A Hamilton-area contractor fined in elevator platform collapse. A discipline notice in BC. Scientists develop new method of refrigeration. These were the most-read stories in the Daily Media Report in the first three weeks of January 2023.
Contractor fined: A Hamilton-area constructor has been fined $200,000 for a 2021 incident where two workers fell when an elevator platform collapsed at a residential project in St. Catharines, ON. No engineering approval was obtained for the installation of an additional bracket, which is required under construction regulations.
Discipline notice: In a November 21, 2022, Consent Order, John Brittain admitted that he was convicted of four counts of murder and the convictions render him unsuitable for registration or licensing with Engineers and Geoscientists BC. Brittain’s registration with Engineers and Geoscientists BC is cancelled.
New method of refrigeration: Before a winter storm, adding salt on a road alters when the ice will form. Researchers at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory have applied this basic concept to develop a new heating and cooling method called ionocaloric cooling.
