety
This project was spurred as a result of the ongoing fatal and severe injuries suffered by the workers of the British Columbia Coastal Logging Industry. While many industries have seen significant reductions in injury rates the same is not true of British Columbia Coastal Logging. Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

Western Faller's Report on Contributing Factors to Faller Accidents in British Columbia
Between 1995 and the production of this document in mid 2005 there have been 58 Fallers killed performing their job. Along with these tragic fatalities that have occurred over this short time span, many good men have had their lives changed forever from crippling accidents. Considering there are only a few thousand Fallers operating at any given time in the Province of British Columbia, the odds of being killed or injured has deemed their occupation as one of the most deadly on the globe. This report has been compiled to openly identify any and all contributing factors... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

Report on Fatalities in the Logging Industry - BC Workers Compensation Board 1994
The logging industry has experienced a steady decline in fatalities from a high of 36 in 1987 to a low of 9 in 1992. However, fatalities suddenly increased in 1993 to 20. To date this year there have been 15 fatalities in the industry. The reversal of the downward trend from 1987 to 1992 is a serious cause for concern. This study has evaluated 265 deaths in the logging industry during... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

Report and Action Plan to Eliminate Deaths and Serious Injuries in British Columbia's Forests: Final Report of the Forest Safety Task Force
This Report sets out the recommendations of the Forest Safety Task Force (the “Task Force”) and an Action Plan that, if effectively implemented, will fundamentally change how health and safety is treated by the forest industry in British Columbia (BC). In its deliberations, the Task Force considered the many reasons why forest workers continue to die and be seriously injured at a staggering rate in BC. The Task Force also considered why, on average, 25 workers continue to die each year despite many previous efforts to reduce the number of fatalities and serious injuries in the sector. The Task Force has concluded that focus cannot simply be placed on reducing the number of deaths and serious injuries in the sector. To succeed, fundamental attitudes and behaviours about safety must change. The industry must agree that all deaths and serious injuries are preventable and that unsafe conditions and behaviours are... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

Overview of Forestry Truck Crashes in BC - Prepared by the BC Forest Safety Council
While evidence indicates an overall reduction in crashes involving commercial trucks in BC, the number of incidents involving forest hauling trucks, logging trucks in particular, is still alarming. With the uptake in harvesting volumes due to the mountain pine beetle devastation comes a corresponding increase in volumes of trucks hauling forestry products on BC roads... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

Research Documents

Toxicology and Potential Health Risk of Chemicals that May Be Encountered by Workers Using Vegetation Management options
The use of manual labour in forest vegetation management is perceived by some groups as a safe alternative to the use of herbicides, and is also seen to be a means of combating unemployment. However, every method of vegetation management carries with it some level of health... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.

CrossRoads: Report on MV Crashes in Northern BC - Northern Heath 2005
This report is a collaborative document in which data from a variety of agencies with overlapping mandates and geographical jurisdictions has been brought together to help paint a picture of the Motor Vehicle Crash issue in Northern BC. It is in no way intended to be the definitive document in relation to this important topic. Rather, it is intended as a starting point for discussion and action by agencies, governments and citizens who share the goal of reducing injuries and deaths on Northern roads. Each of the data sources we have used has its inherent... Click here to read the full report in pdf format.