Fatal accident leads to school welding ban

20 July 2011

Posted by Michelle Devonshire

A school in Canada has been ordered to ban welding following an accident in which one pupil was killed.

The institution in Ottawa was the site of an explosion on May 26th 2011 after a spark in shop class ignited while students made barbecues from empty oil drums.

A ban has now been placed by the Ontario Ministry of Labour on all "hot" work at Mother Teresa High School, including grinding and welding, CBC News reports.

The Ottawa Catholic School Board and the institution have been notified of the decision, which will be enforced until required safety standards are met.

Spokesman for the Ministry of Labour Matt Blajer stated: "There's a stop work order in place [so they] aren't going to do any work until the proper measures and procedures are in place to protect workers."

Pupil Eric Leighton, 18, was killed in the blast, which also injured one teacher and four other students and may have been caused by residual oil vapours in the drums igniting as cutting devices were used.

The UK's Health and Safety Executive claims there are 1,000 accidents involving welders reported to it each year.