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All the latest in mine health and safety in NSW
Weekly incident summary
To report an incident or injury call 1300814609
Weekly incident summary - week ending 19 August 2022
42 reportable incidents, 4 summarised below

Dangerous incident | IncNot0042791

Open cut coal mine
Roads or other vehicle operating areas
Summary: A dozer was cleaning up around an excavator when it slid off the coal floor into a body of water and dropped a track. The water level came up to the level of the tracks. The driver was unharmed in the cabin. Material was used to form a bridge so the operator could exit the vehicle safely.
Comments to industry: Mine operators must have controls in place to manage the risks posed by planned and unplanned bodies of water near vehicle operating areas. Shift change-over procedures should include communication about the status of sumps/water particularly after rain.

Dangerous incident | IncNot0042803

Open cut coal mine
Ground or strata failure
Summary: When an operator was ready to dump a load of overburden in a haul truck, all 4 rear wheels sunk when the dump slumped. The operator exited the truck safely. 
Comments to industry: When co-disposing material with different properties, an assessment should be conducted to confirm the suitability of the material for the dump design (e.g. dump height). A system must be in place to ensure that dump operations are compliant to site standards about material types and design parameters.

Dangerous incident | IncNot0042812

Open cut coal mine
Summary: A worker was servicing a pontoon pump when a defect was identified on the primer pump. The faulty primer pump was removed and placed in a boat tethered to the pontoon. The worker noticed the pontoon tilting and decided to swim to the bank. As the worker swam away, the pontoon sank dragging the boat under the water. The worker was not wearing a life vest. The pontoon had an IBC filled with water on one side of the pontoon to act as ballast control. When the vacuum pump was removed, the water syphoned out of the IBC. The centre of gravity changed, tipping the pontoon and allowing it to take on water.
Comments to industry: When a task changes, workers must stop and reassess the job steps and the risks involved in the task. If appropriate controls can’t be put in place, the task must not proceed. Any worker who is required to work on or access floating plant or involving boats must wear an appropriate life vest. All floating vessels must be addressed in an emergency plan and workers should routinely practice evacuation drills for a rapidly listing or sinking event. Floating vessels should have a stability and buoyancy assessment with consideration given to critical scenarios where a vessel could rapidly list or sink.

Dangerous incident | IncNot0042819

Open cut coal mine
Summary: An operator was boarding a reject truck when a clump of reject fell from the headboard and hit the operator on the back of the neck. The operator suffered spinal bruising. 
Comments to industry: Wet material hanging up on headboards is a hazard that poses a risk to operators entering and exiting vehicles. The method and rate of loading reject should be reviewed to minimise material spraying all over vehicles and infrastructure.
Controls such as hosing down headboards should be implemented to control the risk to operators of falling material.

Other publications of interest

These incidents are included for your review. The NSW Resources Regulator does not endorse the findings or recommendations of these incidents. It is your legal duty to exercise due diligence to ensure the business complies with its work health and safety obligations.
International (other, non-fatal)
US Mine Safety and Health
The MSHA has released a fatality alert for an incident on 21 July 2022. A miner suffered fatal injuries when his right arm became entangled in an auger (screw) conveyor. Best practices include securing all conveyors in place during normal operation, and to keep tools, clothing and body parts away from moving conveyors. The mine should de-energise, lock out, tag out and block machinery against hazardous motion before performing repairs and maintenance.
Details
National (other, non-fatal)
Safework SA
SafeWork SA reminds all mine operators to develop, implement and maintain safe systems of work following a serious injury to an underground miner on 3 August 2022. The incident occurred when a Jumbo operator was in the process of installing a dewatering pump using the Jumbo boom. While tramming forward, it is believed that the Jumbo ran over the dewatering pump line hose, causing the hose connection to fail on the pump. The hose connection consequently flung back under pressure and hit a worker standing near the rear of the Jumbo, causing serious facial injuries.
Details

Resources Safety & Health Queensland
Resources Safety & Health Queensland have released the June 2022 Incident Periodical detailing recent high potential incidents for the Queensland Coal Mines Inspectorate. Incidents include a strangler valve failing to shut down a diesel engine system, a dozer making contact with a dragline at a surface mine, a gas exceedance at an underground mine and 3 dozer rollovers at surface mines.
Details
ISR22-33 | Go to the website

 

You can find all our guidance and incident related publications (that is, safety alerts, safety bulletins, incident information releases, weekly incident summaries and investigation reports) on our website: resourcesregulator.nsw.gov.au
*While the majority of incidents are reported and recorded within a week of the event, some are notified outside this time period. The incidents in this report therefore have not necessarily occurred in a one week period. All newly recorded incidents, whatever the incident date, are reviewed by the Chief Inspector and senior staff each week and summarised in this report. For more comprehensive statistical data refer to our Safety Performance Measures Reports and our Business Activity Reports.
 
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