Quarries (General) Regulations, 1956

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 274/1956
• Year: 1956

S.I. No. 274 of 1956.
QUARRIES (GENERAL) REGULATIONS, 1956.
I, WILLIAM NORTON, Minister for Industry and Commerce, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 86 of the Coal Mines Act, 1911, as adapted by the Adaptation of Enactments Act, 1922 (No. 2 of 1922), and as applied to quarries by virtue of section 19 of the Mining Industry Act, 1920, and subsection (2) of section 128 of the Factories Act, 1955 (No. 10 of 1955), hereby, after due compliance with the provisions of Part I of the Second Schedule to the Coal Mines Act, 1911, make the following general regulations :—
PART I. PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL.
	1 Short title and commencement.	1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Quarries (General) Regulations, 1956.
(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on the 12th day of November, 1956.
	2 Application of Interpretation Act, 1937 .	2. The Interpretation Act, 1937 (No. 38 of 1937), applies to these Regulations.
	3 ..	3. In these Regulations, unless the context otherwise requires—
" the Acts " means the Quarries Act, 1894, the sections of the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Acts, 1872 and 1875, thereby made applicable to quarries, and the Mining Industry Act, 1920 ;
" the Regulations " means the general regulations for the time being in force with respect to the quarry ;
" special rules " means special rules established for, and for the time being in force at, the quarry under sections 24, 25, 26, or 27 of the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act, 1872 ;
" owner " when used in relation to any quarry, means any person or body corporate who is the immediate proprietor or lessee or occupier of any quarry or of any part thereof and does not include a person or body corporate who merely receives a royalty, rent or fine from a quarry, or is merely the proprietor of a quarry subject to any lease, grant or licence for the working thereof, or is merely the owner of the soil and not interested in the minerals of the quarry ;
" inspector " means an inspector appointed under section 15 of the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act, 1872 ;
" Minister " means the Minister for Industry and Commerce ;
" agent " when used in relation to any quarry, means any person having, on behalf of the owner, care or direction of any quarry or of any part thereof ;
" overburden " means any ground or material lying on the rock or other mineral to be worked.
	4 Application of these Regulations.	4. (1) These Regulations shall apply to every quarry of whatever depth as if they were special rules established for the quarry under the Metalliferous Mines Regulation Act, 1872.
(2) In respect of any quarry at which fewer than ten persons are employed at the same time and at which mechanical power is not used, paragraphs (4) and (6) of Regulation 8 and paragraph (2) of Regulation 20 of these Regulations, so far as they relate to the posting of notices, the making of written reports and the keeping of report books, shall apply only if and in so far as the Minister is satisfied that it is reasonably practicable for them to be complied with and has served notice in writing on the owner or agent requiring compliance with them or any of them.
(3) The Minister may exempt from the application of any of the provisions mentioned in paragraph (2) of this Regulation any other quarry in respect of which he is satisfied that it is not reasonably practicable for the owner or agent to comply with such provision.
(4) These Regulations shall be in addition to and not in diminution of special rules.
PART II. SAFETY (GENERAL PROVISIONS).
	5 Working of the quarry.	5. (1) The working of the sides and of the overburden or tops of the quarry shall be carried on so as to prevent dangerous falls of ground or materials.
(2) The overburden shall be cleared back a sufficient distance from the working face of the quarry to prevent danger from falls. Where, owing to the position of the boundary, the natural conditions or other special circumstances, the Minister is satisfied that it is impracticable to adhere to this requirement, he may grant an exemption subject to such conditions as to working as he may think proper to ensure safety.
(3) Except with the approval of, and subject to conditions laid down in writing by, the Minister, the face of the quarry or of any gallery shall not be worked so that it assumes an overhanging position.
(4) Secure means of access by which all persons employed can go to and from their working places shall be provided and maintained in good condition by the owner or agent. No ladderused as a means of access to or egress from the quarry shall be fixed in an overhanging position or at an inclination to the horizontal of more than seventy-five degrees. Every such ladder in regular use shall have substantial platforms at intervals of not more than ten yards, and a strong hold-fast at each platform and the ladder shall project at least three feet above the platform in every case ; and, where necessary for safety, a handrail shall be provided in the case of ladders of a permanent character.
(5) Where machinery is used for raising or lowering persons, regulations shall be made by the owner or agent to suit the special circumstances of the case, copies of which shall be kept constantly affixed in the office at the quarry and in a convenient place adjacent to the said machinery.
	6 Explosives.	6. (1) No explosives shall be used in any quarry except in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation and the provisions of special rules.
(2) No explosive shall be taken into or used in any quarry except explosive provided by the owner, who shall also provide a suitable place or magazine for storage of explosives.
(3) All explosives shall be conveyed from the place of storage or magazine to the quarry in secure cases or canisters so made and closed as to prevent any escape of the explosives and any danger from sparks.
(4) No explosive shall be taken out of any such secure case or canister unless it is to be forthwith used for blasting.
(5) Every workman or gang of workmen temporarily in possession of explosives shall keep them, when not required for immediate use, in a properly constructed locked place or chest provided exclusively for the purpose ; and such place shall not be within and such chest shall not be taken into any place where there is a fire nor into any mess-room or work-room or similar place where persons congregate. The interior of every such locked place and chest shall be kept clean and free from grit.
(6) Detonators shall be kept in secure and securely locked boxes separate from any other explosive and such boxes shall not be placed in any receptacle containing other explosives.
(7) No person shall smoke or have any naked light while carrying, handling or using explosive or while within twenty feet of any person who is so doing ; but this provision shall not prevent the use of a naked light for firing a shot.
(8) No boring shall be done in, or metal tool introduced into, any hole or socket of a hole which has been blasted with gelignite or any other explosive containing nitroglycerine or guncotton.
	7 Notice of working of quarry.	7. Where the working of a quarry is commenced the owner or agent shall give notice thereof in writing to the Minister within two months after such commencement.
	8 General duties of owner or agent.	8. (1) The owner or agent shall comply with the provisions of the Regulations and to the best of his power enforce the observance thereof. If the owner does not himself exercise close and effective supervision of all the operations at the quarry, he shall appoint, in writing an agent for the purpose.
(2) The owner or agent, shall see that a sufficient supply of proper materials and appliances is at all times provided and maintained in an efficient state for the purpose of ensuring the safety of the quarry and the persons employed and of carrying out the provisions of the Acts, the Regulations, the special rules and any regulations made by the owner or agent in pursuance thereof.
(3) (a) The owner or agent or some competent person or persons appointed by the owner or agent for the purpose, shall daily inspect—
(i) every working place and travelling road, and all adjacent places from which danger might arise, including the overburden or tops of, and all means of access to, the quarry ;
(ii) the external parts of all plant, machinery and appliances, including all chains, ropes, chain and rope attachments and ladders used by persons employed.
(b) If any danger is revealed by the inspection, steps shall be taken at once to remove it and, except for that purpose, any person exposed to the danger shall be withdrawn.
(4) A true report of every such inspection shall be made and signed forthwith by the person who has made the inspection and shall be kept at the quarry. A true report of any danger revealed in the course of the inspection, or any other danger observed by or notified to the owner or agent, together with the steps taken toremove the danger, shall be made and shall be signed and dated by the person making the entry.
(5) All such reports as are by the Regulations and special rules required to be kept at the quarry shall be in such form as the Minister determines and shall be provided by the owner or agent and the reports or a correct copy thereof shall be kept at the quarry or, in the case of a group of quarries in the same ownership, at a place to be approved by an inspector. Any inspector and anyone having the written authority of any inspector and any representative of the workmen employed at the quarry may, at all reasonable times, inspect and take copies of and extracts from any such reports ; but nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to impose the obligation of keeping any such report or a copy thereof for more than twelve months after the making of such report.
(6) For the...