Occupational Health and Safety in Small Scale Mines Prof. Dr. K. G. - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Occupational Health and Safety in Small Scale Mines

• Prof. Dr. K. G. Jadoon

Balochistan University of Information Technology Engineering and Management Sciences, Quetta

Small scale Mining

Definition

Different countries have different criteria for defining small scale mining Based on employment: Usually less than 50 employees, Pakistan (less than 20), US(fewer than 75 in underground mines) , and less than 150 in surface mines in India Based on Production: Maximum out output ore/minerals 15000-250000 tones Capital Investment basis

$2.5 million in Argentina, R8 million in South Africa, Rs.300 million in Pakistan, $1 million in Thailand, $30,000 in Zimbabwe) Social and labour issues in small-scale mines http://www.ilo.org/public/english/dialogue/sector/techmeet/tmssm

Characteristics:

• Low investment
• Primitive Mining Techniques
• Lack of mechanization
• Inadequate Mine design
• Low productivity
• Inadequate safety standards

Small Scale Mining

"The three countries with the highest number of small-scale underground coal mines ( China, India and Pakistan) have significantly higher numbers of fatal accidents, even when the size of the workforce is taken into account, than is the case in other sorts of mines,"

https://www.ilo.org/global/about-the-ilo/newsroom/news/WCMS_007929/lang--en/index.htm

Global Burden (all occupations)

• According to ILO estimates world-wide, about 2.3 million people meet work related

accidents or illness

• Nearly nearly 350,000 deaths are due to accidents and 160 millions people contract work

related diseases annually.

• In Asian-pacific region: in 2000, work related deaths (600,000)
• Number of disabling injuries and workdays lost days (in millions) Statistics by ILO (2000).
• In EU, during 2003, around 193,000 deaths were reported due to work related diseases.

https://www.ilo.org/moscow/areas-of-work/occupational-safety-and-health/WCMS_249278/lang-- en/index.htm

https://www.britsafe.org/media/1570/the-causes-incidence-occupational-accidents-ill-health-across-globe https://www.ilo.org/moscow/areas-of-work/occupational-safety-and-health/WCMS_249278/lang--en/index.htm

Occcupational Health and Safety

“PAKISTAN ranks as the sixth richest country in respect of coal reserves but those who dig out the black gold from the depths of the earth are the most exploited section of the workforce. Descending into dark, airless tunnels, miners extract coal from simple tools, inhaling coal dust, fearing methane gas explosions, fires, cave-ins, poisonous gas leakages and haulage accidents.”

Zeenat Hisam, The Dawn, July 28, 2014

https://www.dawn.com/news/print/1122021

Facts from Pakistan

“HRCP urges the government to carry

• ut an immediate exercise to estimate

and document the workforce employed in the mining sector, given that mining accidents in smaller areas often go

• unreported. The regulatory regime must

be extended and enforced to all workers employed in this industry, including” small-scale mining.

Recurring mining fatalities unacceptable: HRCP

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/355539-recurring-mining-fatalities-unacceptable-hrcp

“Coal mines have become death chambers for miners. This is especially true in Balochistan, where miners work under deplorable conditions and little is done to ensure safety precautions.”

https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/371342-coal-mines-or-death-traps

Khalid Bhatti, the news, Sep 21, 2018

Facts from Pakistan OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY CONDITIONS IN SMALL SCALE MINES IN PAKISTAN

https://www.thenews.com.pk/latest/313062-six-miners-dead-13-missing-in-quetta

“Nearly 50 miners have died in two months, Senate committee told

The Balochistan government has formed a committee to investigate the causes of the two explosions and determine who was responsible. The committee will furnish its report on June 5. The Senate meeting was told that despite the latest technology and mining methods, more workers are dying today than they were 100 years ago. There are no safety measures being practiced inside mines, in complete disregard of workers’ lives”

https://www.dawn.com/news/1409577 The Dawn, 24, 2018 https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/368657-mining- deaths

Facts from Pakistan OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY CONDITIONS IN SMALL SCALE MINES IN PAKISTAN

9

Relevant legislation: Mines Act 1923 Supporting legislation

• 1. Consolidated Mines Rules 1952

2. Metalliferous Mines Rules 1926 3. Coal Mines Regulations 1926 4. Workmen Compensation Act 1923

OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY CONDITIONS IN SMALL SCALE MINES IN PAKISTAN

10

Controlling Authorities: Federal level: Ministry of Petroleum and natural Resources, government of Pakistan

Provincial level

Directorate General of Mines and Minerals OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY CONDITIONS IN SMALL SCALE MINES IN PAKISTAN

Hazards contributing multiple injuries or fatalities

• Methane gas explosions,
• Coal dust explosions,
• Cave-in (mine roofs),
• Suffocation due to accumulation of gases.

Occupational Health and Safety Conditions in Small Scale Mines in Pakistan

MINE DISASTERS

Worst explosions Year loss of lives Place 1914 687 Japan 1945 1549 China 1960 684 China 1962 299 Germany 1963 457 Japan 1965 331 Japan 1965 306 India 1965 144 Yugoslavia 1968 78 USA 1970 51 Yugoslavia

Occupational Health and Safety Conditions in Small Scale Mines in Pakistan

Major occupational Health and Safety Problems in small scale mining

• Restricted work-places and low height mines
• Inadequate illumination of workplaces
• Uneven and slippery mine floors
• Week mine roofs
• Ill-maintained machinery and equipment
• Extreme temperature conditions
• High amount of fine dusts generated
• Mine gases (Carbon monoxide, Carbon dioxide, Hydrogen sulphide, Sulphur dioxide,

Oxides of nitrogen and Methane

• Poor Hygiene
• Work related stress

Glimpses of working conditions in small scale Mining

Field survey

Field survey

Field survey

Some facts from a study conducted about incidence of Pneumoconiosis in coal Mining in KPK

Occupational diseases related to Mining

Common diseases

• 1. Pneumoconiosis
• 2. Carcinoma of the lung
• 3. Nystagmus
• 4. Dermatitis
• 5. Heat stroke
• 6. Carbon monoxide poisoning
• 7. Loss of hearing acuity
• 8. Tuberculosis

 Any chronic ailment that occurs as a result of

• ccupational activity

 It is typically identified when it is more prevalent in a given body of workers than in general population Occupational disease



Dust is collection of solid particles, which are dispersed, in gaseous medium, able to remain suspended in gaseous medium for relatively long time and have high surface area to volume ratio

1



According to a report of World Health Organization (WHO) dusts are solid particles ranging in size from below 1 micron up to around 100 micron

1.

(Burrows, J, 1992)

2.

(WHO Geneva 1999 W HO/SDE/OEH/99.14, dust report-executive summary)

Minerals Dusts

Harmfulness of Airborne Dusts (Factors)

• Composition
• Particle size and shape
• Concentration
• Exposure time
• Individual susceptibility

Inhalable Dust:

That size fraction of dust that enter nose and mouth. Thoracic Dust: The fraction that can enter into the airway of lungs, it is approximately 10 micron in diameter or less

Respirable Dust:

The size fraction of dusts that actually reaches deep into lungs i.e. into gas exchange region is called respirable

dust

Dusts categories based on particle size

Sample for study A random sample of around 250 workers from different Mining localities in KPK Medical Investigation Chest x-ray Spirometry General Physical examination

A Chest Physician and his team Conducted medical investigation. Clinical Laboratory of Khyber Teaching Hospital were used

General symptoms:

Presence

• f

respiratory ill-health Symptoms like cough, feeling shortness of breath, chest tightness, and history of allergies or related diseases, etc. A significant majority of workers (60%) reported presence

• f

seven

• ut
• f

nine respiratory symptoms

Che st E xa mina t ion :

C h e s t e x a m i n a t i o n w a s p e r f o r m e d f o r t h e p r e s e n c e

• f

s y m p t o m s l i k e W h e e z e a n d C r e p t s A m o n g j o b c a t e g o r i e s , h i g h p e r c e n t a g e f a c e wo r k e r s s h o w e d s y m p t o m s o f w h e e z e D r i l l e r s g r o u p m a i n l y s h o w e d p r e s e n c e o f c r e p t s . E x p e r i e n c e d w o r k e r s ( 1 6 y e a r s a n d a b o v e ) s h o w e d h i g h p e r c e n t a g e s

• f

t h e s e s y m p t o m s

Chest Radiographs

The results of chest X-rays indicated an alarming condition as about 60% of all workers included in the sample (154 for this case) have shown early symptoms of respiratory disease. A small proportion about 10% indicated advanced stage of disease

Dust Sampling Personal samplers were used To find out shift exposure of workers Grab Samples For mineralogical analysis to find

• ut silica content

Results indicated that: Shift exposure of workers to dust was much higher than standard Analysis of grab samples indicated high percentage of silica presence

 In Pakistan the mining of coal is done mostly by using highly primitive techniques.  The overall condition of safety and health is much poor.  Workers have to work in highly hazardous conditions without having proper personal protective equipment.  Due to poor ventilation, substantial amounts of dust are generated and remain suspended in mine workings. Findings

Occupational Health and Safety Conditions in Small Scale Mines in Pakistan

 In Pakistan, along with high accident rate,

incidence of pneumoconiosis is a significant problem.

 Many workers die of such diseases every year, as

there is no planned approach for prevention of these diseases at national level.

 No authentic data is available about the existing

state of occupational respiratory diseases among coal mine workers and a large number of cases remain undetected. OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH AND SAFETY CONDITIONS IN SMALL SCALE MINES IN PAKISTAN Findings

Economic Cost of Accidents and Injuries

Reasons to know the cost

• 1. To know the total financial loss to an enterprise
• 2. To compare financial impact of cost of these

accidents to that spent on efforts to improve safety

• 3. On the basis of cost comparison to convince

managements to spend on safety

Categories of expenditure: Important categories include:

1.

Cost of prevention

2.

Cost of treatment

3.

Cost of rehabilitation

4.

Cost of compensation The relationship between the first and the other three factors is inversely proportional. As the cost of prevention increases, the other costs drop proportionally

Direct Cost:

• Compensation paid
• Medical expenses
• Cost of legal services

Indirect Cost:

• Cost of training new employee
• Cost of investigation and corrective measures
• Lost productivity
• Repair and maintenance of equipment, property.
• Cost associated with lower employee moral

OSHA (www.osha.gov/dcsp/products/topics/businesscase/costs)

Direct and Indirect Cost Comparison

Direct cost- tip of the iceberg Indirect cost remains many fold higher than Direct Cost

Comparison with British Cornish Mining

1875-1920

Important features:

• 1. In spite of introduction of Health and Safety legislation introduced in

1872, the contractual work system effectively removed the need for supervision, financial incentives were offered to take risks in working environment

• 2. There was little motivation to adhere to health and safety regulation
• 3. Management used to turn blind eye on unsafe practices/dangerous

behaviours

• 4. Introduction of safety technology was of low priority
• 5. The Inspectorate often obliged to compromise to let continue work

in less than perfect conditions

• 6. Fall o roof remained the commonest cause of injury
• 7. Carelessness among workers was common and ‘happy go lucky

style of working’ was evident.

http://min-eng.blogspot.com/2015/07/the-life-of-cornish-miner-in-perspective.html

9. Black Powder and dynamites were used in conjunction

• 10. Dynamites and detonators were stored together and candles

were used for illumination.

• 11. After firing blast holes, miners returned too quickly to

noxious atmosphere

• 12. In Cornish celebrations, quantities of explosives were

exploded on Midsummer’s day and its use was customary at weddings.

• 13. One miner attempted to clean his chimney at home by

throwing dynamite onto the fire.

• 14. Ore skips were used for personal transport.
• 15. Men demonstrated a curious tendency to stick out arms, legs

and even heads with fatal consequences

• 16. Hazards in the workplace were perceived as a challenge to

masculine skills.

• 17. Men took pride in displaying their strength

Conclusions

Accidents and injuries are caused due to:

• Unsafe Acts and
• Unsafe Conditions

prevailing unsafe acts and unsafe conditions reflect

A poor Safety culture

For creating a positive safety culture, we need:

1. Top management commitment 2. Open lines of communication from top to bottom 3. Encouraging employees to show active participation 4. Introduction of rewards system for outstanding performance 5. Priority should be given to safety 6. Changing beliefs about causation of accidents 7. True spirit to implement safety related rules and regulations 8. Safety training for every one

R & D Institutions Enforcement Agency

Mining Community

Collective responsibility

The financial assistance provided by the HEC for the project is greatly acknowledged HEC has also provided travel grant for attending 2008 ISSST symposium in Beijing China Thanks are also due to the authorities of the Inspectorate of Mines, government KPK for extending administrative support during field work. Thanks are due to all those workers who took part in the present study.

Acknowledgements