Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Fibrous minerals and dust – managing the risks Part 2 Dust management in drilling operations

Please read this before using presentation This presentation is based on content presented at the Exploration Safety Roadshow held in December 2010 It is made available for non-commercial use (e.g. toolbox meetings) subject to the condition that the PowerPoint file is not altered without permission from Resources Safety Supporting resources, such as brochures and posters, are available from Resources Safety For resources, information or clarification, please contact: RSDComms@dmp.wa.gov.au or visit www.dmp.wa.gov.au/ResourcesSafety

Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Is this a problem? What are the main hazards posed by dust? Exposure Visibility Today we’ll focus on the exposure hazards

Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Definitions Dust Generic term Range of potentially hazardous particulates Nuisance dust Dust with no inherent toxic profile Excess can overload lungs Dust : is a generic term for fine particles of material. It can include a range of potentially hazardous particulates Nuisance Dust : Nuisance Dust is dust with no inherent toxic profile However, excess nuisance dust can overload clearance mechanisms of the lung and/or the gaseous exchange areas of the lung (in other words; can result in serious breathing difficulties)

Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Other particulates Harmful health effects Silica – lung damage Metal dusts nickel – cancer manganese – manganism lead – damage to central nervous system, kidneys, blood cells Other particulate with harmful health effects include: Silica - can physically damage the lung (scarring; fibrosis) and can result in lung cancer. Metal dusts - can be absorbed and transported to other regions of the body where they may result in systemic health effects; i.e. nickel – cancer; manganese – manganism; lead – damage to central nervous system; kidneys; blood cells

Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Latent health effects Delayed Onset of health effects following exposure Insidious Progressive and often irreversible changes to health Most important concept to understand is that there is a delay between exposure and onset of health effects which can extend to decades. Insidious, progressive often irreversible changes to health

Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Dust management Regulatory focus on fibre and dust management in mining Statutory obligation to manage dust emissions in drilling operations Obligation to monitor exposures to atmospheric contaminants Ensure exposures do not exceed occupational exposure standards (OES) Important to note that Resources Safety is focussing on fibre and dust management throughout mining in general There is statutory obligation to manage dust emissions in drilling operations Similarly, there is an obligation to monitor exposures to atmospheric contaminants and to ensure that such exposures do not exceed occupational exposure standards (OES)

Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Dust emission points Main emission points: Collar and Tee pieces Splitter Cyclone

Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Controlling dust Use water Fog Foam Binders Surfactants Using the hierarchy of controls, the preference is for engineering controls before PPE Eliminate – it’s the grinding that generates the dust, may be hard to eliminate! Substitute – instead of RC use diamond Engineering – add water to process, use wet drilling Administrative controls – usual things like procedures, training. Most important to raise awareness of hazards Limits on PPE Fit testing (clean shaven policy for best fit) Heat strain Protection factor of 10. PPE typically works up to 10 x OES

Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Potential controls Trialling of dust suppression agents (e.g. foam, fog) Automated sampling Sample conveyors Remote operating controls Operating cabins Our focus is on education, information, consultation and moving on to a compliance phase Future planning and design could include some of the controls listed here. We are keen to see companies designing and implemented better controls.

Copyright Resources Safety,Department of Mines and Petroleum Any questions? For further information please contact: Chris White  chris.white@dmp.wa.gov.au  0417 956 999