Factors Contributing to the Health Problem
Question:
Discuss About The Development A Multilevel Health And Safety?
The report is based on the case study of Mr. X (name withheld), who has been working in the quarry for the last 10 years. Over the last two weeks he reported of cough, difficulty in breathing and poor appetite, to the company panel doctor. X ray report revealed occupational lung disease, which means that his problem was related to the workplace. The report will analyze and investigate the possible factors in the workplace that contributed to the health condition reported by Mr. X and measures that can be taken to prevent such incidents.
The symptoms presented by the patient seem to be consistent with that of Silicosis. The symptoms of silicosis often start after few weeks to years after exposure to dust of silica, and symptoms generally worsen due to gradual scarring of nursing lungs due to continued exposure. Silicosis can be evidenced by abnormalities in X ray, and accompanied by symptoms like cough, difficulty in breathing and symptoms of chronic bronchitis (lung.org, 2018).
Investigation of the workplace reveled the following information:
The hazardous agents found in the quarry included: suspended dust and particulate matter (like limestone, coal, kaolin and silica), Methylene chloride or dichloromethane, petroleum products (like bitumen, grease and oil), welding fumes and sensitizers like isocyanates. These substances are common hazardous agents found in quarries, and can increase occupation health risks (Hse.gov.uk., 2018).
The most abundant hazard however was suspended particles, especially that of silica crystals. This silica dust is produced by the chipping, grinding and drilling of the soil in the quarry. The silica dust was primarily dissipated from the quartz that was mined in the quarry. Quartz is a very common mineral found in all types of rocks, clays, stones, shale and gravel, and is miners exposed to quartz dust are highly prone to develop silicosis (Hse.gov.uk., 2018).
The other hazardous materials were minimal and were within the safety limits.
Mr. X was having been working in the quarry for the last 10 years, and in much of this time he was involved in the mining of gold and quartz. During this duration Mr. X used adequate protective gear to safeguard from the hazards, however over the last year he was using defective gear that did not provide protection from particulate dust, due to which he was exposed to the dust in the quarry.
Investigation on the operations of the quarry highlighted several lacks in the control measures for safety and well being of the minders. These inadequacies were underlined by a reduction in the participation in workplace health and safety activities by the miners and management. Also, regular and thorough inspection of protective gear was not done to identify faulty gear. Over the last few years, enough initiatives were not taken by the management towards risk management, risk characterization and exposure assessment. Moreover the inspections that were done mostly focused mostly on high risk substances like abrasive chemicals and heavy machinery, but not on substances that can cause long term problems (like silica dust). Insufficient measures were taken to ensure compliance of safety protocols, due to which several employees were not using complete gear to protect from particulate dust matters.
Hazards in the Workplace
Assessment for any pre existing medical conditions, found that none of the Mr. X had no disease when he started his job in the mine. Working as a truck driver and the regular night shifts however made him insomniac, but he uses self managing strategies to help him sleep. He did not complain of any serious injuries or illness before he joined this company. This highlighted that the chronic condition reported by Mr. X is due to the exposure to the hazards in the quarry.
Medical surveillance of the quarry was done immediately for mineral dust, and found very high amounts of suspended dust in the air (15-20mg/m3), with 70% of the dust containing silica, and the rest comprised of coal, limestone and kaolin). The size of the dust particles are found to vary between 5-80 microns. The smallest particles are most likely to remain suspended for a long time and thus be inhaled more often by the miners.
The mining company has been operational for the last 20 years, and has been involved in the mining of Gold as well as Pure Quartz, Amethyst crystals and rock crystals in a granite mine. The company mined expensive crystals for the production of gemstones. The company also specialized in the making of gems from blue quartz, rose quartz, smoky quartz and rutilated quartz and in the jewelry from the gold.
Over the last 5 years, the production of gold has decreased drastically, and the quarry now focuses mainly on quartz extraction. The company also suffered significant losses in the last 3 years, and had several changes in the management. The current management was new in the organization, compared to the workers, which affected the communication between the management and miners. The management scrapped of several important policies like the selection of health and safety champion from the miners, and having daily huddles on health and safety. Due to the transition in the management, several important activities like inspection and risk management was not done properly.
Currently, the company employs 50 miners for the mining operation, and 5 employees overseeing logistics. The company employs 2 managers who overlook the operations of the quarry.
Mr. X works in the mine and his job included breaking the rocks and sorting and feeding them to the crusher for the preparation of sludge. The worker monitors the mining process of gold and quarts, and also sorts the ore manually to differentiate the gold containing and quartz containing ores. Since gold is the most expensive, ore containing gold is given the higher precedence, and Mr. X ensures that any rock that might contain gold is immediately and correctly sorted.
The quarry consists of series of mine shafts that sinks into the quartz reefs underground, where gold could also be mined. During the mining process, the hard rocks in the quarry are broken down with heavy mining equipments and explosives. The ore is then sorted according to their sizes and the rocks are then crushed to extract any gold within it. Any ore that contains pure quartz is used for the extraction of quartz. The debris containing the ore is brought to the surface of the quarry using conveyer belts and then put in collecting trays, where Mr. X sorts them out manually. During the ore extraction and transportation copious amounts of dust is liberated, to which all the workers are exposed to.
Inadequacies in Control Measures
Mr. X dropped out of college where he was studying history, and started working as a driver to support his ailing parents. He was able to study mining technology while working as a truck driver, and subsequently completed certification course in mining, after which he got the job in his present company. He is married, with two children, and currently lives with his wife. His elder son is working as an engineer in a construction work, while his younger daughter is married and lives abroad. Mr. X is very active physically, and does a lot of exercise and in work he has to constantly remain mobile. He has been employed formally for the last 20 years, and started his career as a truck driver. However, during his college days, he also used to deliver newspapers for his daily allowances.
Mr. X has been working in the mining industry for the last 10 years. During this time, he moved from a mine worker to a worker supervisor, and oversees the process of mining and ore transportation. He is also responsible for the sorting of high value ores like gold, and identifying pure quartz. He is very skilled in the process of mining, due to which his work is mostly restricted inside the mines where the rocks are being cut. His expertise in the usage of heavy machinery also allows him to ensure safety of other workers in the quarry.
Before working in this mining company, Mr. X used to drive heavy trucks transporting heavy factory machinery cross country. He was employed in that work for 10 years, during which he also got promoted twice, and got several recommendations from his past employer. His work implied driving for long hours through interstate roads usually overnight.
Before working as a driver, Mr. X used to deliver news paper in his neighborhood, and used to cycle avidly through the day. He was employed contractually, and worked there for only 2 years, when he was studying in college. However, after dropping out of college, he left the work for the driving job.
Out of the 50 miners, 15 miners who were regularly working in the mine extraction site in the last 6 months have shown symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary symptoms. None of the 15 miners had any pre existing chronic health condition before joining the mines. Of them, 10 employees were experiencing chronic cough and shortness of breath with occasional nausea and loss of appetite (including Mr. X), while the others have been facing mild cough and pain in the chest for the last one month. Two of the 15 members have already been diagnosed with acute silicosis, and is currently on medical leave for treatment. All the 15 miners x ray report shows extensive scarring of the lung tissues, and have significantly affected their health.
Of the rest 45 miners, 5 miners had chronic health conditions like diabetes (2 miners) and hypertension (3 miners). However, their exposure to dust is limited as they do not work in the extraction process. The rest 40 miners were also found to be healthy to continue with their jobs.
Pre-Existing Medical Conditions and Surveillance
Occupational health and safety assessment is used to determine the potential risks to the safety and health of the workers. In this process, any health hazards are assessed and the physio-chemical properties of substances or agents are characterized to estimate safe exposure levels and characterizing its risks on health and wellbeing of the workers. The assessment is divided into exposure assessment to identify the source of occupational exposure. Exposure is estimated based on the activities in the workplace, mode of exposure, frequency and duration. Risk is calculated by the sum of likelihood of an accident occurring and its severity level. Risks that has a value between 6 and8 is considered high risk, values of 4 and 5 is considered moderate risks, while values of 1 to 3 are considered low risks. This grading allows characterization of the risks, and can marketing the management of risks easier, by allowing prioritization of risks (Nicnas.gov.au, 2018). Discussed below is the risk assessment sheet conducted for the mining quarry where Mr. X is employed, to analyze the risks and hazards in the workplace, and strategies that can be used to correct and prevent the incidence.
- The different corrective and preventative measures that were suggestible by the risk assessment report were:
- Regular inspection of the tunnels and workplace for any toxic or inflammable fumes before having the miners working there
- Regular inspection of all protective gear for any damage
- Regular inspection of the workplace to ensure compliance to safety protocols
- Electing a health and safety representative from the workforce
- Ensuring all the protective gear is used while working
- Educating the staff on safe work practices
- Implementing risk assessment strategies as a part of the business practice
- Using dampers and filters to reduce the amount of suspended dust particles in the air
- Ensuring training and retraining of employees in the proper usage of heavy equipments and safety gear
- Regular health check for all employees for occupational health conditions
- Ensuring emergency medical help is always available
- Ensuring proper emergency alarm system is active and functional
- Monitoring performance of workers and providing feedbacks
- Focus on the concerns shared by the workers and using them in future policy planning
- Prompt action by management
- Leadership shown by management
Risks of underground explosions and gas poisoning can be reduced by proper mine ventilation. This requires proper planning of the mine; supervising the ventilation process, system and equipments; installing fans underground in the mining shafts, and special ventilation systems to eliminate toxic gases. Also, detection of mine gas and sources of possible ignition is necessary to prevent the incidence of underground explosion (ilo.org, 2018).
Workplace accidents can be averted by following certain suggestions as underlined by the Mining Safety organization of South Africa, which includes: making employee safety the top priority of the management; setting up managerial goals to prevent repetition of accidents (this entails that all employees are made aware of the causes of accidents, and how to avoid them); adequate training given to all staff (ensuring the development of necessary skills and competencies to work in the mine); ensuring that safe work practice is always maintained and training any employee who is not able to follow safe work practice protocols; ensuring the availability of adequate support for the staff to facilitate safe work environment; ensuring proper hazard and risk detection/identification system is in place, reporting any hazardous or risky situations that can lead to accidents, ensuring proper and thorough investigation into each event which are in accordance to the Occupational Health and Safety Guidelines (Miningsafety.co.za, 2018).
The risks of silicosis can be reduced by limiting the exposure to respirable crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air, in accordance to the OSHA guidelines. Additionally, exposure to silicate dust can also be controlled reducing exposure to silicate dust or eliminating risk of exposure. Using engineering controls like local exhaust ventilation and water spray can be suggested to reduce concentration of suspended particulate matters. On the administrative levels, time spent exposed to particulate dust can be reduced or limited through safety policy guidelines. On the personal level, safety equipments like respirants can be used to protect the workers from dust and smoke inhalation (cdc.gov, 2018; Osha.gov, 2018). The necessity of effective surveillance programs and exposure control, as well as early screening for employees can help in the effective detection of the disease and to plan a timely intervention (Nicol et al., 2015).
References:
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