Part I
The hazardous nature of cyanide is due to its poisonous property. It can lead to death by creating obstruction for the cells in obtaining sufficient oxygen. This is the reason cyanide is treated as a hazard. If not attended in time, cyanide can lead to human death within minutes of intoxication or exposure to any form of cyanide. ( Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. 2018)
When cyanide intoxication takes place there is a decrease in the capacity of oxygen intake in the tissues due to restraining of cytochrome oxidase 3-5, which is an enzyme, performing a critical function in the metabolism of cells. The cyanide binds itself with the iron in bloods and restricts the use of oxygen, eventually degrading the health condition in an individual.
The toxicity of cyanide is highly hazardous to human health and exposure to this can cause human death in a brief amount of time. The damage in health conditions are irreversible, and have eliminating effects in humans. Constant exposure to cyanide even in low dosages might cause irreversible changes and hence make cyanide a hazard.
The feasibility of using cyanide in extracting gold is the more as compared to any other chemical agent. The effectiveness of cyanide in extracting gold is more viable and cost efficient. Due to this reason, cyanide being so toxic is still used in Australian mining industry.
The three environmental hazards associated with using Cyanide in gold mining are
- Human health hazards
- Degradation of aquatic habitat
- Biodegradation of the habitat
With respect to the above hazards of, the risks associated with the Human Health and degradation of human habitats will be discussed in the section.
Human health hazards:
Containing and control of human hazards can be done with proper and adequate management of Cyanide in industrial uses. The hazards that Cyanide poses with respect to human health can be prevented by following safety measures and industrial guidelines of handling hazardous chemicals. These are
- Using minimum amount of cyanide to extract gold.
- Disposing of cyanide in a proper manner so that exposure to environment and humans is minimised.
- Regular monitoring of operations and discharges of cyanide from the mines needs to be done to check excess elimination of cyanide in the environment.
- Once exposed to cyanide, humans affected by the chemical should be given immediate medical help and first aid. In case of critical conditions, affected persons should be relocated for medical help.
Degradation of Aquatic habitat
For the hazards to aquatic habitat, similar planning and management techniques should be applied in order address damage of aquatic habitat. These can be summed up as follows:
- A strict water management plan should be followed in order to check the contamination of cyanide with the surrounding water bodies.
- Installing proper disposal system of contaminated water and installing secondary water storage and treatment facilities to treat the contaminated water.
- Recycling the water and making it capable of environment friendly by enabling cleanup process of cyanide contamination. Processes like reverse osmosis and microbial treatment should be initiated depending on the environmental situations
- Implementation of water management and tailing management should be initiated to reduce Cyanide hazards to environment (Archive.industry.gov.au. 2018).
The report of Hazardous chemical management has been one of the themes being studied under the purview of Leading Practice Sustainable Development Program in the mining the industries. The main aim of selecting the handbook is due to the topic that it addresses and is one of the most vital issues of industrial operations and environmental degradation. This reports aims to identify the occupational hazards, the environmental issues that are associated with hazardous chemicals and their way of management, and the necessity to manage them accordingly. The report has been framed and composed by Dr Sharann Johnson, Chair of the working group and the principal author and is also the Director of Callander and Johnson Consultancy Services. Contribution has also been done by Jessica Bloomfield, the secretariat of the Sustainable Mining, Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. The effort and contribution of Mr Geoff Byrne the principal of the Niboi Consulting, Mr. Fritz Djukic, the Inspector of Mines, and Occupational Hygiene Queensland Department of Natural Resources cannot be undermined. The efforts of Dr Peter Drygala, the principal adviser of Explosives and Dangerous Goods, WA Department of Mines and Petroleum is also noteworthy. Apart from them, notable mentions must be made of Ms Katie Hulmes the Group Manager of Technical Services OZ Minerals Limited and Mr Mike Rowe, the Former Principal Health Adviser of the WA Department of Mines and Petroleum (Archive.industry.gov.au. 2018).
Response to Question 1
Environmental hazard is a state or an event or a substance, which can threaten or affect the natural environment and adversely affect health of humans. This includes pollution, natural disasters and manmade hazards.The report as stated by the hazardous materials management report identifies various environmental hazards that can be caused by the hazardous materials during operations and managing them. These environmental hazards can be mentioned as follows:
- Degradation of habitat- The hazards that can be caused by the chemicals and substances by adversely affecting their natural condition making it unfit for survival of the organisms. Adverse affects might include change in air conditions, degradation and pollution of the soil and ground resources.
- Affecting human health- The effect of poisonous chemicals in human health, is mostly detrimental and might even cause loss of life if exposed to dangerous levels.
- Degradation of aquatic habitat – Degradation of the water resources is by far, the most common event of environmental hazards caused by the poisonous chemicals. The aquatic realm is affected adversely by the degraded water quality thereby harming the aquatic flora and fauna.
The contain, control and clean up of the hazards caused due to management of these chemicals in various situation can be done by adhering to the proper measures and policies that have been adopted by the governing bodies. With respect to the affect on human lives the following steps should be followed.
Containing of hazard: The government, has laid down several laws and legislations to contain the hazards occurring due to chemicals of hazardous nature.
- Proper guidelines in transporting of hazardous chemicals have been laid down
- Hazardous materials must be adequately contained in suitable environments and facilities.
- Adequate management techniques should be followed to handle hazardous chemicals.
- Major hazard facilities or MHF are to be structured to contain hazardous chemicals in the site of the operations.
Controlling of the Hazard: The control of the hazard has been identified by a six step model by
- By identifying and eliminating the risk of hazard.
- By altering the mode of operation by using alternative methods and process and reducing risk
- By isolating the hazard
- By introducing technological advancements for reducing the risk
- By adequate training and proper implementation of the safety measures.
- By administering the safe and proper handling of hazardous elements while in use.
Clean up of hazards: The clean up or the management of the environment post a hazard is the most important consideration of all.
The following measures should be taken during cleaning up a hazard event.
- If exposure to toxic chemicals has taken place, immediate first aid should be given.
- The location should be evacuated and adequate emergency plans should be initiated, immediately.
- The processes of cleaning up spills should be done following safety measures.
The loss of life due to a chemical hazard can have severe affects in the political and cultural scenario of a country. The hazards which occur due to chemical poisoning or spilling at a work place can affect the business operations and the social support of the people towards their government. If the event of chemical hazard takes place in a working environment, there are a lot of cultural and political challenges that are faced by the government. The credibility of the government in managing workplace safety can be put to question. The laws regarding workplace safety and their reliability are under scrutiny of the common mass. The major political challenge would be addressing the labour unions and the environmental agencies in creating a sustainable environment of work. The pressure on the operating organisation and the government to take adequate steps in addressing and preserving further loss of life due to such hazards might affect the economy of a nation as well.
The loss of several lives in a chemical plant, recently has led to a conflict between the authorities of the organisations and the labour unions. It is being said that the loss of life of several workers, is due to chemical leakage from the improper disposition of the chemical waste in the plant. The authorities how ever have argued that, there had been no discrepancy on their part and that internal investigation will be done to estimate the actual cause of the event. The labour unions have brought complaints regarding improper work environment in the chemical plant and a vulnerable situation was existent which led to the leakage of the chemical from the disposal site. The workers have also complained about in adequate facilities and that proper equipments and safety gears were not sufficient in the workplace. The leakages have been due to lack of maintenance in the facility.
The authority however has denied all claims about negligence and insufficient equipments. The company has stated that adequate rules and information were circulated and there had been negligence on the part of the workers. They have stated that disciplinary actions will be taken if investigations revel breach of conduct. However they have promised to provide medical compensations as per company norms to the affected
References
Vaszita, E., 2014. Environmental risk of mining. Engineering Tools for Environmental Risk Management: 1. Environmental Deterioration and Contamination-Problems and their Management, 1, p.113.
Donato, D. and Overdevest, N.D., 2016. Approaches to Cyanide Code Compliance for Tailings Storage Facilities. In Gold Ore Processing (Second Edition) (pp. 207-217).
Botz, M.M., Mudder, T.I. and Akcil, A.U., 2016. Cyanide Treatment: Physical, Chemical, and Biological Processes. In Gold Ore Processing (Second Edition) (pp. 619-645).
Botz, M.M., Mudder, T.I. and Akcil, A.U., 2016. Cyanide Treatment: Physical, Chemical, and Biological Processes. In Gold Ore Processing (Second Edition) (pp. 619-645)..
Department of Industry, Innovation and Science. (2018). Leading Practice Handbooks for sustainable mining. [online] Available at: https://www.industry.gov.au/data-and-publications/leading-practice-handbooks-for-sustainable-mining [Accessed 7 Sep. 2018].
Archive.industry.gov.au. (2018). [online] Available at: https://archive.industry.gov.au/resource/Documents/LPSDP/LPSDP-CyanideHandbook.pdf [Accessed 7 Sep. 2018].
Archive.industry.gov.au. (2018). [online] Available at: https://archive.industry.gov.au/resource/Documents/LPSDP/HazardousMaterialsManagmentHandbook_web.pdf [Accessed 7 Sep. 2018].
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