Download to read offline
Uploaded byNSW Environment and Planning
Maintaining dust controls
This presentation is a generic version of the Airborne Dust Awareness sessions that have been rolled out to thousands of mineworkers in the NSW coal industry and has resulted in many examples of positive behavioural change in and around the workplace.
Maintaining dust controls
- 1. Sharing the learnings fromdust exceedance reviews What does good dust control look like?
- 2. Standing Dust Committee– Origins and Overview 1939 Royal Commission into Health & Safety 1947 Joint Coal Board created 1950 Continuous miners introduced 1954 Standing Dust Committee established 1970 Longwall mining commenced 1983 Gravimetric sampling commenced 1990 Order 40 2011 Order 42
- 3. Key events 1939 Royal Commissioninto Health & Safety 1947 Joint Coal Board created 1950 Continuous miners introduced 1954 Standing Dust Committee established 1970 Longwall mining commenced 1983 Gravimetric sampling commenced 1990 Order 40 2011 Order 42 • In the decade leading up to the creation of the Joint Coal Board, the problem of dust-related lung disease amongst coalmine workers attracted widespread public attention. • This resulted in the 1939 Royal Commission into Health and Safety. • The Royal Commission recommended a minimum dust concentration standard in coal mines.
- 4. Key events 1939 Royal Commissioninto Health & Safety 1947 Joint Coal Board created 1950 Continuous miners introduced 1954 Standing Dust Committee established 1970 Longwall mining commenced 1983 Gravimetric sampling commenced 1990 Order 40 2011 Order 42 • In 1946, dust-related lung disease was prevalent in the NSW coal mining workforce. • The creation of the Joint Coal Board (JCB) in 1947 provided greater institutional and government commitment to enforcing compliance with this dust standard. • The JCB began to manage dust suppression techniques and practices that had been mandated by amendments to the Coal Mines Regulation Act. • At that time, pneumoconiosis prevalence in the workforce was 16 per cent (all categories) and 4.5 per cent (category two or worse).
- 5. Key events 1939 Royal Commissioninto Health & Safety 1947 Joint Coal Board created 1950 Continuous miners introduced 1954 Standing Dust Committee established 1970 Longwall mining commenced 1983 Gravimetric sampling commenced 1990 Order 40 2011 Order 42 • To maintain this focus and provide independent oversight, The Standing Committee on Dust Research and Control was formed in 1954. • This Committee was tasked to drive the strategic monitoring of dust levels and to support research on methods of dust suppression. • Representatives were drawn from all key sectors of the industry.
- 6. Key events 1939 Royal Commissioninto Health & Safety 1947 Joint Coal Board created 1950 Continuous miners introduced 1954 Standing Dust Committee established 1970 Longwall mining commenced 1983 Gravimetric sampling commenced 1990 Order 40 2011 Order 42 • This Committee remains in place today and is known as the Airborne Contaminants and Occupational Hygiene Standing Committee or Standing Dust Committee (SDC). • Reviews every individual dust exceedance on a bi-monthly basis discussing cause (contributing factors) and mitigations (review actions/outcomes). • Promote exceedances to be used by sites as an opportunity to review and improve dust controls.
- 7. Dust control ismost effective when applied at the source Identify sources of dust generation in all areas on site All dust comes from somewhere – find it. On a work site, dust will be generated in multiple ways. Once dust is airborne it is much more difficult to control Learning from site investigations: To effectively control dust, it must be controlled at the source
- 8. Consider what mayharm by disease, not just injury. Operating procedures need to be revised to consider dust exposure. Start the review at the original risk assessment. When conducting risk assessments, do we consider what may harm through disease, like we consider what may harm through injury? Follow the hierarchy of control principles to manage the risk of dust exposure to acceptable limits Learning from site investigations: When assessing risk, consider what may have the potential to harm by disease, not just injury.
- 9. Have a controlplan for changing conditions Everyone needs to be clear on what we need to do differently to control risk in changing conditions – this includes all crews. Develop Trigger Action Response Plans (TARPs) for the purpose of reducing personal dust exposures when conditions change. Mining conditions are very rarely ‘business as usual’ – conditions are continually changing. Learning from site investigations: Plan for changing conditions. If conditions change, and you’re not sure – Stop.
- 10. It shouldn’t takean exceedance to review the effectiveness of controls. Review the effectiveness of controls in a systematic way. Inspect, maintain and monitor controls and equipment. Consider planned overhauls of equipment as a potential opportunity to install control improvements. Consider the use of real time monitors to review the effectiveness of controls and identify any change. Learning from site investigations: Engineering controls are not ‘set and forget’.
- 11. Complacency is theenemy. Avoid ‘normalising’ the dust. If it’s dustier than usual, there’s probably a very good reason. You know your workplace. If it’s dustier than usual don’t ignore it – investigate it. If you ignore it – you accept it. The health impacts of dust exposure are not immediate. This latency period is fertile ground for growing complacency. Learning from site investigations: Complacency is driven by the standards you are prepared to accept.
- 12. Leadership is key ‘Theway we do things around here’ and the standards we are prepared to accept are demonstrated by leaders and supervisors within the group. Deputies, UM’s, OCE’s and any supervisors – the standards you are prepared to accept are the standards you are teaching our current and next generation of workers. Learning from site investigations: ‘At the face’ leadership drives standards, behaviours and attitudes – both good and bad.
- 13. “And always remember: What’son your face you can wash off, but what’s on your lungs you can’t. So be safe, and take care of yourself.” Occupational lung disease is 100% preventable