Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Mines) Regulations 2018

• Jurisdiction: Ireland
• Citation: IR SI 133/2018

ARRANGEMENT OF REGULATIONS

PART 1

PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

1. Citation and commencement

2. Interpretation

3. Mine

4. Application

5. Amendment of Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Extractive Industries) Regulations 1997

PART 2

SAFETY AND HEALTH MANAGEMENT

6. Appointment of operator

7. Appointments before commencement of mining operations

8. Notifications to Authority

9. General duties of operator

10. Management structure

11. General duties of mine manager

12. Safety statement

13. Co-ordinated measures

14. Mines training scheme, safety induction instruction and competence

15. Appointment of shiftboss

16. Duties of shiftboss

17. Instructions, rules and operating procedures

18. Permits to work

19. Duties of persons at work at a mine

20. Mine safety representative

21. Consultation

22. Record keeping

PART 3

INSPECTION AND SUPERVISION

23. Inspection, maintenance and testing schemes

24. Supervision of work

25. Carrying out and recording of inspections required by Regulation 16

26. Other inspections

PART 4

ROADWAYS AND VEHICLES

27. Construction and equipment of vehicles

28. Inspection and maintenance of vehicles

29. Appointment of drivers

30. Carrying of passengers

31. Roadway surfaces

32. Roadway clearances

33. Gradients

34. Safety of pedestrians in roadways

35. Vehicle and traffic rules

36. Safeguarding edges of excavations and lagoons

37. Danger areas

38. Pedestrian and Vehicle Traffic routes

39. Outdoor workstations

40. Protection from falling objects and provision of safety helmets

41. Prevention of drowning

PART 5

VENTILATION

42. Duty to provide adequate ventilation

43. Main ventilation fans

44. Additional underground fans

45. Auxiliary ventilation

46. Prevention of leakage

47. Ventilation rules

PART 6

STABILITY AND GROUND SUPPORT

48. General duty to ensure safety of excavations, tips and lagoons

49. Operating procedures for excavations, tips and lagoons

50. Appraisal and site investigation of excavations, tips and lagoons

51. Geotechnical assessments

52. Stability of roadways and places of work

53. Duty to inspect place of work

54. Scaling of roof and sides

55. Working at or near unsupported stopes

56. Use of backfill as a means of support

57. Ground support rules

PART 7

EXPLOSIVES

58. Application of Part 7

59. Shotfirers and storekeepers

60. Scheme of transit

61. Storage, transport, use and disposal of explosives or ANBI

62. Shotfiring rules

63. Blast specification.

64. Shotfiring operations

65. Duties of mine manager and shotfirer

66. Misfires

67. Prohibited activities

68. Records of explosives and ANBI

PART 8

ELECTRICITY

69. General

70. Protection of cables and use of portable equipment

71. Introduction of electrical equipment

72. Restriction of certain categories of electrical equipment in certain zones below ground

73. Cutting off electricity or making safe where flammable gasses are found

74. Means of cutting off electricity to circuits below ground

75. Schematic diagrams

76. Electric shock notices

77. Storage, charging and transfer of electrical storage batteries

78. Leakage protection

79. Reportable incidents

PART 9

ACCESS, EGRESS AND EMERGENCY PLANNING

80. Outlets and workings

81. Ladderways between working levels

82. Entrances to shafts, stopes and other openings

83. Escape and rescue facilities

84. Safety drills

85. Fire and explosion hazards

86. Explosive or harmful atmospheres

87. Lighting

88. Prevention of unauthorised entry

89. Means of evacuation

90. Underground workforce accounting

91. Precautions for withdrawal of employees

92. Precautions against external dangers to workings

93. Precautions against the outbreak of fire

94. Warning of emergencies

95. Refuge stations

96. Rescue teams

97. Composition of rescue teams

98. Training of rescue workers

99. Equipment to be provided for rescue work

100. Fresh air base

101. Rescue plans

102. Incident controller

103. Emergency rules and procedures

PART 10

PREPARATION OF MINE PLANS

104. Appointment and qualifications of mine surveyor

105. Duties of the mine surveyor

106. Scale, datum and other details required on plans

107. Additional plans

108. Keeping of plans

109. Defective Plans

PART 11

PROVISIONS RELATING TO HOISTING SYSTEMS

110. Appointment of hoistman

111. Hoisting rules

112. Hoist controls, instrumentation and position indicators

113. Braking systems

PART 12

PROVISION FOR PARTICULAR RISKS AT MINES

114. Protection from explosion risks

115. Gassy mines

116. Mines containing flammable dust

117. Protection from incendive sparking at gassy mines or mines containing flammable dust

118. Fires, spontaneous combustion and heatings

119. Gas outbursts, rock bursts and water inrushes

120. Protection from harmful environments

PART 13

SAFETY PROVISIONS FOR ANCILLARY SURFACE INSTALLATIONS

121. Definition of “place of work” (Part 13)

122. Stability and solidity

123. Floors, walls and ceilings of rooms

124. Room dimensions, air space in rooms and freedom of movement at workstations

125. Roofs, windows and skylights

126. Doors and gates

127. Ventilation in rooms

128. Temperature in rooms

PART 14

HEALTH

129. Health surveillance

130. Medical Examinations

131. Health hazards

132. Atmospheric influences

133. Stationary internal combustion engines and exhaust gases

PART 15

WELFARE

134. Shelters and accommodation for clothing and taking meals

135. Changing rooms and lockers

136. Washing facilities

137. Sanitary conveniences

138. Safe access to places where facilities are provided

139. Pregnant women and nursing mothers

140. Persons with disabilities

141. Rest rooms

SCHEDULE 1

NOTIFICATIONS TO AUTHORITY

SCHEDULE 2

INSPECTION REPORT FORMS

SCHEDULE 3

GEOTECHNICAL ASSESSMENTS

S.I. No. 133 of 2018

SAFETY, HEALTH AND WELFARE AT WORK (MINES) REGULATIONS 2018

Notice of the making of this Statutory Instrument was published in

“Iris Oifigiúil” of 1st May, 2018.

I, Pat Breen, Minister of State at the Department of Business, Enterprise and Innovation, in exercise of the powers conferred on me by section 58 of the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (No. 10 of 2005), (as adapted by the Jobs, Enterprise and Innovation (Alteration of Name of Department and Title of Minister) Order 2017 ( S.I. No. 364 of 2017 )) and the Business, Enterprise and Innovation (Delegation of Ministerial Functions) Order 2017 ( S.I. No. 569 of 2017 ), and for the purpose of giving further effect to Council Directive 92/104/EEC of 3 December 19921 , after consultation with the Health and Safety Authority, hereby make the following regulations:

PART 1

PRELIMINARY AND GENERAL

Citation and commencement

1. (1) These Regulations may be cited as the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work (Mines) Regulations 2018.

(2) These Regulations shall come into operation on 30 April 2018.

Interpretation

2. (1) In these Regulations—

“Act of 2005” means the Safety, Health and Welfare at Work Act 2005 (No.10 of 2005);

“Act of 1875” means the Explosives Act 1875 (38 & 39 Vict.) c. 17;

“ANBI” means a substance assigned for the time being as ammonium nitrate blasting intermediate in accordance with U N Recommendation 3375 (being one of the UN Recommendations);

“ancillary surface installation” means any surface installation housing a workstation which is essential to the operation of an underground mine and includes facilities for crushing, screening and sizing processes, surface stores and magazines, surface ventilation fan installations and airlocks, tailings management facilities, stockpiles and tips, but excludes facilities for milling of ore, chemical or thermal processing of ore, surface workshops or offices;

“ANFO” means an explosive material consisting of ammonium nitrate and fuel oil;

“appoint” means appoint a person in writing to perform the duties to which the appointment relates;

“Authority” means the Health and Safety Authority;

“auxiliary fan” means a fan used or intended to be used below ground in a mine wholly or mainly for ventilating a heading, drift or blind end;

“blasting explosive” means a mixture intended for blasting consisting substantially of inorganic nitrates and carbonaceous combustibles in which none of the ingredients is an explosive and which, when unconfined is not cap sensitive;

“blind end” means a short roadway in a mine extending no further than 15 metres;

“breathing apparatus” means apparatus of such a character that it supplies all the requirements of respiration by itself and is independent of the surrounding atmosphere;

“cap sensitive” means an explosive which gives a positive result when tested in accordance with the edition for the time being of the test known as the Series 5(a) test of the Manual of Test and Criteria, supporting the UN Recommendations;

“charge” means explosive which may be initiated by a single detonator or a blasting explosive which may be initiated by a combined primer and detonator;

“conductor” means a conductor of electrical energy;

“detonator” means an initiator for explosives that contains a high explosive initiated by means of a flame, spark, electric current or shock tube;

“detonator reserve station” means a suitable place below ground used exclusively for the storage of detonators which shall be a safe distance away from any other store, magazine or reserve station;

“detonator store” means a store used exclusively for the storage, in bulk, of detonators which shall be apart from any other store, magazine or reserve station;

“disused workings” means a place at a mine where extraction of mineral has ceased or been abandoned and in respect of which the mine owner has no immediate plans to recommence the extraction of mineral;

“drift” has the same...