4.0 Managing work-related health

All extractives operations should have a worker health control plan in place that describes how worker health risks are managed for the site. See What to include in your worker health PCP in Section 4.3 for a list of things to consider. The hazards in the list are specific to worker health PCPs but can be useful for all extractives operations to consider when developing their own worker health control plans.

A-grade operations and mining operations may be required to have a worker health PCP if they have identified one or more principal hazards at the operation that could have long-term effects on worker health. See Section 4.3 for more information on this.

4.1 What the law says

Under GRWM Regulations PCBUs must manage health risks in the workplace

Under Part 1 (general duties) PCBUs must:

identify hazards that may be a risk to the health and safety of workers (and other people)
ensure that effective control measures are set up to eliminate risks so far as is reasonably practicable, or where elimination is not reasonably practicable, implement control measures to minimise risks to health and safety. These control measures must be maintained so that they remain effective.

Under Part 2 (management of particular risks) PCBUs must:

ensure that health monitoring is provided to workers who carry out work involving substances hazardous to health.

Duties to provide health monitoring for workers under the MOQO Regulations

Medical examinations must be offered to each worker:

immediately before the worker starts work at the mining operation
immediately before the worker ceases working at the operation, if the worker has not been examined within the 12 months before that date
periodically throughout the time that the worker is working at the operation, but no less than once every five years.

You must also ensure:

if a worker wishes to be examined, that they are examined at your operation’s expense by a medical practitioner or nurse chosen after consultation with the worker
every worker is given all results of monitoring of their health
all workers are given results of general monitoring of conditions at the operation or the health or safety of workers there
records of the monitoring are made available to WorkSafe on request (make sure that no record identifies or discloses anything about any individual worker except with their consent)
records of the monitoring are kept for any hazard the worker may have been exposed to that is known to have a cumulative or delayed effect, for at least 30 years
for all other hazards, records of the monitoring are kept for at least seven years after the record is made or until the worker stops working at the operation
records of first aid provided to workers who are seriously injured at the operation are kept for at least seven years after the date of the incident.

For more information on health monitoring as well as exposure monitoring, see Section 4.0 of our guidance Managing health risks in the extractives industry

4.2 Managing work-related health risks

There are a range of risks at work that can affect a worker’s health. These include physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychosocial risks.

When managing work-related health risks you must follow the general risk management process of identifying hazards, assessing the risk, implementing control measures and reviewing control measures. You must also make sure that workers’ health is monitored to prevent injury or illness from work. For more detailed information on doing this, see Section 3.0 of our guidance Managing health risks in the extractives industry

4.3 Worker health principal hazards and control plan

Identifying principal hazards with long-term health effects

To find out if there are principal hazards that may have long-term effects on a worker’s health, or the health of a group of workers, look at the different situations they may be exposed to. This includes but is not limited to:

materials, substance or fumes workers might be exposed to and what the consequences of exposure could be (for example, coal dust, silica dust, diesel particulates, welding fumes and chemicals)
types of work being done and where it is being done (for example, working outdoors, working in extreme temperatures or doing physical tasks such as manual handling)
equipment and tools being used and how workers interact with them (for example exposure to noise or vibration)
how long workers are exposed to potentially hazardous material, fumes, substances or situations
hours of work (including travel time to and from sites, and shift work) and fatigue
individual workload
the possible effects of drugs or alcohol on a worker’s ability to stay healthy and safe at work.

What to include in your worker health PCP

The worker health PCP must, at a minimum, address how the following hazards are to be monitored and controlled where they are present at the operation:

noise
vibration
dust – including asbestos dust, coal dust, silica dust or mixed dust (being dust that contains mixtures of more than one different kind of dust)
diesel particulates
fumes – including exhaust fumes, welding fumes, and other fumes arising from metallic sources
temperature – including extreme hot and cold temperatures and humidity
changes in atmospheric pressure
manual handling and lifting
hours of work and fatigue
psychosocial hazards
ultraviolet radiation
ionising radiation
biological hazards
any other hazard that may adversely affect the health of workers who work at the operation.

For examples of how to identify these hazards and manage the risks at an extractives operation, see our guidance Managing health risks in the extractives industry

For more comprehensive information on dealing with each of the hazards, see our guidance Work-related health

The worker health PCP must also:

provide for the development of strategies to deal with fatigue or consumption of drugs and alcohol (proportionate to the hazards present at the operation and to how a worker’s behaviour may affect the worker’s safety or the safety of others at the mining operation)
set out a detailed process for obtaining urgent medical treatment for workers who suffer serious injury or illness at the mining operation, taking into account the nature of the terrain where the operation is located and the remoteness of the operation from the nearest hospital or other place where medical assistance may be provided.

The worker health PCP should be developed in the context of your health and safety management system, not separate to it. This will help identify gaps and overlaps when implementing control measures.

More information

WORKSAFE GUIDANCE

Managing health risks in the extractives industry

MINEX HEALTH AND SAFETY IN NZ EXTRACTIVES

MinEx Guide to Worker Health in Extractives Documents & guidelines(external link)