11:14 am, Wednesday 6 February, 2008

Source: The Chronicle Herald

Truro town council may take legal steps to keep its industrial park from one day being a train-to-truck transfer site for cyanide destined for a proposed Halifax County gold mine.

The Touquoy gold project, an open-pit mine in Moose River, received provincial environmental assessment approval last week and may begin operating in 2009.

Truro Mayor Bill Mills said Tuesday there are a multitude of questions regarding DDV Gold Ltd.’s plan to transport cyanide by train from Memphis, Tenn., to Truro and then truck it from Truro to Moose River.

“The whole process right from the get-go didn’t involve the town or council,” Mr. Mills said one day after council asked its solicitor to seek an injunction regarding cyanide transfers.

“To put it bluntly, people are quite insulted by that.”

DDV Gold is a subsidiary of Australian firm Atlantic Gold NL. A route risk assessment, which can be viewed on the provincial Environment Department’s website, says the cyanide — used in the gold extraction process — will be contained in poly-propylene sacs, wooden boxes and polyethylene over-bags.

Mr. Mills said Truro is a railroad town, so residents expect hazardous materials to pass through, and council is reg-ularly updated on what those are.

Part of what disturbed town councillors was the motivation for choosing Truro over Halifax.

The risk assessment said Truro was selected not only because it is a shorter distance by rail from Memphis but also because it’s less populated, reducing exposure to hazardous materials.

“We don’t take too kindly to that,” Mr. Mills said. “It’s as if our citizens are somewhat less than in Halifax. The wording doesn’t instil any confidence.”

The assessment goes on to say the product wouldn’t have to be transported via rail or truck in and out of big urban areas of Truro, as opposed to Halifax, where the rail terminal is lo-cated in the downtown.

“We understand how the transfer will take place,” the mayor said. “But we don’t know how frequently.”

And then there are the safety concerns, such as who will be responsible if an emergency occurs, who will be trained to handle problems and who will pay.

Bruce Nunn, a spokesman for the Environment Department, said Tuesday that as part of an upcoming industrial approval process, the company will be required to ensure emergency responders and other officials in affected areas are aware, prepared and have the resources to deal with emergencies.

Mr. Nunn said it will also have to follow federal regulations related to transportation of dangerous goods by road and rail.

Atlantic Gold officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Truro town councillors learned of the plan through a letter to the editor written by Barbara Markovits, co-chair of the Eastern Shore Forest Watch, a group that has raised concerns about the overall environmental impacts of the mine.

Mr. Mills said hearing about the plan second-hand didn’t go over well.

He’s since spoken to people with Atlantic Gold who’ve said they’ll bring experts to Truro, and he’s taking them up on the offer.

The mayor said even if the town gets its answers, he’s not convinced council will ever agree that Truro is the best place for the transfers to occur because “there’s a fair amount of fear involved.”

Ms. Markovits applauded town council’s move Tuesday.

Among other things, she’s worried about what would happen if a truck carrying cyanide was involved in an accident or skidded off a slippery road.

She said cyanide is inert when dry, but hazardous when wet.

“Here, we’re talking about a lot of cyanide being driven along rugged, pot-holed country roads through populated areas and near many water courses.”

About 125 people are expected to work at the $70-million mine and mill, producing an estimated 80,000 ounces of gold annually.

OHS NEWS TIP – Chemical Loading Safe Work Procedures

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11:30 am, Tuesday 5 February, 2008

Source: The Age

It has been attacked as the political policeman of the former Howard Government, but the building industry watchdog is for the first time prosecuting an employer over an alleged safety breach.

The Australian Building and Construction Commission is prosecuting building contractor Iqon for allegedly not allowing two CFMEU organisers onto a building site in Canberra to investigate a possible safety breach.

That case in the Federal Magistrates Court, which was adjourned until February 28, did not placate the unions who said it appeared to be a desperate bid for survival under the new Labor Government.

“In terms of their appalling record of anti-union bias this changes nothing. It may be that the pig is attempting to apply a little bit of lipstick, but it remains a pig,” said Dave Noonan from the Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union.

The Commission – with special powers to police the industry – and its predecessor, the Building Industry Taskforce, have been at loggerheads with the CFMEU for more than five years.

Building Commissioner John Lloyd said yesterday they would prosecute any law-breaker.

“The ABCC will take action against any industry participant who contravenes the law. This has always been and will continue to be our approach,” he said. “The ABCC has taken action against employer parties on 29 previous occasions. In this case the normal procedures for investigation and initiating prosecution were applied.”

Mr Noonan said those cases involved prosecutions for employers that had cooperated with unions.

Federal Labor policy is for the ABCC to remain in place until January 31, 2010, when its responsibilities will be transferred to a special division of Fair Work Australia, the new industrial umpire.

In the case involving Iqon the Commission alleges that an Iqon manager asked an employee of a subcontractor to wear a hard hat. An argument and “physical altercation” ensued and the employee was removed from the premises.

The CFMEU attempted to enter the site to investigate the altercation but were not allowed, the statement of claim says, a possible breach of the Occupational Health and Safety Act.

OHS NEWS TIP – Building Site Safe Work Procedures

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11:08 am, Tuesday 5 February, 2008

Source: T & L News

Ahead of April’s Safety In Action workplace safety trade show, Worksafe Victoria has stressed the need for industry to stay abreast of the latest safety measures.

“Everyone in the workplace should have an interest in health and safety. Safety in Action 2008 will give you the opportunity to learn the latest and stay up to date,” said John Merritt, Executive Director of WorkSafe Victoria.

“Events like this expose you to a hub of expertise and information designed to help you keep your workers and business safe.”

Organiser of Safety In Action and Melbourne Materials Handling, Marie Kinsella, said the practical nature of workplace safety meant that it was important for anyone concerned with safety to be aware of the spread of solutions on offer.

“The bottom line is that you need to be able to demonstrate you’ve taken all reasonable steps to make your workplace safe, which in turn means you can’t afford to overlook new solutions as they come onto the market,” she said. “In practice, staying across everything is a huge undertaking, which is why we get 350 or more safety suppliers in one spot every year at Safety In Action.”

Ms Kinsella said the 12,000 square metres of the Safety In Action and Melbourne Materials Handling shows was allocated to ensure a spread of specialists.

“To be honest, we could fill all three acres with forklifts, boots, hats and goggles but we’re really careful to make sure that visitors get to see everything they need to solve the spectrum of safety challenges, from asbestos removal to working at heights.”

The mix of exhibitors had changed over the 11 years since Safety In Action’s inaugural show in 1998, she said, with an increasing emphasis on exceeding rather than simply meeting standards.

“In response to industry’s growing awareness of the productivity benefits of safety, we’ve seen more and more interest in workplace wellness programs, for example,” Ms Kinsella said.

“And while manual handling is not new, there’s been an explosion of new technology that both addresses the stress placed on the body and makes warehouses so much more efficient.”

In fact, Melbourne Materials Handling will be 25 per cent larger than when it debuted in 2007, co-located with Safety In Action. Organisers are expecting the two shows to again draw more than 10,000 visitors over their three days from April 29 to May 1 in 2008.

High profile exhibitors already signed on by December 2007 include Ansell, Bailey, Bata, Blackwoods, BOC, Bolle, Draeger Safety Pacific, Fallshaw, Life and Rescue International, Linde, Pilz Safe Automation, Saint-Gobain Abrasives, Sick, Siemens, and Toyota Material Handling.

OHS NEWS TIP – Work Place Safe Work Procedures

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02:19 pm, Monday 4 February, 2008

Source: The West

Industrial watchdog WorkSafe has launched an investigation into the death of 48-year-old Carabooda farmer.

It is believed the man was crushed after a slasher that was connected to a tractor fell on top of him yesterday afternoon.

A WorkSafe inspector travelled to the site yesterday to investigate the circumstances.

WorkSafe WA commissioner Nina Lyhne said any work-related death was a tragedy and relayed her sincere condolences to the man’s family.

OHS NEWS TIP – Tractor Safe Work Procedures

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07:45 am, Sunday 3 February, 2008

Source: SMH

Two factory workers are recovering in hospital from injuries received when more than two tonnes of glass fell from a forklift vehicle in Melbourne’s southeast.

Worksafe Victoria said a 40-year-old man and a colleague were unloading a shipping container of glass sheets at the factory in Sarton Road, Clayton South, when the accident happened, shortly after 12.30am (AEDT).

Crews from Melbourne Fire Brigade were scrambled to the site to help lift the glass off one worker before he was taken to The Alfred hospital with arm and lower body injuries.

The second worker suffered a hip injury and was taken to the nearby Monash Medical Centre for treatment.

Both men were said to be in a stable condition, a Metropolitan Ambulance Service spokesman said.

Worksafe Victoria spokesman Michael Birt said the accident highlighted the need to take all necessary safety precautions in the workplace.

“It’s vitally important employers and employees do everything they can to protect themselves, their employees and their workmates,” he told AAP.

“People in the workplace need to think about what’s really important to them.”

The Clayton South accident and two other workplace incidents in Melbourne overnight coincide with the launch of an advertising campaign to raise awareness about workplace safety.

In the other accidents, a Melbourne restaurant worker was hospitalised after being scalded by hot water spilt across her chest on Friday evening, while a construction site worker in St Kilda was injured after falling 2.5 metres on Saturday morning, Mr Birt said.

“This 12-hour period in Melbourne is a pretty typical day in terms of workplace accidents and reflect the message in the new campaign that these issues are largely preventable.”

OHS NEWS TIP - Forklift Safety Procedures

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12:44 pm, Saturday 2 February, 2008

Source: ABC News

A preliminary investigation by Workcover has found that a spark from a welder in an area where flammable liquids were being stored, may have caused last month’s fatal explosion at the Drayton’s winery in the Hunter Valley.

Workcover’s preliminary investigation has indicated that welding work may have been carried out in an area where ethanol and other flammable liquids were being stored.

The explosion killed respected winemaker Trevor Drayton and boilermaker Eddie Orgo. Assistant winemaker William Rikard Bell suffered serious burns.

The incident has prompted a Workcover safety warning to the industry about the risk of fire and explosions in wine production.

Spokeswoman Jenny Thomas says employers have an obligation to carry out a thorough risk assessment at their wineries to protect workers.

“They should look at all the potential hazards around, including the use and storage of flammable materials,” she said.

“[They need to] be particularly mindful of the kind of work undertaken near those things, such as welding grinding and any other hot work that might cause ignition.”

OHS NEWS TIP – Gas Welding Safe Work Method Statements

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