Report aims to improve mine safety

A new independent report is expected to bolster health and safety in Ontario’s mines.

Titled The Internal Responsibility System in Ontario Mines, the report calls for a unified approach to improving health and safety, based on the co-operation of management, unions and government.

The Mining Safety Study Committee has endorsed the study, which stresses the link between safety performance and a company’s “internal responsibility system.” The latter is defined as a system whereby everyone has direct responsibility for health and safety.

As well as outlining key roles and responsibilities of employees, the study introduces an auditing tool that allows companies to zero in on problem areas. Over the next 18 months, the auditing tool will be used in all Ontario underground mines to pinpoint safety problems.

The committee suggests follow-up audits every 24 months and recommends that the auditing tool be placed in the care of the Mines and Aggregates Safety and Health Association, based in North Bay. The association will train workplace auditors and pool results to establish industry benchmarks. The study is part of an ongoing effort to improve safety in Ontario mines.

“Over the last decade, Ontario has seen the frequency of mining injuries decline,” says Timothy Hudak, minister of northern development and mines. “I am confident that, as all parties continue to work together, Ontario will become the safest mining jurisdiction in the world.”

A synopsis of the study is available on the Ministry of Labour’s web site at www.gov.on.ca/lab/ohs/irs-syne.htm