Retired Department of Mines inspector Peter Green says diesel fumes could be harming the health of underground miners. Picture: Daniel Wilkins Source: The Sunday Times
THE state's 10,000 underground miners are being put at risk by breathing in a cancer-causing chemical, with a former safety inspector claiming the toxin's impact could "eclipse asbestos" as an industrial killer.
Diesel particulate tiny carbon particles in diesel exhaust that penetrate deep into the lungs is now listed as carcinogenic by the World Health Organisation's cancer research branch.
Underground mine workers are at high risk because the machines they use are diesel-powered, exhaust fumes cannot escape mine shafts naturally, and many companies stand accused of poor ventilation.
While a "top priority" working group chaired by the WA Chamber of Minerals and Energy and including the Department of Mines and Petroleum was set up in June 2011, it is not due to finalise guidelines until next year.
This is despite the Australian Institute of Occupational Hygienists as far back as 2004 warning that regulatory bodies were not treating the issue seriously.
Retired mines safety inspector Peter Green, 64, said the diesel particulate threat was "worse than asbestos", while dust and blast fumes were also poisoning miners.
"Every worker who is underground with diesel machinery is a candidate for cancer from diesel particulate," he said.
Mr Green said vehicle exhaust filters should be mandatory, better ventilation was a must and air testing should not be left in the hands of mining companies.
Former miner-turned-safety campaigner Shaun Maddock, who still coughs up "black stuff and blood" years after working underground, said: "There is a long history of documented evidence showing that the mines department and environment department do not enforce the law.
"That leaves us underground miners with a potential death sentence."
Greens spokesman Robin Chapple said the latest revelations in The Sunday Times' investigation into the dark side of the mining boom reinforced his calls for a royal commission into the resources sector.
The Opposition is also demanding an inquiry and Australian Medical Association WA spokesman David Mountain called for a probe if data showed miners' health was suffering.
The Cancer Council said almost 1000 WA sufferers are diagnosed with lung cancer annually, while a study of 12,000 miners in the US linked diesel fumes to the disease.
Asbestos Diseases Society of Australia president Robert Vojakovic said: "The mines department should clean up its act... because an industry that is making huge profits is killing its workers."
The department says diesel particulate must not top 0.1 milligrams per cubic metre of submicron elemental carbon, all mines must submit their air quality results, and any that exceed the levels are shut down.
So far this year, inspectors shut down two mines in the Goldfields for air quality or ventilation breaches.
"The department recognises that exposure to diesel engine emissions should be minimised, which is why the working group is currently developing a new guideline and why we inspect and audit sites," safety executive director Simon Ridge said.
Barrick Gold now requires underground workers to wear respirators where diesel levels are high.
