TORONTO (miningweekly.com) – The Ontario provincial government has revealed that it would develop a mining health database that would track incidents of illness and miners’ exposure to a number of carcinogenic substances to help prevent exposure to unsafe levels and assist in developing improved health and safety rules.

The mining safety review group on Wednesday morning delivered a progress report on its preliminary work, saying that Ontario would immediately implement four initiatives.

These included setting up the health database, improved worker visibility through increased use of high-visibility apparel, creating a sharper focus on hazards to improve health and wellbeing in new training standards for joint health and safety committees – which were made up of workers and management – and to fund a study to be completed by Laurentian University that would look for ways to reduce the loss of feeling in the feet triggered by continuously using vibrating machinery, which puts workers at greater risk of injuries relating to slips and falls, especially on high work platforms.

Led by the Liberal government’s chief prevention officer George Gritziotis, an advisory group comprising industry, labour, health and safety representatives was tasked to undertake a sweeping review on a range of areas within the sector to improve the health and wellbeing of its workers.

The review was ordered after two miners died at Brazilian diversified mining group Vale’s Sudbury operations in 2011, followed by a spate of other incidents at the province’s mines that prompted calls for regulatory reform.

“I am pleased with the support of the advisory group and of the many people who are devoting their time and expertise to the review. I am looking forward to submitting the final report, which I believe will make a significant contribution to the goal of making mining safer and ensuring that all miners go home after their shift, safe and sound,” Gritziotis commented.

The final report would be provided to the province early next year.

Mining in Ontario is diverse, covering a range of mineral commodities, including gold, nickel, copper, salt and diamonds, and a number of structural building materials.

About 27 000 people work in the province’s mining sector, with another 50 000 jobs in processing.