Document vBzeLpNVm0Yngzd7Na99dDM1Z
FILE NAME Colonial Sugar Refinery CSR
DATE 1962 Apr 11
DOC CSR096
DOCUMENT DESCRIPTION Govt Inspection Results - Ventilation Australian Blue Asbestos Ltd - Wittenoom - High Dust Counts &
Failure to Address the Issue
ewe
PLAINTIFF'S
EXHIBIT
.
The State Hining Engineer vO
Nines Department a
PERTI -
64
KAIGCOFLIE
.11th .11th April 9162
.
.
;
Wittenoom Wittenoom
.- Simmons
.
Herewith Herewith
in duplicate
a
|
reportby Inspector
. > paragraphMunrd.eSritmhmeonheehaadsinsguGmmeendeurpalconocnicsonceislelyy inhis opening ventilation~VcionsduitailonIsInnsppeceticontsi:o-ns aloneare uselessas regards
4
Administration There no Kine >
is doubt that the
is
making some attempt to improve conditions and that the
. underground department
department has taken the lead in this direction
. with the result that the past twelve months general
underground mining conditions have improved beyond my
expectations
the crux of the matter le ventilation
UHndoewregvreorund Ventilation The eurouits are being
approached in a realistic manner and wan the work of isolating the ventilation circuits in both the upper and
lower is completed far better conditions till prevail
It appears to mo that although the Management is making some attempt to control dust generated in the
Section they are not approaching the situation ir the correct
manner The inability of the present dust collecting systen
is well knownto all and Mr. Simmons says that dust is being generated at all points yet we also note that Hr Simmons
through reanrks on increated
dust will be generated
It must follow that more
Simmons cannont agree I
with Inspector
remarks in
paragraph 2 page 2 of his report I fail to see total
and concerted effort on the part of the Management and the
SupervisorSs upervisors in the matter of improving conditions A Studyof the Tabulation of Dust Counts shows the
following 1-
Count .
Remarks .
370
100 from ducting
1000+
.
Boring from ducting
370
Ducting extended to face
220 .
300
_(t.
.Ducting Boring - 60 from ducting
Preparing to bore - de dpocket ventilation
520
_ . Boring dead pocket ventilation
350
1000+
0 .
Ducting extended towards face. Doad pocket ventilation dirt dry & dusty
|
70 410
410
+ .
Sr we.
damaged Vent split dust delivery poor was
and 40 from faci
Dirt vent was extended and dirt voter
Duct150 negligible From Duct ela Tt **
828
828
-
;
1000+
;
down before work 70 from faceface
was commenced
;
Delivery to face
-
face
end
. t
obs
ao
wee
rs
.
These bad conditions were found by an intrector
when everyone in the mine would know ho was present It
must follow that such bad conditions cotion practice
and must be known to the Management and Supervisors
emplyees I must agree that the emplyees are not operating
but at the some time I must also
that it is the
Karagamnets responsibility through Supervisors to mein-
Clean Houockeeping and to settle domestic probles.6
. Conese
---
an
If
Inspector
descrepancies the
they would
before
more mus
tobuleted are found by
roustat absent
:
.. It may be that the number of Superviscera is insuffi-
6, the wu...)
6.
1.
cient and that
Supervisors carnet maintain corrrect or
adequate contact with their sen this matter will be checked
; However if a Supervisor finds continued unsefe practise he
ae
. should check on the matter
-
--.
tne
i
. eee
in the of
An i have
of Mines are not to carry
Supervisors It is the
past often stated Inspectors
out the Cuties of Bederground
Managor's responsibility
Bederground enforce
the Requirements of the linea Regulation Act and Pogulations on his mine and if his policy a ^fingufficiertthen we vill
have to Act to ensure that he meets his obligations
correctly .-
I intend to maintain eloce usted on the position
time will time
myself make a
-
visit
to Witterson in
DS
Catonelle
.
Cr
e
sa?
The Benior Inspector of Mines ,
Mines Department . |
KALGOORLIEL
Ventilation Colonial Australian Eln^'Asbestos Ltd.
:
ae Colonial Mine- Wittenoom __.
on act inspection Accompanied by
I carried
Assistant Inspector Murphy day shift on an inspection during
A check inspection during
afternoon shift order one
was done in
gain an overall
:
if picture also tren an d y partial airflow survey of
_
the Colonial Mine done As the work of isolating the
upper and lower seem circuits is not complete no value could
be gained from a complete` survey An inspection of the
treatment plant was also carried Ce :
.
Visually conditions throughout the mine generally
appear to be at last approaching the satisfactory level
The recorded
however
dust counto concentrations
This is
particularly shift when the only bad areas were
still show above normal
evident on afternoon
41 X. and 42 N. lower
seam but from the recorded dust counts all areas visited -showed high dust concentrations
The following figures are of interests
Average dust count on
n
e
oe
e
on
;
day
June shift for ,
RnR
November ,
.
1960 = 230
19610 80 2
p.P.C. p.p.c.
hour
vo 7
ba *
>
Pal -
oo
Coweta
Ln
^'
8
8
8
-
-
afterno n
afternoon
--*August
'
2
March
=" November
St
a
Lt
| August
1961 420 p.P.C.
- 19632 70 p.p.c.
1960 - 110. P.P.C.
2 hour break
1961 630 p.p.o.
.
The
check points
conditions
following figures are those obtained from our
i.e. An average section of the working
coo
;
Average dust count on afternoon shift for October 1961 - 750
.
bal
bd
.
P.P.Cal
"
bed
December 1961 - 275
bal bal
.
J
bal bad
*
day
fi
*
Narch
.
1962 -
... 660
P.P.C.
fi
*
December 1961 - 305
foe
wy ; .
P.P.C.
-
ot
that the
period
From the average dust count
lowest results were obtained
figures it during the
can be seen
21 hour break
...
an
&
cael
understandable 61
This is
,
for afternoon shift but seems strange hoi
_ the day shift should be affected unless it was coincidencet
Also noticeable is the low counts obtained during Assistant
Inspector Loxton's stay in December 1961
:
- It was pleasing to note the efforts on the Nanagements
part to improve conditions
unfortunately the
they are not receiving
and employee's assistance it appears that we Inspectora
must take a strong line of action against the minera concerned
Now that the supervisors are more than interested in conditions
and are doing their utmost if we do not strongly support them
in their duties them we may lose their interest so can00
to conditioagnaisn deteriorate |
.
"
watered man has been delegated to keep the bench and Main
Adit watered down and no doubt this bas decreased the dust
areas liberated from these
The Kain ^ ditappeared quite clear
bar This , on all occasions
one
one exception was caused by dry
: dirt airflow into the No. 2
Ross Chain Feeder
flushing .
its good airflow airflow level ";,
airflow not the Adit Adit
action
-
flushing flushing flushing .
airflow of 30,000 eumine airflow not passing
N^'.+,
Adit
vas |
not Adit This . found be passing
not
=
Adit volume
*
_, variable is
Ventilatiomnosotflfyiacreorusnd according to the
officers wihytones eat
the 15,000 cumins region
Feet te
7
tot
_
of Underground Wampger it was Wherever possible stoping faces are being worked up
the dip instead down dip an before After consultation
with the
and staff regarding a complete
abandonment of down the dip stoping after conditions
during the inspecti deo cidn ed that it was impracticable
at present owing to development being behind to abandon down
the dip stoping At present all stoping faces are adequately
ventilated mostly through airway by a
but where no airway exist
Electric Fan then a Xeco E.F. 4 A.
with 15 ducting is provided
The Underground Manager work all future stoping
faces up the dip whenever possible
been made and A door has
is ready to instal at the
Main Adit entrance A trap door is incorporated so that ot
the change of shifts when the door is closed and looked men
can still pass through . During the shift the door will de
left open and so allow the Main Adit to downoast At the
change of shifts the door will be closed and locked thus
pass air causing more
to be drawn into the bottom of the mine and
so allow a larger volume to
into the stopes from the lower
Air Measurement~
s .
ase
eee tS
Ventilation of this mine is now carried on by two
Richardson 60 A.F. Class A axial Flow Fans One is still
upper seam exhausting at the cliff face on the
drawing air from both seams at present
but is actually
The other fan is
operating from No. 5 leval and is positioned Just south of the
forms 54 S. surface rise which .
the only intake airway for this
fan
Work is still being done in an endeavour to completely
isolate the two seams and so create two independant airways Once completed the fan at the cliff opening will exhaust air from the lower seam whilst the fan on No. 5 level will force air
through the upper s^'
From air measurements directions and observations
made during this inspection the idea of isolating the two seams
and so provide independant airways is no longer a dream but is
almost a proved and working system
The fan on No. 5 level
is at present only passing 57,000 cumins
Once all brattices
etc. have been completed it will be speeded up to its full
oppacity sme _
,
js
am
reenter
nee
me
:
wet
eee
:
Le
Tae ae me ee
...
he
an
eo
ka
27 at
.
ie
.
.
of
The -
total volume of air passing through the mine was
measured 112,000
cumine of which 66,500 cumine ventilates the
lower 45,500 . | seam and 45,500 aumins ventilatos the upper seam It
will . is hoped once both fans are working at full capacity to have
an excess of 180,000 cumine passing through the mine of which
| both seams
receive an equal amount
,,8 .
>
measured
during The recorded volumes measured at the Yain points
this visit were as follows
-
| ip Kain Adit clier
Intake |. =.
30,000 cumins
"et 2 - opening - ;
ry
No. level Clier
=
*
..
*
2,000
_ opening
opening + 4%
:
Cn +)
.
^'
No.3 laval alifr
ial
2,000 *
.
opening
a
o
.
Moj Zeval olser se opening
7
8
'
-
5 3 11,000
. Ho 5.leval Burface | * |.
57,000 *
.
.
.
7 *
se
-
wy
: .
an
ar)
Main Surface Fan
Neco E.P. 6 Fan - 0
Exhaust . 8.
98,500
98,500 cumins
13,500
a
H o:
. .
TOTAL
= s_.._: 112,000 camina
=
"
The Neco I.F. Electric Fan exhausting at 11 8. is . only a temporary installation It was fond necessary to
place it there because of leakages in the manway brattices
between upper and lower seams Before its installation the
air was downeasting to the levels via manwaye etc. but once * this fan began operating its influence overcame most troubles
- Once all brattices ete are satisfactory this fan will not be
required
The reason behind the poor brattices etc. was that
over the holidays supervision was abort also Mr. Kulbolland
was on holidays and before he returned the separate circuits .
= were brought into being with the aforementioned troubles Upon returning to work Mr. Mulholland immediately appraised
the situation and set about reatifying sama At the time
of our visit only a small amount of work remained to complete
the programme . -
Lone,
.
. ;
. The following is the proposed airways for each seam
drawn drawn
Beam down
= Under the influence of No. 5 level fan air will be
54 8. Surface Rise and will then be distributed along
Nos 6 and 7 levels from where it passes up manways etc. to
- the upper seam workings
Lower Beam air
- Under the influence of the Burface Exhaust Fan
drawn into the mine via the following points
Mein Adit
Nos 3 and 4 level Cliff openinga
It then
passes up manways etc. to the lower seam workings
By
:
the installation of brattions in the manways and ore passes
'
above the lower seam this air is prevented from entering
the upper seam workings
. Treatment Plant <0,|.
in 1.
Conditions the mill appear consistent with previous
inspections ' The crushing section appeared more dust free
_ this time than previous times
Coe
an
.....
on
an
Average dust counts recorded are as follows
, 59
Overhaul Crushing Section Sectio
June : 1960
September1960
November 1960
August 1961
December 1961
Karch
1962
300 P 280
*
/ 430
460 p.p.8.0 440
390 Or
460
510 p.P.Q.Q. 435
300 P.P.C.0 250
P.P.OzCo
320
PoPo// 410
Q~- 480
P.Pe/.C
320
p.p.a.d.
620
p.p.4.0 p.p.4.0
380
P p.P.Q.Q p.P.Q.Q p.p p.P Q fi.6 p.p.0.0
the _.. Although dust count is lover this time it could
possibly be discarded altogether Unfortunately we inspected the mill on Friday morning 23rd March The mill was stopped
when we arrived and apparently had been so since 5 a.m.
The
mill was started at approximately 10.00 a.m. and we started the .
inspection at approximately 10.30 a.m. It is therefore
probable that the true picture of the mill particularly the |
as crushing section was distorted so
to favour better conditions
The crushing section appeared better this time than it has ever
done but the men working in it claim it is dustier than ever -
~
The` Management are definitely trying to control the
.
dust and are spending much money on it but owing to increased
~~
through and the ability of the present dost collection
system to handle it success seeme highly imporbable
.
An experimental bag type filter is to be tried in the
near future and it is to be hoped this proves # BUSCOBB
Until
the dust is collected at its source however no filter arrange-
ment outside can do much for incide the mill It is quite
obvious most dust is created at all points within the mill
at various times is joined by dust from outside sources
and
Men through the mill generally seem to be wearing
macke especially through the crushing section
:
On our next visit to this mine an inspection of mill will be done during the initial part of our stay and
another one or two checks before leaving the district
the possib
Generalt
;
As stated earlier conditions through the mine appe
much better than before On afternoon shift conditions appeare
good except for area . Previously thick snoks accompanied
by the characteristic smell of fumes was present through the mine on afternoon shift The men do not have these bad
conditions to work in now but the dust hazard is still there as
can be seen from the recorded dust counts
It is therefore use
less and misleading for anyone to gange the conditions from visu
observations only
The results of this inspection have proved
dust counts this beyond all doubt and not until the recorded
ar
lowered to a satisfactory level can we be satisfied with conditi
on this mine
:
Some asbestos was seen in the underground samples
whereas much fibre was seen in the mill samples especially thes
taken in the crushing arcas
If the mill walls beame atc
were to be regularly cleaned down perhaps some of the dust could
be stopped inside the mill
;
The experimental stoping block is ready for the
longwall method of stoping to be tried
No definite date has
been nominated for the stoping to commence but now the
Underground Manager is back from holidays operations may soon be
under way
.
...
ne es tee erate
ae
= 8. os
Theventilation *
officer -Hulholland ur i
-in soutinuing '
his .
excellent work and the problems should become lesser in
magnitude under his influence It is pleasing report the . .
ming responsible being given excellent operation
us by all
3
.
personnel co i,
. -,
os
7
~ eter een ammttall tassel AD ae mene,
Gs
q