Graymont Pavilion Plant hosted an event at the Marble Canyon Arbor to promote the theme, “Make Safety a Habit at Home and at Work” on May 4.
This was the theme for the North American Occupational Safety and Health (NAOSH) Week. NAOSH is an annual where employers, workers, and all partners in occupational health and safety collaborate to promote injury and illness prevention.
The day started off at the tent beside the Arbor where several information booths were set up explaining the Process of Making Lime, the Quarry, Maintenance, Reclamation, Mine Rescue and Personal Protective Equipment (PPE). The Ts’kw’aylaxw First Nation Volunteer Fire Department had an information table set up as well. There was a photo-booth set up for the kids to try on various PPE and have their picture taken. It was a great opportunity for the young ones to learn about safety and they linked the PPE to working with tools and also with rescue!
Tours of the Mine were offered throughout the day where people were able to learn about the process of drilling and blasting the rock in the quarry, loading and hauling the stone to the crusher, crushing the stone down to size and then calcining (“cooking”) the stone in the kiln to create Quicklime. The bulk of the product made at the Pavilion Plant is for the pulp and paper industry for a chemical process as well as the mining industry as water treatment and to remove the mineral from the ore. Leading the tours was the Production Supervisor, Ira Harry and Curtis Edwards, a Joint Occupational Health & Safety Committee Member.
Checkmate Fire Prevention was on hand to provide Fire Extinguisher Training for Graymont employees as well as community members. Many had the opportunity to try using a fire extinguisher for the first time and there was great participation in this activity. This was a part of encouraging the theme for safety at work and at home.
There was a lunch and a Mine Rescue Demonstration in the afternoon. The scenario was a motor vehicle accident with a patient whom was thrown from the vehicle and had to be rescued from down the bank and brought back up in a basket to the Emergency Transport Vehicle (ETV). It was explained to the audience that in any rescue scenario the safety of the responding team is of utmost importance and the team demonstrated this by extinguishing a small fire beside the pickup before going down the bank to rescue the patient. The team had the opportunity to demonstrate their skills in First Aid, rigging and mechanical advantages, and team work.
The Pavilion Plant is proud to have 12 Mine Rescue Team members, eight Level 3 First Aid Attendants, and 32 Employees trained in First Aid and the use of the AED (Automated External Defibrillator).
“Graymont is really pleased by the community involvement,” said Plant Manager, Christian Desbiens. “Safety at work and at home are equally important. Pavilion plant is committed to developing a good safety culture and supports bringing the same ideas home.”
This event was organized by the NAOSH committee: Health, Safety & Environmental Coordinator Kitrina McDonald, Simon Harry, and Justin Kane. All three are members of the Graymont Pavilion Environmental Committee, Mine Rescue Team, and all are Level 3 First Aid Attendants.
The Pavilion Plant has been in operation since 1974 and currently has 40 employees. Limestone ore is quarried and processed at the mine and turned into Quicklime or “lime.” It is used for acid neutralization, water treatment, desulfurization, sludge stabilization, and many other industrial uses.