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Initiatives
ACCIDENT PREVENTION INITIATIVES
INFORMATION
Accident
Prevention and Emergency Preparedness in Mining : UNEP DTIE Initiatives
It is important to strengthen the focus on accident
prevention and emergency preparedness at mine sites. The UNEP/OCHA
Assessment Mission's report on the Baia Mare tailings spill in Romania
earlier this year highlighted a number of factors which contributed
to that accident. Many of these factors have been present also in
other tailings accidents in the mining industry. The experience at
Baia Mare has helped create the climate for a number of organisations,
including UNEP, to take initiatives aimed at preventing, or at least
lessening, the impact of such events. UNEP is working with various
partner organisations on key areas which should make a difference
in the future. The following is a brief summary of four major initiatives:
 Code
for Cyanide Management in the Gold Industry
Reducing risks associated with the use of cyanide is a priority.
The gold industry has signalled its intention to take action and to develop
a voluntary global Code for the management of cyanide in mining. UNEP,
working with the International Council on Metals and the Environment,
is supporting this initiative. The two organisations convened a multistakeholder
workshop in Paris in May at which participants, including many of the
world's leading gold companies, agreed that a Code was desirable. Discussion
commenced at that workshop on issues relating to scope, coverage and content,
and a process was agreed to oversee the work. Individuals to serve on
a representative Steering Committee are being agreed. Widespread consultation
is occurring within the global gold industry and there is strong support
for the initiative. For more information, click Cyanide
Code.
Emergency
Preparedness and Disaster Response
Adequate local awareness and preparedness for emergencies
can help to ensure that the critical first response is rapid and effective.
Community consultation for integrated emergency response planning is not
always strongly developed at mining and minerals processing operations.
UNEP has therefore commenced work on a practical step-by-step guide to
assist companies to strengthen their work in this area. The APELL programme
(Awareness & Preparedness for Emergencies at the Local Level) provides
a well established general methodology which UNEP is now working to tailor
to the specific characteristics and needs of the mining industry and its
communities. The aim is to tailor a handbook for mining and minerals processing
and develop it to a point where it can be trialled in the field with governments
and companies. Drafting has started and a review group of industry and
emergency experts is being formed. The Hungarian Government is working
on this issue and the handbook will be one element in a broader approach
being developed with the Government, UNIDO and UNEP. UNEP and the International
Council on Metals and the Environment also held a joint workshop on Emergency
Preparedness and Disaster Response in May and discussions are continuing
on further initiatives in this area. For more information, click
APELL in Mining.
Improving
the Effectiveness of Regulation for Accident Prevention in Mining
As regulators of the mining industry, it is incumbent on
governments to examine the effectiveness of their approach to permitting
and oversight of those activities in mining, which, were they to fail,
could have large environmental and community impacts. To assist in this
process, the Australian Government has agreed to host, together with UNEP,
an international workshop of regulators from some 25 mining countries.
Participants will review emerging practices in regulation with a focus
on the permitting of tailings facilities and the use of chemicals such
as cyanide. The workshop will draw particularly on the experiences of
those countries which have strengthened their procedures as a result of
accident experiences. The interaction between regulation, voluntary action
and best practice will be an area for consideration. The workshop will
be held in Perth, Australia, 26-27 October, 2000. For more information,
click Regulators'
Workshop.
Contingency
engineering or "fail-safe" features for Tailings Storage Facilities
If sound principles and practices are followed in the design, construction
and operation of tailings facilities, there should be few accidents
in the mining industry and hence little need to consider extra "fail-safe"
or "back-up" features in the design and location of dams.
However, the frequency of occurrences and potential consequences of
dam failures indicate the need for thorough consideration of the potential
which may exist for additional safety features to be integrated into
the design of tailings facilities in order to minimise the impact of
a dam accident. UNEP has commenced a dialogue with experts about this
issue. This project is at the planning stage. UNEP is aiming to call
together a targetted group of people to examine the sort of options
which may be available, their benefits and costs, limitations and applicability.
22 September, 2000 back to top
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