The Mines Statutory Positions Register is used to validate an individual’s statutory position examination or certificate under the Work Health and Safety (Mines) Regulations 2022. Statutory positions are appointed by mine operator to carry out specific functions in relation to the operations of a mine.
Petroleum safety alerts issued prior to 31 March 2022. These alerts suggest practical measures to assist in reducing the risk of incidents reoccurring.
Acoustic incidents happen when workers are exposed to a sudden loud noise through a headset. This can startle workers and possibly cause pain in the ear. Although it is rare, some workers can experience ongoing symptoms.
You can minimise the risks from an acoustic incident by:
Loud music can damage your hearing. Every time you leave a music venue with ringing in your ears, it’s a sign that some hearing damage has occurred.
One of the unique features of the music industry is that sound levels loud enough to cause noise-induced hearing loss are often thought to be needed for the music to appeal to patrons.
Permanent hearing loss from excessive noise exposure, and in some cases tinnitus (ringing in the ears), is often suffered by people who have worked in or with the music industry over a number of years.
Noise from agricultural tools and machinery can cause permanent hearing loss and tinnitus. Repeated exposure to noise will lead to permanent damage. The damage can occur gradually over a number of years and remain unnoticed until it is too late. Noise does not have to be painful to be doing damage.
Typical noises in agriculture that can damage hearing include:
Note: This bulletin is issued to raise awareness of potential suicide risk factors for personnel engaged in the resources sector. It is not intended as an instructional document on suicide prevention.
Note: The Department of Energy, Mines, Indutsry Regulation and Safety’s investigation was ongoing. The information contained in this significant incident report is based on materials received, knowledge and understanding at the time of writing.
In November 2017, an electrical installation was de-energised in preparation for the disconnection of temporary power cables and reconnection of permanent power cables at a facility’s electrical distribution boards.
During the works, an electrician received an electric shock when he inadvertently created a ‘floating neutral’ situation.
Work was suspended and the electrician was taken to hospital for a precautionary electro-cardiograph (ECG) before being cleared to return to work.
On 6 December 2016, an operator at a liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) processing facility heard a loud noise coming from an area of the plant during start-up, following major maintenance works. The operator identified that high pressure, flammable natural gas was being released to the atmosphere from a localised point beneath the insulation of process equipment.
The Department of Fire and Emergency Services (DFES) responded to the incident. No evacuation of personnel was required, although local traffic on adjacent roads was redirected as a precautionary measure.
At a chemical manufacturing plant that produces hydrogen gas and other substances, a potential restriction in the feed line to a hydrogen-fired boiler was identified.
Specialist contractors were engaged to check for flow restrictions in the boiler feed line. The boiler was shut down and the feed line purged with nitrogen. After checking for residual hydrogen, the line was isolated prior to examination.
After completing the line examination, de-isolation commenced and hydrogen was introduced into the line.
