Cranbrook fined $175K for using sewage plant dirt for monster truck track

The City of Cranbrook has been fined $175,000 for using dirt from a sewage treatment plant for the track for a monster truck event.

According to a June 19 WorkSafeBC penalty notice, the dirt hadn’t been tested for hazardous substances when the City of Cranbrook used it.

The penal notice doesn’t give details of how exactly it was used but the provincial safety regulator also took issue with other aspects of the event.

“The gas detection monitors for carbon dioxide, carbon monoxide, and nitrogen dioxide were reading levels above the acceptable exposure limit. The employer failed to remedy workplace conditions that were hazardous to the health and safety of workers,” the penalty notice reads. “The employer failed to remedy workplace conditions that were hazardous to the health and safety of workers.”

WorkSafeBC also says the City failed to check the potential for overexposure to hazardous substances, failed to determine the potential for exposure to harmful levels of exhaust, and failed to implement an exposure control plan.

“These were all high-risk violations,” the penalty notice says.

No other information is given in the penal notice.