Snowpiercer producers ordered to beef up extreme heat plan after crew members fall ill on B.C. set
CBC
After several actors and crew members on the B.C. set of the TV show Snowpiercer needed medical attention during the latest heat wave, a workplace safety inspector has ordered producers to make a number of changes to their plans for dealing with extreme heat.
WorkSafeBC was called to the Pitt Meadows set of the TNT show when multiple workers "fell ill and sought medical aid due to overexposure to heat" on July 28, occupational hygiene officer Jackie Law wrote in her inspection report.
Some of those workers needed to be treated in hospital, according to the B.C. chapter of the Director's Guild of Canada (DGC), one of the unions that represents crew members on the set.
Law found a handful of problems with the production's risk assessment for extreme heat, including not accounting for long-sleeved costumes or radiant heat from filming outside, failing to monitor and record heat and humidity every hour, and not identifying the most vulnerable workers, including those who spend more time in the sun or have more physical jobs.
"The employer must conduct a heat stress assessment to determine the potential for hazardous exposure of workers, using measures and methods that are acceptable to the board. The employer shall address the observed deficiencies," Law wrote in her order.
In an email to CBC, production company Tomorrow Studios confirmed the shoot was wrapped early "out of an abundance of caution" when workers started falling ill in the heat and was suspended again the next day.
"The health and well-being of show cast and crew remain top priority," a spokesperson said.
Snowpiercer, a post-apocalyptic drama starring Jennifer Connelly and Daveed Diggs, is currently filming its fourth season.
About 276 workers were on location last week at a rural address north of Pitt Meadows when actors, location crew and first aid staff started feeling sick, the WorkSafeBC report says.
According to Environment Canada, the temperature in Pitt Meadows hit a high of 34.2 C on July 28.
A spokesperson for DGC B.C. said the union is also looking into what happened on set.
"It is an unfortunate reality that extreme heat events are becoming increasingly frequent, impacting many workplaces, including film sets," they wrote in an email.
"It is essential that if workers are exposed to conditions which could cause heat stress, that employers create and implement effective exposure control plans to keep workers safe."
Though WorkSafeBC did find problems with the production's heat safety plan, the inspection report notes that there were cooling tents and water stations on set, along with three registered nurses and multiple first aid attendants.
Aggressive patients and lack of security are making nurses feel unsafe in a rural Western Manitoba emergency union, says the Manitoba Nurses Union.
Saskatoon resident Delynne Bortis knew her commute to work Tuesday morning would be particularly difficult.
WARNING: This story contains details of abuse and intimate partner violence:
The amount of money it takes for people to earn a living wage has increased across the province, according to a new report from the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA).
The new owner of Ontario steelmaker Stelco says his company "will not disappoint the people of Hamilton and Nanticoke," where the business's major facilities are based.
A Winnipegger is warning others about an intricate scam she says she almost fell for.
Fort William First Nation is opposing a planned redevelopment of the Ontario Power Generation's (OPG) 117 year old Kakabeka Falls Generating Station, which is located in their traditional territory.
A building that sits at the corner of Sussex Street and Brunswick Avenue has had many lives over the last century — being a church, a school and offices. Now it's set to become housing, at a time when the city sorely needs it.
A Waterloo, Ont., elementary school principal will be sentenced in the new year after pleading guilty to child sexual exploitation charges following a joint investigation that involved the London, Toronto and Waterloo police services.
Students at UPEI have let their student union know what they want from the province this fiscal year, and those priorities are reflected in a 2024-2025 advocacy document brought to the legislature on Wednesday.
Larger communities in the N.W.T. will soon see a boost in their territorial funding to maintain infrastructure and deliver services — like water and waste management — but the increase still falls short of what communities need.