The death of a WA miner, Adam Perttula in November 2015 was linked to heat stress, according to prosecution and a significant incident report released by the Department of Mines and Petroleum.
The 28-year-old jumbo offsider collapsed while working underground on the night shift, and was taken to the surface. He initially received treatment from the mine medical staff and then from the Royal Flying Doctor Service, but passed away during the early hours of the next day. The cause of death was found to be heatstroke and exhaustion.
The DMIRS report back in 2015 stated the man was undertaking work in hot and humid conditions at the time of the collapse and recommended actions be taken to prevent and manage heat stress.
The DMIRS recommended employers not expose workers to heat “so far as is practicable”, isolate sources of heat through shielding, containment and remote handling techniques, and provide adequate ventilation.
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“…adopting safe work practices and appropriate administrative procedures such as job rotation, providing training to workers on measures to be taken to avoid any harmful effects from heat, and implementing appropriate workplace environmental controls and monitoring…,” the report said.
It also recommended mangers and supervisors ensure workers are trained to recognise heat stress, and workers should ensure they drink enough water.
The incident occurred at Northern Star Resources’ Paulsens Gold Mine on the 15th November 2015.
Northern Star Resources was fined $90,000 in the Karratha Magistrates Court in 2017 for failing to provide a safe working environment and causing the death of an underground jumbo operator’s offsider at Paulsen’s Gold Mine in the Pilbara region.
Back in 2017, Department of Mines and Petroleum Mines Safety Director and State Mining Engineer Andrew Chaplyn said the department’s investigation found the ventilation system was not functioning properly in the area where Mr Perttula was working, due to friction, rips, holes and partially tying off of the duct.
Several witnesses told investigators that they considered the mine to be a ‘hot and humid’ mine.
Magistrate Young said that there was no dispute that extreme heat was a recognised hazard.
He said the company had policies to deal with the hazard and was aware of the seriousness of the possible consequences.
It was noted the exposure arose in the ordinary course of operations and across the entire workings of the mine.
He said that that the ventilation was not reliable, consistent or adequate and that the duties on employers are binding and onerous, however, a deterrent penalty should operate as an incentive towards employers maintaining vigilance.
He noted the plea of guilty was at the earliest opportunity and the company displayed remorse, had an otherwise good safety record over a number of years and ordinarily has a responsible attitude to safety.
Mine safety regulations require that employers and managers at mines must ensure that employees do not suffer harm to their health from the adverse effects of excessive heat.
If conditions are hot and humid, employers must ensure that appropriate workplace environmental controls (including ventilation) and monitoring are implemented, and the manager of an underground mine must ensure that air flow installations in the mine are maintained in good order.
Although the mine had written procedures to deal with excessive temperatures, it failed to ensure that the procedures were followed.
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What a tragedy…..heat stress in 2015! Surely this was identified in the JSA
So sad in this day and age that this can happen. I’d like to know more about y this has occurred was ventilation inadequate, was he already dehydrated before commencing work, so important for us to understand this information to prevent this from occurring.
Condolences to the family it will sad Christmas.
Must be more to this…night shift heat stress
Unfortunately it’s up to us as a worker to make sure we drink enough water. We are all told to keep up our fluids and the dangers associated with heat stress. Poor bugger just made a poor choice
Racheal Latham a reminder that we need to make sure all are reviewing working in heat training etc.
I worked at Paulsen’s as a rise miner for 2 years until layed off on trumped up charges,but I know the real reason was because I was complaining about the heat and fume’s as they would get me to put an escapeway up right next to the exhaust rise and then put a truck and bogger loading only 10 metres away with no refuge chamber between us which is entrapment,in 2013 the manager presented his case to the board of directors during budget talk and asked them to put an air-conditioning unit underground in which he was told that it was not warranted although quite a few workers had come to the surface with heat exhaustion the previous summer,one worker who brought his own heat monitor had been told he could not use it because it was callipered differently to there’s as his gave a higher reading.you are just a number with this company and they are blood guilty.Stephen Burnham. Steveburnham1@outlook.com