Canadian Occupational Safety

August/September 2014 17 "They must have so many hours of training on an annual basis, be physi- cally fi t and know how to fi ght fi res underground. That's a big part." Workers are trained on what to do when an alarm goes off. If something goes wrong, an alarm is pulled and, as in most mines, stench gas is released into the air. The gas, ethyl mercaptan, has a rotten-egg smell and tells work- ers they must go to a refuge station and wait there for further instructions. "That's a fail-safe system of alerting workers. With today's technology they all have radios and there's lots of com- munication available, so they'll get other alerts. But the warning system is their notifi cation to get to safety," Summach says. Refuge stations are lit and equipped with water, a toilet, tables, fi rst-aid supplies, fi refi ghting equipment, and effective means of communication. They contain oxygen cylinders, but often there's a supply of fresh air. "In hard rock, you can drill down. So with our main refuge stations, we have air lines in place and fresh air will come from (the) surface into the sta- tion," he says. Peter Bengts, chief inspector of mines at Yellowknife-based Workers' Safety and Compensation Commis- sion (WSCC), N.W.T. and Nunavut, says training goes on all the time. Emer- gency response teams are fully prepared to handle underground emergencies and also those on the surface, which requires them to learn fi refi ghting, ambulance, fi rst aid and HAZMAT. "And two of the mines give them aircraft fi refi ghting because they have jets landing at their air strip for crew changes. The teams are dealing with the same equipment as at the Van- couver airport. So they have a good breadth of training; they're trained as fi refi ghters and how to use a breathing apparatus so they can go underground for up to four hours," he says. Bengts inspects diamond, gold and tungsten mines and says the main hazard at these operations, located about 1,000 kilometres north of Edmonton, is injury caused by large vehicles. Fires are another frequent hazard. Large equipment usually has a suppression system built into it. When the operator hits a button, a dry chemical fi re extinguisher sprays the engine compartment, fuel tank and transmission. An important part of their rescue training, he adds, is an annual com- petition in Yellowknife. Using various scenarios, the two-day event brings together fi ve or six teams and tests such skills as fi rst aid, fi refi ghting, rope rescue and the ability to make good decisions quickly. (See sidebar.) Mining operations in Ontario include salt, gypsum, nickel, gold, copper and diamonds. Gryska says WSN, which responds to about three emergencies per month, classifi es emergencies as fi re (equipment-related and electrical) and non-fi re. Among non-fi re emergencies are toxic gases, oxygen defi ciency, explosions caused by methane gas, falls of ground and rock bursts (spontaneous fracture of rock due to pressure). Mine operators in Ontario are required to conduct a fi re drill once per shift per year, and generally con- duct two to four drills per year, he adds. However, each site must deter- mine how often drills should be done, depending on their type of mine and how fast they can get miners out. Supervisors should question work- ers often to ensure they know the emergency plan well, Gryska says. "A good frontline supervisor will go up to a worker and say 'Let's assume there's a fi re or rock burst. What are you going to do?'" he says. "The individual should be able to answer 'I'm going to go into the refuge station. I'm going to fi nd out how many individuals are there, call up (to) the surface and tell people there's a fi re underground. And this is the location.' " Canadian mining operations are subject to both provincial or territo- rial and federal regulation, says Barrie Simoneau, director of risk manage- ment with the Winnipeg-based Mining Association of Manitoba. The association manages emergency preparedness and response for the province's mine operations, which mine mainly nickel, gold, copper, zinc, tantalum, cesium and lithium. Refuge stations, which are man- dated under law, are usually located less than 300 metres from an active work area, Simoneau says. As a work area moves, so does the refuge area. However, in the event workers cannot get to a refuge station, they are taught how to safeguard themselves where they're working — by making a fi eld (a fi re-resistant fabric or plastic partition) to barricade themselves in from any smoke or gases or by using a compressed air line to breathe until help arrives. "Also, if we know they're going to be in a high-risk area, we give them a self-contained breathing apparatus (self-rescuer) that generates oxygen and scrubs carbon dioxide from their breathing. That's either to protect them in situ or so they can get to a safe shelter," he says. In recent years, Simoneau says, mine rescue has changed signifi cantly. Technological advances, such as new communications and infrared cam- eras which allow them to see through smoke, have made a big difference. There has also been, he believes, a change in mindset. People used to think that as long as they had a mine rescue team, everything would be all right. "Now, there's a greater emphasis on making sure that supervisors and workers are doing the right thing and able to protect themselves if some- thing goes wrong," he says. "We also have to use proper pre- vention techniques so that we don't have emergencies. The best mine rescue response would be never to call a rescue team out. That's what we believe, what mines believe and what underground workers believe. They want to see mine rescue people only when they're down training." Linda Johnson is a freelance writer based in Toronto. She can be reached at lindajohnson@sympatico.ca. Rescue competition The annual Workers' Safety and Compensation Commission (WSCC) Mine Rescue Competition in Yellowknife tests a wide range of skills, says Peter Bengts, the commission's chief inspector of mines. During rope rescue, for example, competitors are required to set up ropes and pulleys to move a person or thing. One team may be asked to rescue someone trapped under a machine. Another may have to pull a stretcher through a smoke- fi lled obstacle course. "It makes you work as a team," he says. "Do they do as their captain says? Do they follow directions? Do they pass on information — because you can see only two inches ahead? One person may step on something, realize what it is, he has to tell the boss what he's found. You can't point at it because you can't see it. So the task really pushes them." Winning teams go on to a western regional competition, held every two years in Fernie, B.C. The competition, held in June, helps the teams learn from each other, Bengts says. They see how people from other regions perform tasks and can compare other methods with their own. "You start asking questions, discuss and things change. You like to know why they're doing it differently, and then you think, 'Maybe, we should change.' A lot of it is information transfer," says Bengts. "It's a game, but it's also a lot more." The Working Alone SAFETY SOLUTION Visit us at proTELECcheckmate.com 1-866-775-6620 NO HARDWARE OR SOFTWARE CheckMate is a proactive automates communication service designed to check on people working alone to ensure thier safety. 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