Ontario announces plans for mine safety initiatives

The Ontario government announced that it will put four mine safety initiatives into effect immediately.

Ontario’s Labor minister, Kevin Flynn said the Mining Health, Safety and Prevention Review addresses four safety-related issues that can be acted upon quickly while work is done to complete a final review, the Sudbury Star reported.

Calling it a progress report rather than an interim report, Flynn said four areas of improvement "jumped off the page" for the review advisory panel in the eight months it has been meeting.

The four initiatives are:

– To improve the visibility of workers through increased promotion of high visibility apparel.

– To develop a mining health database to track incidents of illness, exposure to carcinogenic substances, helping to prevent miners from being exposed to unsafe levels and assist in the development of improved health and safety rules.

– Create a sharper focus on hazards to improve health and well-being in the new training standards for joint health and safety committees, made up of workers and management.

– Fund a study by Laurentian University to look for ways to reduce loss of feeling in the feet triggered by continuous use of vibrating machinery, which puts workers at greater risk of slips and falls injuries, especially on high work platforms.

Flynn said other matters, such as excess water and the removal of protective barriers will be addressed by the advisory panel and likely be included in the final report.

Ontario’s chief prevention officer, George Gritziotis, is heading the review. He said excess water in mines and the proper use of barricades are being examined by the review.

At the same time, since the deaths of Jason Chenier and Jordan Fram at the Strobie Mine in 2011, the Ministry of Labour is putting a "particular focus" on inspections for those hazards. The review is looking to create sustainable change with its report, said Gritziotis.
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