Inspection: Harmonize work dynamics for greater miner safety

The FBiH Government adopted the Report of the Federal Administration for Inspection Affairs on inspection supervision in mines in the Federation of BiH for 2014, which, based on regular and extraordinary inspections by mining inspectors and a geological inspector, stated that there were a total of six fatal worker injuries last year, five of which occurred in the Raspotočje mine of the Zenica Brown Coal Mine and one in the Bešpelj pit of the Jajce Bauxite Mine, writes the Patria News Agency.

In 2013, there were two fatal accidents, and in 2012, five. The report also states that during the inspections by federal inspectors, minutes were made with established facts about the supervised entity and shortcomings, based on which decisions were issued for their elimination.

- Based on the inspections in the mines, the report concluded, among other things, that the overburden removal works in mines with surface exploitation, as well as the works on preparing wider areas in mines with underground exploitation, are lagging behind the plans, which affects work safety, and that it is necessary to harmonize the dynamics of these works – the FBiH Government announced.

It was also concluded that personal and collective protective equipment must be provided continuously, that work must be done on educating supervisory and technical staff and other employees on regulations, defense and rescue plans, and potential hazards that may arise in mines, to further humanize work, to introduce new technologies in mines that increase the level of safety, or to apply existing ones with technical solutions that reduce the risk of hazards.

It is also necessary to work on an effective solution to the problem of physical security of areas and facilities at the mine level, as well as to continue investments in mines with a serious techno-economic analysis of justification – they added in the statement.