The New South Wales government has established a new expert taskforce to oversee and help address silica-related health risks for workers in tunnelling projects.
The taskforce, made up of government, medical, industry and union representatives, will provide expert guidance to prevent and manage silica and other dust-related disease associated with tunnelling projects in NSW.
Major tunnelling projects present heightened risks for silica-related lung disease.
The taskforce will focus on four broad areas of action: better use of data with more transparent access; improved health monitoring; best practice work, health and safety controls; and enhanced compliance.
Under the programme, those responsible for a project must ensure worker access to workplace air monitoring data with SafeWork NSW to make an exceedance notification date publicly available and use the data to guide regulatory reform. SafeWork NSW will also partner with the Dust Diseases Board to establish data-driven research.
Improved health monitoring will help to protect workers’ long-term health and safety. It will also play a key role in informing a continual improvement process for businesses and regulators in dealing with silica dust work health and safety risks. The government says its commitment to the silica worker register is a key initiative to support improved health monitoring for workers.
SafeWork NSW will review and revise the Tunnels Under Construction Code of Practice to guide industry and workers on best practice control measures. Major tunnelling PCBU will regularly meet to share information and experience, and to establish a consistent best practice benchmark across the industry.
SafeWork NSW will maintain and reinforce dedicated resources to monitor tunnelling and silica respirable crystalline silica dust results to enable optimal work health and safety.
It will also develop a tunnelling project silica compliance assessment to establish criteria to assess the safety performance of projects to assist strengthened application of suitable controls to manage risk.
SafeWork NSW has increased the number of people in the Silica Task Force (STF) team, which is undertaking compliance activities in all tunnels under construction in NSW. Eight inspectors from the STF are undertaking regular visits.
Engineered stone is also a source of silica dust and Australia now bans the import of engineered stone products, such as benchtops, slabs and panels, with silica content of more than 1%. This follows the domestic ban on the use, supply and manufacture of engineered stone products in July last year. The ban prohibits the manufacture, supply, processing and installation of engineered stone benchtops, panels and slabs containing at least 1% silica.
The NSW government is funding a team of silica safety inspectors to ensure businesses are complying with the laws.
Since September, the Silica Compliance Team has conducted 140 inspections, handing out three fines totalling almost A$10,000 for non-compliance. More than 125 improvement notices have been issued and seven prohibition notices in workplaces.
The government has pledged A$5m to fund silicosis research and a patient support programme. The funding, administered collaboratively by icare and the Dust Diseases Board, will be provided over three years to the Asbestos and Dust Diseases Research Institute.
