03:43 am, Friday 5 November, 2010

WorkSafe Victoria says 11 people were injured across Melbourne because of nail gun accidents since May, including five in September alone.

Of the 11, two people were struck to the head by 5cm nails. One person pulled out a nail that was lodged near his eye.

Shaun Columbine, Ambulance Victoria paramedic team manager, said being shot with a nail gun can have adverse effects.

“One of those injured is an 18-year-old man who had the nail lodge into his head in an accident at Footscray,” he said.

“The accident has had a major impact on the man’s life.

“It’s important that people realise how dangerous nail guns can be, and how easily accidents can happen. One of those hurt was being supervised at a TAFE college.

“A 34-year-old man who was shot in the leg at Epping last month, was also injured in a similar accident in September last year.

Mr Columbine said a person involved in such an emergency, should not pull the nail out and instead call for help.

“Anyone who has a foreign object like a nail embedded into their body should leave it in place and call 000.

“Pulling the nail out can cause more damage and lead to serious bleeding,” he said.

“Leaving the nail in allows it to be safely removed in surgery.”

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09:02 am, Saturday 14 August, 2010

Mine rescue teams from across the country flocked to Bendigo last week to participate the Annual Victorian Underground Mine Rescue Competition.

The WorkSafe-sponsored competition is now in its 18th year. The Northgate Stawell Gold Mine Emergency Rescue Team was declared the overall winner.

According to WorkSafe’s Hazard Management Division Acting Director Rod Gunn, emergency response processes in the mining industry are critical.

“Mining is intrinsically dangerous work – workers are underground, they’re isolated, and often they’re working with heavy machinery,” he said.

“The Mine Rescue Competition gives volunteer rescue teams a chance to exercise emergency plans in scenarios as close to real life as possible – they’re under pressure and working against the clock.

“We don’t ever want the rescue teams to have to use the skills they’re testing and refining at this event, but the fact is that every mine must be prepared for an emergency.”

Mr Gunn noted the Bendigo mining industry employs about 650 workers, and around 1% get injured yearly.

“This number might seem low, but worst-case scenarios include an explosion or fire in an underground mine, workers being entrapped by falling ground, or an incident involving mining and mobile equipment,” he said.

“Mine rescue teams are trained to handle these situations. If a genuine emergency does occur, the training and practice employed during these competitions might just be invaluable.”

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12:11 pm, Monday 2 August, 2010

The emergency communication system has to change at the rail network in Melbourne, a union says.

According to the Electrical Trades Union, the inadequacy of the Metro’s communications system was revealed during  Tuesday’s power outage.

A train reportedly entered a zone where workers were performing repairs to a damaged wire.

According to State Secretary Dean Mighell, it is fortunate no one was electrocuted when the train caused the wire to become live.

He said the Metro has no safety system in place to quickly alert all trains at the same time when there is an emergency.

“What Metro has told us is there’s real limitations in their ability to communicate with trains,” he said.

“Now, that’s just not good enough. If there’s risk to public or risk to workers or risk to train drivers, then we should be sparing no expense on the technology required to ensure the best safety outcomes are there.”

The rail network said an investigation is being conducted that will include a review of safety procedures and protocols and whether any policy was not followed during the Tuesday incident.

WorkSafe has not been notified since no one was hurt.

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08:25 pm, Tuesday 29 June, 2010

A construction worker has suffered injuries on top of an unfinished Perth building on Monday.

The incident happened at midday at a Murray Street construction site, and led to a massive emergency response.

It is reported the man slipped while working at height, prompting ambulance crews to ride a lift 50 metres up the building to reach the man and assess his condition.

CBD traffic had to be rerouted and roads near the building closed.

The man is expected to fully recover from his injuries.

Worksafe is looking into the work-related incident.

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12:10 pm, Tuesday 13 April, 2010

The death of a mine worker on Sunday has prompted Mines Minister Norman Moore to meet with the executives of the mine company to deal with its safety problems at its operations in Western Australia’s Goldfields.

A 45-year-old driver died after the underground truck he was operating fell 18 metres into a hole at the nickel mine in Leinster on Sunday morning.

Work in the mine has been stopped pending an investigation into the incident.

Last year, the mine was briefly shut down after three employees were confined underground in two separate rockfall incidents. A prohibition notice was issued, preventing the company from continuing operations until a safety audit by an independent investigator had been made.

Mr Moore is dismayed by the Sunday incident since the company previously pledged to improve safety at the mine.

The president of the company’s nickel division said all efforts were made to try to save the worker.

“The on-site emergency response teams were immediately activated and went to the site and evaluated the situation,” he said.

“Unfortunately it was not easy access to the individual, it was quite challenging.”

The executive said the man, had been working at the Leinster mine intermittently for the past eight years, had extensive experience.

“The fellow that was fatally injured had been at the site for a little over two years,” he said.

“I understand he had actually been at the site previously for a number of years and had gone to other operations.

“[He was] generally a good worker who is going to be missed by all.”

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