Steel producer Algoma Steel Inc. has been fined C$200,000 after a contracted worker died in 2023 while cleaning a gas pipe at the company’s plant in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. The company pleaded guilty to failing to secure the pipe against unauthorized entry and to posting no warning signs.
Incident
The accident occurred on June 15, 2023, during a planned shutdown at Algoma Steel’s plant at 105 West St. in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, Canada. At the site, a 36-inch (roughly 91-centimetre) coke-oven gas pipe was being cleaned by a contracted worker of GFL Environmental Services Inc., the company Algoma had hired to carry out the cleaning. The worker was experienced and had completed training in confined-space awareness and other safety topics.
Before the work began, Algoma Steel had purged the pipe with nitrogen to remove flammable gases. That process, however, also removed the oxygen from the pipe, making entry without additional protective measures life-threatening. Algoma had discussed the work and its risks with GFL, with the explicit condition that workers were not to enter the pipe; entry was also not required to complete the job.
Near the end of the job, a worker fed a camera into the pipe so a colleague could photograph the interior. The worker then entered the pipe himself and died of oxygen deprivation.
Findings
The investigation by the Ontario Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development found that the pipe had not been secured against unauthorized entry and that no warning signs about unauthorized access had been posted. Neither Algoma Steel nor GFL Environmental Services had permitted or expected anyone to enter the pipe. Algoma Steel Inc. pleaded guilty and was sentenced on September 1, 2026. Justice Matthew Raymond Caputo imposed a fine of C$200,000, plus a 25 percent victim fine surcharge under the Provincial Offences Act, Ontario’s law governing the prosecution of provincial offences. The ministry announced the ruling on October 8, 2026, in a court bulletin. The conviction was based on Section 17 of Ontario Regulation 632/05 and Section 25(1)(c) of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.
Recommendations
Section 17 of Ontario Regulation 632/05 requires employers to close off any access to a space where unauthorized entry is possible, or otherwise secure it with barriers, warning signs, or both. An oxygen level below 19.5 percent or above 23 percent by volume is considered an atmospheric hazard. The ministry’s guidance states that only authorized personnel may enter a confined space, following the employer’s plan, and that an attendant must monitor access for as long as anyone is inside. The guidance identifies oxygen deprivation as a major cause of confined-space fatalities, arising when other gases displace oxygen, and specifically names pipes as spaces not designed for continuous occupancy. The source does not set out separate recommendations; the case nonetheless shows that discussing risks and giving instructions is not enough as long as physical access to a hazardous space is not closed off or marked, even when the work plan does not require entry.
Context
Confined-space hazards such as oxygen displacement by inert gas arise in nearly every industry and jurisdiction where pipes, tanks or silos are cleaned or maintained. In Canada, the national standard CSA Z1006, Management of Work in Confined Spaces, governs how employers manage confined-space work and coordinate rescue operations. The standard is built on the principle that every confined space is considered hazardous unless a qualified person determines otherwise after hazard identification and risk assessment. When the standard was launched in 2010, figures were cited to illustrate the risks: in British Columbia, eighteen people died entering confined spaces between 1989 and 2004, including five who were trying to rescue the original victims. That pattern matches figures from the United States’ NIOSH, according to which more than 60 percent of confined-space fatalities involve rescuers who were trying to save a victim.
Source: Algoma Steel fined $200,000 after contract worker dies in unsecured confined space, October 9, 2026
Also reviewed: CSA launches new confined space standard (CSA Z1006)
