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Prevention Manual

The Prevention Manual contains WorkSafeBC policy with respect to matters under Part 3 (Occupational Health and Safety) of the Workers Compensation Act (“the Act”) and the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation.  The Act requires WorkSafeBC and the Workers’ Compensation Appeal Tribunal to apply these policies when making decisions.

The Prevention Manual is provided here in Adobe Acrobat portable document format (PDF). The PDF files reflect the current manual, and include the most recent update issued May 2013.

The Workers Compensation Act, Occupational Health and Safety Regulation and associated Guidelines are also available online.

New policy regarding an employer's duty towards other workers

At its March 2013 meeting, WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors approved a new policy regarding an employer’s duty towards other workers: D3-115-1. The Board of Directors’ resolution is available for reference.

The new policy will provide a consistent framework for interpreting section 115(1)(a)(ii) of the Workers Compensation Act and help to increase awareness of an employer’s obligations towards other workers.

A discussion paper relating to the proposed amendments was taken to public consultation from June to September, 2012.

These amendments will become effective on May 1, 2013.

Occupational Health and Safety Warning Letters Policy D12-196-11

At its March 2013 meeting, WorkSafeBC's Board of Directors approved amendments to Occupational Health and Safety (“OHS”) Warning Letters Policy D12-196-11. The Board of Directors’ resolution is available for reference.

An OHS warning letter is a tool to motivate an employer to comply with the Workers Compensation Act and Occupational Health and Safety Regulation. The changes are to:

  1. Clarify the criteria to issue an OHS warning letter.
  2. Treat violations following a warning letter consistently with those following orders or penalties.
  3. Confirm that WorkSafeBC will not ordinarily issue a warning letter to an employer after a prior warning letter, penalty, or prosecution for the same violation.
  4. Remove the requirement to mail a warning letter to the joint committee or worker representative. (They will continue to receive a copy of the warning letter from the employer and it must be posted in the workplace.)

A discussion paper relating to the proposed amendments was taken to public consultation from June to October, 2012.

These amendments will become effective on May 1, 2013.

2013 New or Revised ACGIH Threshold Limit Values and BC OELs

Each year, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (“ACGIH”) publishes a list of substances for which they have set new or revised Threshold Limit Values (“TLVs”). A TLV is an exposure limit that is the suggested maximum allowed airborne concentration for a particular substance where nearly all workers are believed to experience no adverse health effects over a working lifetime. TLVs may be an 8-hour time weighted average, short-term exposure limit or ceiling limit.

Prior to the adoption of the new or revised ACGIH TLVs that are published each year as BC occupational exposure limits (“OELs”), WorkSafeBC reviews and stakeholders are consulted on potential implementation issues. WorkSafeBC’s Board of Directors (“BOD”) then decides which of the new or revised ACGIH TLVs are to be adopted as BC OELs. The existing OELs for these substances continue to be in effect until the BOD makes the decision to adopt the ACGIH TLVs as BC OELs.

In order to retain the existing BC OELs, the substances are added to the Table of Occupational Exposure Limits for Excluded Substances in Prevention Policy R5.48-1. Once the BOD approves the adoption of the ACGIH TLVs as BC OELs, the substances are removed from the Table of Occupational Exposure Limits for Excluded Substances, and the ACGIH TLVs then apply.

The ACGIH has published the 2013 new or revised TLVs. The following substances, for which there are new or revised ACGIH TLVs, have been added to the Table of Occupational Exposure Limits for Excluded Substances in Prevention Policy R5.48-1 on May 1, 2013. The current BC OELs are maintained until such time as the BOD makes a decision on the adoption of the ACGIH TLVs.

  • Aliphatic hydrocarbon gases, Alkanes [C1 — C4]
  • Clopidol
  • Diethylene glycol monobutyl ether
  • N,N-Diethylhydroxylamine
  • Ethyl tert-butyl ether
  • Manganese, elemental and inorganic compounds, as Mn
  • Methyl isoamyl ketone
  • Tributyl phosphate

The other substances for which the ACGIH has revised the TLVs are already listed in the Table of Occupational Exposure Limits for Excluded Substances and the current BC OELs are also maintained. These substances are as follows:

  • n-Butane
  • 2,4-D (2,4-Dichlorophenoxyacetic acid and its esters)
  • Glycerin mist
  • 1-Methoxy-2-propanol

Prevention Manual Housekeeping Changes

This update includes housekeeping changes to the Table of Contents of the Prevention Manual. The changes remove headings for Divisions of the Act and Parts of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulation that have no policy and simplify the names of the policies for easier reference.

Prevention Manual
PDF size
Summary of Amendments (May 2013) (Includes all individual replacement pages for your manual update. Please note: blank pages have been included for double-sided printing.)
266kb
Prevention Manual
1mb
Previous amendments
Archived Policy Manuals  

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