Pit & Quarry, December 2009

BY MICHAEL T HEENAN Law Imperfect match S afety concerns in mining can be divided into three broad categories potential hazards that could cause grave injury or death suddenly and unexpectedly due to lack of oversight or careful attention potential hazards that could cause grave injury or death as a result of bad judgment and all other potential hazards however unlikely or slight the potential injury might be Obviously it is important to eliminate as many hazards as possible regardless of how likely or serious an injury might be Unfortunately it is sometimes easier to deal with everything rather than focus on actions best calculated to keep everyone alive and safe at a mine Federal agencies such as the Mine Safety and Health Administration MSHA and Occupational Safety and Health Administration OSHA think in terms of eliminating all hazards including those where mental lapse or bad judgment can cause sudden death I can think of arguments for this approach and it can certainly justify promulgation of safety standards for every conceivable hazard but I think agencies primarily evaluate their effectiveness in the prevention of death grievous injury and lost time due to serious injury Moreover as applied to enforcement the issuance of citations and penalties for any infraction without regard to any realistic likelihood of injury might be justified by a concept of enforcing attention to detail However the larger goal can be lost with this approach if attention is dispersed and impact is diluted Accident causes In my 35 years of working on safety issues investigating mine accidents and dealing with agency enforcement actions I have observed things likely to get miners killed or maimed and things not likely to contribute to injury Here are seven categories that cause fatal and other serious accidents at sand gravel stone and cement operations Mobile equipment defects causing loss of control Falls from heights and through open holes and grates Engulfment by falls or slides of materials or product Electrocution owing to work on energized circuits Entanglement in machinery owing to failure to lockout Failure of undersized or defective chains slings jacks and hooks Ignition of flammable materials exposed to extreme heat There are MSHA mandatory safety standards that cover these risks and a company cannot spend too much time trying to prevent employees from exposing themselves to these risks On occasion a momentary lapse or a temporary distraction can lead to tragedy but in many cases shortcutting or an employees failure to make the necessary effort to prevent these hazards can be the real cause of the accident Use clear policies training regular reminders and enforcement to ensure employees are mindful of what is critical to safety and protection of life and keeping them in their jobs No one can afford unnecessary risks due to shortcutting or failure of vigilance Cited violations MSHAs citations do not match up well with these risks The top 10 citations for surface non metal mines are Legal tip Use clear policies training regular reminders and enforcement to ensure employees are mindful of what is critical to safety and protection of life and keeping them in their jobs Inadequate guards for moving machine parts Equipment defects affecting safety Electrical conductors Horns and backup alarms Inspection and cover plates Maintenance of machine guards Housekeeping Safe access to working places Insulation of wires Quarterly employment reports Most of the conditions cited under these standards do not cause fatal accidents In my experience more miners are killed by getting on or into mechanical or electrical equipment that they have not properly locked out and de energized Guarding of moving machine parts protection and insulation of electrical conductors keeping cover plates closed and replacing knockouts ensuring horns and alarms are operating maintaining housekeeping and providing safe access are all worthy safety practices But in a triage analysis they do not reach the level of specific actions needed to address major causes of serious accidents Conclusion For years I have felt there should be a better match I have always encouraged companies to concentrate first on most Continued on page 56 52 PIT QUARRY December 2009 www pitandquarry com