Australasian Mine Safety is the leading voice for all key decision makers within Mining company's and major contractors. Delivering the latest industry news as it breaks.
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28 The Australasian Mine Safety Journal Summer 2011/12 The Australasian Mine Safety Journal Summer 2011/12 FLUID POWER Mining, fl uid power, MDG-41 and hose safety Fluid injection injuries can be lethal and therefore fl uid power systems, and those who work with them, should be treated with the seriousness they deserve. reports. I n a mining environment, both aboveground and underground, there is a high level of exposure to fl uid power related equipment and machinery. This includes various hydraulic components of high pressure storage such as complex accumulators and simple connection methods such as in hydraulic hoses. Hydraulic hoses are the means through which hydraulic fl uid is transmitted throughout the machine. The high majority of these hoses are subjected to high pressure which can be latent without any indication of stored energy. An increasing percentage of fl uid injection injuries and fatalities in recent times on work sites were all about the dangers of stored fl uid energy showing that hydraulic pressure is often being misunderstood by maintenance personnel. These incidences relate to fl uid injection and severe body injuries from contact with fl uid under pressure. High pressure stored energy of fl uid or oil in hydraulic systems is lethal if a fl uid line connection point is opened or hose failure occurs. The death of a 27-year-old man in a fl uid power related workplace accident at an iron ore mine in Western Australia in August 2011 has thrust fl uid power safety back into the spotlight in Australia. The man was killed while changing a hydraulic cylinder on a front-end loader. Internationally, hydraulic system safety is also being stressed after a 41-year-old man was killed when a hydraulic jack mounted on a longwall shield in the US state of Ohio catastrophically failed. In the last four fi nancial years there have been 161 fl uid injection injury claims lodged in the NSW coal industry alone. This fi gure is nearly three times higher than the number of electric shock claims lodged. Fluid injection claims which were lodged included: • He was attempting to disconnect hoses off the Quick Detachment System (QDS) on an underground mining loader when the hydraulic hoses released under pressure striking him in the chest and covering him in hydraulic fl uid resulting in a suspected fl uid injection. • Worker was removing a hydraulic oil hose that still had pressure in it causing oil to spray onto his lower arm. • Miner was disconnecting hoses off a QDS after pressing pressure release and the miner was sprayed with oil resulting in possible fl uid injection. In the past decade, the fl uid power industry has experienced a high level of change with the fast progression of technology and modern applications. The risk of fl uid injection injury is increasing as machinery and equipment with high pressure hydraulic and lubrication systems becomes more common; more functions are being automated on machines, tighter hose compartment designs, reduced weight for fuel effi ciencies, programmed maintenance and hose wrapping/shielding Neil Martin