INNOVATION-July-August-2020

F E A T U R E

rescue teams. A plan’s emergency response procedures address three levels of responses in emergency situations: containment, notification, and mobilization. Containment focuses on discovering and reporting the problem, monitoring it, and taking early and immediate action. Notification addresses the need to inform additional resources of the emergency, and to notify workers and relocate them to a safe location, if required. The mobilization level involves the direction of emergency operations by senior management. Mine rescue training emphasizes four principles. Rescuers must first—and most importantly—ensure their own safety and that of their team. Injured rescuers cannot effectively rescue others and create additional demands on the rescue system. Second, rescuers must work to rescue or otherwise ensure the safety of trapped or injured workers. Third, rescuers must protect property from damage. Rescuers’ fourth priority is the rehabilitation of the work area. To support these principles, mine rescue teams train in the

Between 2008 and 2016, Canadian mines saw a decreasing trend in workplace injuries and fatalities, thanks to the collective efforts of provincial governments, labour unions, and industry associations. One such effort, on a national level, is the Mining Association of Canada’s (MAC) Towards Sustainable Management (TMS) initiative. Mandatory for MAC members, the TSM initiative includes safety and health, and crisis management protocols. Coupled with site-specific emergency response plans, these protocols emphasize preventative measures, such as hazard identification, risk assessment, and effective controls in managing mine safety. In its 2018 TMS Progress Report, MAC reported an overall trend of improvement in its members’ crisis management planning and health and safety performance. At the provincial level, the Health, Safety and Reclamation Code for Mines in British Columbia requires that all mines have a Mine Emergency Response Plan (MERP), and that all mines have appropriately trained and equipped mine

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