[CANUFNET] Normes de =?iso-8859-1?Q?s=E9curit=E9_concernant_l'excavation_et_les_arbres_/_Safet?=y standards for trees and excavation

[Michael Richardson]

In the province of Ontario H&S is primarily under the Ontario Occupational
Health and Safety Act.  Excavation would be regulated under the O. Reg.
213/91: CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS.

The over riding duty of an employer is Occupational Health and Safety Act,
R.S.O. 1990, c. O.1 Sec. (2) Without limiting the strict duty imposed by
subsection (1), an employer shall,
(h) take every precaution reasonable in the circumstances for the
protection of a worker;
and specifics with regards to excavations are 213/91 Part 111, where there
is nothing about trees but walls of an excavation shall be maintained such
that they are not a hazard.

The balance between tree preservation and worker safety clearly falls on
the  side of safety and those responsible for safety have a far higher
burden than those responsible for the tree.  Should a tree be preserved
due to the beliefs of the Forestry Department the persons responsible for
the excavations will still be held responsible for an accident as they are
ultimately responsible for the job.

The question I have for the forestry staff is other than an "opinion that
given the species and DBH of the tree, and the distance and nature of the
excavation, the stability of the tree wouldn't be compromised" has any
investigation been done to determine where roots are, what size they are,
and what will be lost?


> Bonjour-Hi
>
> English follows below.
>
> Est-ce que quelqu'un sait s'il existe une norme CNESST spécifique en lien
> avec les excavations à proximité des arbres? Nous avons un cas où les
> ingénieurs exigent l'abattage d'un arbre comme mesure de sécurité pour les
> travailleurs, tandis qu'à la Foresterie, nous sommes d'opinion que compte
> tenu de l'essence et le DHP de l'arbre, et la distance et nature de
> l'excavation, l'ancrage de l'arbre ne sera pas compromis, surtout si
> l'effort (peut-être superflu) est mis pour soutenir l'arbre comme dans
> cette
> photo-ci<https://www.ebing.ca/EBing-Projet-Support-de-poteaux-3.jpg>. Le
> problème se présente puisqu'à notre connaissance, la norme du CNESST
> concernant les arbres est une approche unique qui traite les arbres comme
> un poteau ou lampadaire, peu importe l'essence, son DHP, l'environnement,
> etc.
> ___
>
> Hello,
>
> This age-old question is mostly targeted to Quebec professionals, but any
> insight from other provinces is appreciated as well as it'll be
> interesting to compare. Does anyone know if there is a specific CNESST -
> Quebec's occupational health and safety governing body - standard related
> to excavations near trees? Or what does your own province's safety body
> have to say? We have a case where the city engineers are asking to remove
> a tree as a safety measure for the workers, while at the Forestry
> department we're of the opinion that given the species and DBH of the
> tree, and the distance and nature of the excavation, the stability of the
> tree wouldn't be compromised, especially if the (perhaps superfluous)
> effort is put into supporting the tree as in this
> photo<https://www.ebing.ca/EBing-Projet-Support-de-poteaux-3.jpg>. The
> problem arises because, to our knowledge, the CNESST standard for trees is
> a one-size-fits-all approach that treats trees like a pole or lamp post,
> regardless of the species, DBH, its growing environment, etc.
>
> Merci, thank you!
>
> ___
> Robert Liveanu, MFC, B.Sc.
> Arboriculteur certifié de l'ISA
> Technicien à la foresterie
> Division Foresterie & Horticulture
> Service des travaux publics
> Tél. 450-978-6888 poste 4775
> www.laval.ca<https://can01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.laval.ca%2F&data=04%7C01%7Cmy.tremblay%40laval.ca%7Cec3b888e0037403d339708d8cf70014d%7C15ebd2ebb8cf40dd8e2bb2e67abb40ef%7C0%7C0%7C637487427315023800%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&sdata=YGbFwWfkPV1mwBIXvoyFz0MKfMe2vw0sbrYL09bU5n0%3D&reserved=0>
>
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