Table of Contents

Print Archives

Magazine Name - September 2009

Features

Smoke & Ire
SURGICAL PLUME; The old adage, "Where there's smoke, there's fire," takes on a whole new meaning in an era of modern medicine. Today, the saying goes something more like this: "Where there's plume, there's a potential health risk to workers."

Big Bang Theory
COMBUSTIBLE DUST; In the early morning hours of May 9, 1992, word began to spread of a massive explosion at the Westray coal mine in Nova Scotia's Pictou County. The blast would ultimately claim 26 miners, leaving a trail of questions, accusations and changes as its legacy. Investigations arising from the Westray mine disaster, which continued for years, revealed a litany of shortcomings: methane levels in the mine were too high; coal dust that should have been removed from the mine's floor and surfaces was allowed to accumulate, despite repeated warnings; and crews were not assigned to rock dusting, the process of spreading limestone or dolomite dust to render coal dust inert. When methane gas ignited, the shock waves forced accumulated coal dust into the atmosphere, and the ignition of gas spread to the coal dust. The overblast from the secondary explosion -- a combustible dust explosion -- spread through the mine at lightning speed and at a force that extended to the surface, where entrance portals were blown to pieces.

Fractured Bond
RETURN TO WORK; Wolfgang Zimmermann never would have expected it. His very dear friend of more than 30 years -- sure and capable -- was having a rough time, a really rough time. His friend had been off on stress leave from his senior management job for almost five months, says Zimmermann, executive director of the National Institute of Disability Management and Research in Victoria. And things had definitely changed. "He's not doing the things that he should be doing, such as getting out and being out and about in the community," he says. As far as Zimmermann could tell, being at home almost all the time was making things worse.

Departments

Accident Prevention

Law File

Dispatches

Time Out

Safety Gear

OH&S Update

Editorial

Occupational Hygiene

Health Watch