The Association of Professional Engineers and Geoscientists of Alberta has restarted its review into the 2007 CNRL Horizon tank collapse that killed two workers and injured two more.
APEGA said it relaunched the review into the fatal incident based on “new information contained in a recently released Occupational Health and Safety report.”
READ MORE: Companies’ lack of qualified engineers contributed to fatal Alberta 2007 collapse: OHS
The OHS report found three companies didn’t take reasonable measures to protect workers at a job site north of Fort McMurray.
On April 24, 2007, two foreign workers were killed when a tank roof support structure collapsed at the west tank farm at the CNRL Horizon site north of Fort McMurray. Two other workers were seriously injured and three workers sustained minor injuries.
APEGA said Wednesday the OHS report found that a professional engineer should have been involved and was not.
“APEGA has an obligation to review those observations in greater detail,” a statement from the association reads.
“While not yet a formal investigation, further review could result in a formal investigation.”
In 2009, 53 charges were laid against three companies, but years later, the charges against CNRL were stayed.
“Our assessment is that Canadian Natural allowed these foreign contractors to essentially import Third World construction practices to a Canadian worksite,” Alberta Federation of Labour president Gil McGowan said.
“The three companies that were behind all the questionable construction practices that led to the collapse and the deaths – not a single one of those companies actually had to face justice,” McGowan said.
Because the incident is set to be examined in a public inquiry, CNRL has declined to comment on the report.
Alberta Justice said Feb. 9 the fatality inquiry has yet to be scheduled.
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