Nothing gives mining a poorer public image in this country than deaths that occur on the job. When they occur, mining fatalities are often played prominently on radio and television and in newspapers across the land, reinforcing the general public’s rather negative perception of mining.
In days gone by, lax mining practices, wretched ventilation systems, underdesigned and often overburdened machinery, and ignorance of ground control took a heavy toll on miners. Today, underground ventilation is much improved and closely monitored for substandard conditions, machinery limits are well delineated, rockbursts are a matter of serious study and safety standards dictate mining practices. Still, mine workers die. According to statistics compiled by the Mines Accident Prevention Association Ontario (MAPAO), on average at least 12 mine workers die every year in Ontario alone.
The International Safety Rating System is a worldwide standard for evaluating safety practices and loss control management. In Ontario, the loss control system is administered by MAPAO. Of the 192 operating mines in Ontario today, roughly 85% of the 28,500 employees of those mines work under MAPAO’s loss control program. It has been operating in Ontario since 1981. (Rio Algom Ltd.’s Panel mine, featured in this issue, recently won the top, 5-Star rating under the program, and that, in spite of an accidental death there last year.)
Panel’s Mine Manager Peter Bedford is sold on the safety and loss control program. He told The Northern Miner Magazine that with something like three provincial legislative committees having been struck over the past two years — and all of them delving into the issue of mine safety — the mining industry should embrace the MAPAO- administered system. It’s a proven method of reducing accidents and deaths, he said, but to work it requires commitment from both managers and the rank-and-file.
To improve mining’s safety record and thus its marred public image, the program should be a top priority for every mine manager. — 30 —
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