Health
& Safety Report
Jan 2004
After being to numerous Safety meetings over the
last couple of months the same Safety issues keep
showing up .
# One being the dust in Battle Gap and all over
1800 level for the most part we have looked at
a number of things to improve the road dust problem,
but the Company still will not commit to setting
up a schedule for calcium spreading on all shifts
. The other problem we continue to have is controlling
the dust at the source ,An atomizer set up before
blasting will cut down the dust by at least 85
% and will dampen down the drift walls and floor.
This is a requirement by the Mines Code #8.6.3
again this is not being enforced by the company,
property wide .
There could be some exceptions to this act one
being a steep incline ,if water is introduced
the scoop would not have a chance of reaching
the muck pile. There are many different styles
of water sprays and we should be looking into
trying a variety to see what will work best for
Development Mining and Long Hole block Mining.
When I visited the Mines in Sudbury last year
with CAW Local 598 ,there road material is screened
and mixed to ensure the roadbed stays in place
and has less dust .They also use a water truck
mixed with an agent to adhere to the road surface
.The Company has agreed to trying a water truck
but are
very slow on getting the project started.
Wilf and I will be doing an audit of all refuge
stations next week and making any modifications
and or recommendations to improve the current
refuge stations .Checking the seals of the refuge
stations will be done also and post the results.
Road
ways
We
could write a book on this topic on how not to
maintain Roadways in an Underground Mine .I still
take my hat off to the guys on the graders who
do their best with what the Company provides .
We have asked the Company over and over again
to address this Safety issue .The number of incidents
caused by or indirectly by non maintained roadways
have increased dramatically .How many more of
our members have to be hurt before the Company
realizes there is a huge problem here.
Road bed material we are currently using now is
drift muck from 195 storage or any green waste
development muck we can find . This creates a
problem in it self with the larger pieces in the
muck spread out on the road bed and asking the
grader men to work there magic .This material
dries out very fast with the equipment running
over it and makes allot of dust.
An aggressive approach must be taken on long term
underground roadways with a maintenance program
in place to ensure the Safety to all employees
and longer life to the mobile equipment. Any ideas
on this serious safety issue would be appreciated
and passed on the road committee.
Feb is Screen cutting month
I know all underground employees have dodged a
piece of hanging screen over their working life
in the HW Mine .Every one is a possible trip to
the hospital to having an eye removed ,or even
better your eye ball is still attached to that
piece of screen. CUT IT
DOWN BEFORE IT GETS YOU OR SOMEBODY ELSE !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Standards
We all have some form of standards in our lives
,from on how we raise our children or how we maintain
our yards or how we dress in the morning .
Should we run a Mine the same way? ,just let everyone
use there own personal standard and apply it to
there jobs or tasks for the shift.
Well I hope not but this must come from the Company
to ensure standards are met and ongoing training
is provided. This operation is way over due for
an over haul of work practices and standards upgraded
.The Safety meetings this month were done and
one standard is covered each month.
By reading over a standard from 1995 on open holes
.Does this let the Company off the hook on refreshing
our current standards .In there minds I guess
it would .
In my opinion standards must be kept up to date
with working conditions and the Company has to
set the example by doing
them first.
When you see a shifter or Mine Captain drive by
something day after day and sit in a Safety meeting
and tell you THIS
is our standards and we want YOU
to follow them to the letter. It is giving us
nothing towards building a Safer operation.
Thank -you
Arthur Monkman Safety Chair
Top
of Page
|
