Highland Valley Copper Safety Update Ministry of Energy and Mines (MEM) Inspection Report – 75277 For over 2 years, USW OSHEC Safety Committee members have tried to get the Company to take back injuries, road conditions and equipment disrepair seriously. The Union tried again this spring to start an internal investigation on the incredible amount of back injuries that our own members were sustaining on the property, proactively raising the issue with the employer, to no avail. The Company spent more time arguing over who had jurisdiction over the reports, than looking into the amount of injuries, or the root cause of them. This led us to file a complaint with the Ministry, which was regarding the lack of reporting of injuries to the Union, and the lack of investigation on those same injuries. MEM came on site over the course of 3 days in May to conduct an inspection at HVC, regarding the road conditions, back injuries to equipment operators and the investigations of injuries on site. Their findings are not surprising, but what did surprise us the most is the total amount of injuries sustained, and the lack of investigations being done. Remember, the Company is not sending the first aid reports for the majority of these first aids to the Union, deeming them non-occupational with no investigation. All of the six haul trucks that had vibration analysis done on them, FAILED their inspection. This means that those drivers have an increased risk of the development of chronic back pain in addition to other signs and symptoms of injury, including: abdominal pain, chest pain, nausea, loss of balance, spinal disc degeneration and spinal disc replacement. As written “If any workers experience these signs or symptoms of injury, consideration must be given to vibration being one of several potential contributing factors to their injury”. If any of these issue have arisen in your health, please immediately report to first aid to file a complaint. The report also pointed to the lack of follow up on OSEHC complaints of road conditions, with little to no follow up on complaints made. The report went on to state that over the course of 28 months, from 2015 till now, there have been a total of 77 first aid reports regarding back pain, 31 from Haul Truck drivers and 46 from equipment operators in Mine Operations. From the Unions investigation, out of those 77 first aid reports, we can only account for a few that were actually investigated by the Company. We recently had to force the Company to investigate three back injuries that were sustained several months ago, one going back as far as 18 months. It’s extremely important to remember Mr. Brouwer’s statement “We fully investigate every single serious and potentially serious safety incident.” This is just not true. We have employees currently in the modified center or even off work due to injury, with no investigation. But, they have had 100% compliance on investigating dead animals. Both a dead marmot and a dead goose. Dead animals are more important than you. Remember, the purpose of a safety investigation is to ensure that any and all incidents are investigated fully, so that with those answers in hand, we have an opportunity to ensure that it never happens again. The Company failed to investigate almost all of these injuries, allowing even more to occur, in some essence, purposely hurting people. This was after the Union made several attempts to launch investigations, or expressed concern over the frequency of injury. The worst part, is that these injuries were preventable. If the Company had done their due diligence, as required to in both the Mine’s code and the Collective Language, many of those 77 employees would not have the injuries they have sustained. It’s despicable. The report is attached below, and every single mine operations employee should read it. At this time, the Company has 60 days to comply to the MEM’s report, which will ensure that employees at HVC are not put at increased risk of musculoskeletal disorders. This should have happened years ago, and should have happened the first time the complaint was made, not after two years of complaints and after having to reach out to the Ministry. It always has been, and always will be, about money, not about safety. Protect yourselves, slow down and run your equipment to road conditions. It’s the only way to ensure that you do not end up with a long term, potentially life altering injury. Safety is ours. United Steelworkers Occupational, Health, Safety and Environment Committee
High Water Update for May 7th, 2017
As the weather continues to warm, combined with the extremely high snow pack and recent rains, several areas of Highland Valley Copper mine and surrounding areas have been affected. Below, is a statement given by the Mine Manager earlier today. ------------------------------------------ All, I would like to provide you with an update regarding ongoing water management issues at HVC. As you know, the region is experiencing one of the most significant freshets in recent history, which is causing flooding throughout the Interior. The flooding and rapidly rising water levels have also created fast-moving water throughout the region. Fast-moving water is extremely dangerous and anyone near waterways, or areas with fast-moving water, is urged to exercise extreme caution. Tailings Management HVC’s tailings management facilities have not been impacted by the flooding. All areas of the facility are being closely monitored and all are operating per design. Mine Operations The freshet conditions have resulted in localized water inflow in the Lornex and Valley pits. Areas of concern have been barricaded, and all employees are asked to respect the various access controls now in place to ensure their safety. Mamit Lake Dam High water levels have resulted in damage to the spillway at Mamit Lake Dam, located on the south end of Mamit Lake on Rey Creek Ranch. The extent of the damage is not known as the structure is still experiencing high flows. All emergency authorities and residents and communities downstream have been notified. The dam is unrelated to mining and used to manage agricultural water flows and sustain fish habitat. The facility is owned and operated by the Lower Nicola Indian Band, and monitored and maintained by HVC. I would like to thank everyone for your good work and support as we work through these challenging conditions. All employees are asked to continue to report to work as scheduled; however, please consult www.drivebc.com or call 1.800.550.4997 to ensure a safe route is available to you. ------------------------------------------ As stated, and as of writing, the Logan Lake road coming from Hwy 5 remains closed due to a washout. The detour at this time is through the Savona, up the Tunkwa lake road. HVC is continuing to monitor the water situation, and crews have been working overtime to divert melt from the affected areas on site. Thank you for your hard work, but please be safe. Rushing water is extremely dangerous, and the banks of those streams can act unpredictably. In Solidarity, Untied Steelworkers OSHEC Committee "Safety is Ours" Across Canada, April 28th has been designated the Day of Mourning.
Every year workers, families, employers, and communities come together at ceremonies held around the province to remember those who have lost their lives to work-related incidents or occupational disease, and renew our commitment to creating healthy and safe workplaces. This year, and this close to the Day of Mourning, the United Steelworkers Local 1-1937 lost three members in a tragic workplace incident. It’s a stark reminder why workers unite to enforce safety policies and rules at workplaces across Canada, to ensure that these events never happen; or when they do, corporations are held accountable to the decisions if they are found to have put their employees in harm’s way. This year, it will be the 25th anniversary of Westray, the single largest and longest campaign for worker’s rights by Steelworkers in workplaces across our nation. On May 9th, 1992 at 5:20 AM, the hellish mix of methane and coal dust that had been allowed to accumulate in the Westray mine, exploded. The disaster that followed killed 26 workers underground in less than a minute, 19 of those bodies were never recovered. Over the last 25 years, the United Steelworkers have campaigned to change regulations and criminal law to hold those accountable for their negligence, leading to laws like the Westray Act, and Bill C-45, but that wasn’t enough. Sixteen years later, the Steelworkers were not impressed with what had been accomplished to that date in enforcing the law, and pushed the Government to hold corporations liable for criminal negligence. Quoted from Steve Hunt, USW District 3 Director, “Kill a worker, go to jail, should be the rule.” Today, Steelworkers across Canada are applauding the efforts of our Brothers and Sisters in improving the laws, as we have seen several charges laid and supervisors prosecuted in the last few years. Holding corporations accountable is paramount moving forward, but we have a lot of work left to do. This morning, we handed out “Safety Is Ours” stickers, Day of Mourning armbands, the book “Hell’s History” and a newsletter. Each one of these items has a purpose. The sticker seems simple, but it’s the words on the sticker that mean much more. We have never seen such a huge rise of serious safety issues in such a short amount of time at HVC. Regardless of how many times we have brought the issues up to management, it continues to be the Company’s position that they don’t exist, they aren’t happening and/or they aren’t that bad. We don’t believe this for a second. We have launched major inquires on truck overloading, back injuries, equipment failure, road conditions and other serious outstanding issues. With this type of attitude, it has to be our responsibility to bring up safety concerns, refuse unsafe work and report unsafe conditions. Safety has to be ours. The armbands show solidarity, both for our fallen Brothers and Sisters killed on the job and for the workers who fight to protect those rights. It’s a harsh reminder that almost every day in Canada, an employee is killed on a worksite. The numbers never seem to change, and it cannot be accepted. The book is a history of Westray, the fights and the future. It’s important information to read and to understand. It’s also interesting to note that when our Brothers and Sisters in the Coal Patch tried to hand this book out on their site, they were denied. The Company stated that it hurt their image and they (USW) must have bribed the little boy on the front page with jelly beans. It’s extremely disappointing to see this type of attitude, when the work our Union has put forward has helped form the laws that protect our friends and coworkers, Brothers and Sisters across Canada. It’s typical of Corporations these days. The last portion is the newsletter. This is a direct response to the letter sent out from the Mine Manager, which stated that our safety numbers have not increased. This is not true, as the stats show a drastic increase on all safety reports, sometimes 3-4 times what they were in our worst year (2010) and already worse than last year (2016). Please read the stats, and let this remind you that what is said isn’t always true, and we all must do our research prior to making statements. It also has information on what to do when you are injured at work such as the filing of First Aid reports and WCB claims. As we continue to force the Company to be accountable to the rules, policies, legislation's and laws, we ask all of you to continue supporting those who fight for you. Shop stewards, safety reps, and those who stand up to speak out. Stand beside them, they are speaking up to protect your rights. In solidarity, United Steelworkers Local 7619, Representing Employees at Highland Valley Copper “Safety is Ours” At approximately 2:30 AM this morning, the Haul Truck operator of 84 truck was pulling into the highwall side pocket at #5 crusher when the truck dropped down on the front left side. The driver was nearly at a complete stop to back up when the trucked dropped, alarms sounded in the cab, so the operator shut down the truck and called control.
The operator then got out to investigate, finding that the front left suspension cylinder had completely sheared off, which in turn made the tire end up partially under the haul truck. The operator was taken to first aid as a precaution, but was uninjured. The scene was secured and frozen until this morning, when the OHCES committee members could inspect the scene and release it. There is currently a plan being developed to safely recover the truck. This incident was designated as a DO (Dangerous Occurrence), which we are glad to see, as the potential for what could have happened at speed could have been devastating. The front left cylinder is over 12 inches wide, with a 4 inch steel wall. The OSHEC will fully inspect and investigate how and why the cylinder failed, prior to sitting the DO investigation. It's good to hear that everything was done correctly in this case, as on the 19th, a grader tire sheered off while going down a ramp, and that scene was not secured nor any safety rep was called out. The foreman seemed to think that this was relatively normal, and stated that he had to get it out of the way. The Mines Code and the CBA speak directly to incident and accident investigations, for if incidents do not get investigated, we do not get a chance to figure out what went wrong, and how to ensure they never happen again. We have had a pretty busy month with back injury's again, with several being reported to first aid in the last two weeks, and we are starting an investigation on why they are not being investigated. 3 out of the 4 that we looked into had no investigation, and we would like to remind you that by not reporting injury's and incidents, we will not be able to force the Company to repair the roads to an acceptable level. There seems to be an attitude that they are not happening, and an acceptance to allow employees to get injured, then just find more to replace them. (Casuals anyone?) As always, you have the right to refuse unsafe work. It's a law that was put in place after the Westray disaster in 1992, when 26 miners were killed in an explosion. 11 of their bodies were never recovered. The Steelworkers have fought for over 25 years to put laws in place to hold Companies accountable to their decisions to put employees in harms way, and every year, employees perish at their work places. The numbers are staggering, and we continue to get lucky. Any one of these incidents could lead to a major injury, and with the new push for more speed and more weight, everything compounds. You have a right to refuse those speeds, weights, bad road conditions, and poor decisions, as you have a responsibility to go home to your families every day. Any questions, please contact your safety rep, area rep or the Union Co-Chair for the OSHEC Committee Not trying to down play the severity of this issue, as the Union is very concerned about the possible outcome, Kyle was actively discussing the current safety culture at Highland Valley Copper with key Company representatives at the same time this incident happened today. At approx. 1:30PM, a shovel operator was attempting to load out a very large frost chunk that was in the dig face. The shovel operator told the haul truck operator to "hang on" and opened the shovel door. The load got stuck, and the operator tried to shake it loose. When the chunk did come out, it landed off center in the box of the haul truck, with enough of an impact it nearly flipped the haul truck on its side. Witness's said that the 240 ton truck stood up on it's two tires, before coming back to rest on all four tires. The employee inside the haul truck was jarred severely, making hard contact on their temple on the Wenco panel, as well as being thrown violently around the truck. Luckily, the operator was wearing a seat belt and the truck did not end up on its side. The operator was sent to medical aid, and then to ER for a follow up in Kamloops, and was released tonight. The Union has discussed the issue with all three safety reps on the crew, and not one of them was contacted after the event. As far as we know, the scene was not locked down, there was no investigation, and no safety rep was called to attend what the Union is calling a Near Hit. The potential for the truck to flip over was real, and if it had done so, the outcome could have been much more severe. On top of this, there was serious enough injury to the employee to send them both to medical aid and ER, it is only prudent to secure the scene and investigate this very serious issue. With the scene not being locked down, it make's nearly impossible to re-create the event, get statements from witnesses, investigate fully and make recommendations to ensure this does not happen again. This is not the first time an employee has been injured while being loaded, and no investigation was sat. Not only will the OSHEC committee not be able to make recommendations about ways to decrease or eliminate the issue, it makes it very hard to prove that the injury sustained actually happened at site, which has lead to WCB not accepting a work place injury. At this time, we remind all employees their responsibility to refuse unsafe work. We also remind all employees to report unsafe acts, or situations that are not being reported. It makes it extremely difficult to fix problems that are not reported. Please report any injury sustained on site immediately to your foreman and attend first aid. The Union will be launching a full investigation tomorrow to find out why an investigation was not done. ------------Safety is Ours------------- United Steel Workers Local 7619 OSHEC Committee It's been a busy weekend, and we have barely started.
This is to everyone. There have been way to many "close calls" lately. We have never seen so many serious incidents in such a short order, but we are spending more time trying to figure out why we are loosing production than fixing things. Even a 10 person "productivity committees" time could be better served in making it safer for our members, rather than getting employees to triple duty in the pit. The busier we are, the more chance for failure. The first DO this weekend was on Feb 3rd. A dozer operator was uninjured after a slow roll over of the machine the employee was operating. The operator was actively "ripping" the ground on top of a bench to break up frost chunks, when the employee hit a soft spot. This in turn put his machine off balance, and it rolled over on its side. He was not injured, nor was there any equipment damage. USW OSHEC members were called, the scene was secured and an investigation is pending. The second incident happened earlier today, Feb 4th, 2017 This involved an unexpected result in a pre-sheer blast pattern explosion, where the entire pattern set off at once. This blew blast rock much farther than anticipated, damaging several loaded blast hole primer cords, and completely destroying a parked and unoccupied pickup truck. The truck had been abandoned at a previous time for a mechanical failure, was clear of the intended blast, but was totaled in the ensuing rain of rock. The pictures of the incident are a stark reminder why it is so critical to ensure that all blasts are guarded, all employees are well clear of the intended blast area, and that all precautions are taken. USW OSHEC members were called, the scene was secured and the investigation is ongoing. As per the BC Mines Code - Dangerous Occurrences - 1.7.3 (5) premature or unexpected explosion of explosives, gas or an dust. Remember, you have the legal right and responsibility to refuse unsafe work. On January 20, 2017 a supervisor was observing a remote start on L1B conveyor.
Upon start-up the creep drive started to howl. The supervisor immediately began to move away and called for a shutdown. The supervisor, who was 15’ away, heard 2 bangs and was then hit by a small piece of coupling in the shoulder, no injury was sustained. Pieces of the damaged equipment were found up to 100’ away. The scene was properly secured and the ministry was advised that it was a dangerous occurrence. The union health and safety chair was immediately contacted and told it was also classified as a High Potential Incident and an ICAM would be initiated. When the results of the ICAM are reviewed, a Safety Alert will be posted with all the pertinent information. This is a good opportunity to review start up and shut down protocols, and ensure that when you feel something isn't right, to clear the area as quickly and safely as possible. Remember, Art 11.02 (b), "All accidents, dangerous occurrences and near-miss accidents shall be investigated by persons knowledgeable in the type of work involved and the Co-Chairs of the OSHEC or their designates." All accident/incidents scenes, whether a D.O. or any incident, are to be secured until a OHSEC UNION MEMBER releases the scene. Safety is ours, Dave (Tiny) Court USW 7619 Occupational Health, Safety and Environment Committee Chair We have all heard it said, “Safety is TECK’S core value” and from Don Lindsay, that “TECK’S employees are their biggest asset”. Well, if the first 3 weeks of the year are any indication as to where we are headed or how things are being handled, we are in trouble. It reminds me of the movie: A SERIES OF UNFORTUNATE EVENTS. It is about an evil uncle trying to get his hands on all of his orphaned nieces and nephews money. He tries and tries by creating events which cause mayhem and chaos and in the end, he loses, sound familiar?
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October 2018
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