RISK BASED HYGIENE MANAGEMENT PLAN

According to Mines Safety and Inspection Regulations 1995

The principal employer and each employer at a mine must ensure that:

• • health assessments are carried out in respect to workers who engages in specified occupational exposure work at the mine
  • biological monitoring is carried out in respect of workers where there is a recognised biological monitoring procedure and a reasonable likelihood that accepted values might be exceeded.

Mining operations are required to carry out a structured risk assessment of their occupational health hazards, and develop a risk-based hygiene management plan (RBHMP). This management plan is intended to accurately describe all health hazards for the operation and the controls required to prevent harm to persons from these.

Requirement for greenfield sites, the risk-based hygiene management plan (RBHMP) should be:

• • prepared in advance of commissioning
  • based on available knowledge of potential occupational exposures.

Existing sites should have a risk-based hygiene management plan approved by the responsible inspector before the end of each financial year or whenever it is identified that:

• • similar exposure groups (SEGs) contain exposure incompatibilities
  • there are changes to the workplace, workforce, processes or environment that potentially influence exposures
  • monitoring reveals unacceptable exposures.

The workplace risk based hygiene assessment (RBHA) should identify whether:

• • there are potential adverse health effects or potential excessive exposure
  • workplace monitoring should be conducted
  • a health surveillance program should be established
  • what needs to be done to eliminate or reduce the risk from hazardous substances.

Examples of where a risk assessment may be required include exploration drilling, particularly where the presence of:

• • asbestiform minerals
  • radioactive minerals
  • toxic elements such as lead, mercury, arsenic and vanadium

if suspected or they have previously been encountered.