This list decides which programmes are genuinely relevant. OHS training designed without looking at the hazards actually present on site passes on paper and fails on inspection.
Coal dust and crystalline silica
Crushing, screening, and conveying coal generates respirable dust containing crystalline silica. Prolonged inhalation causes coal workers' pneumoconiosis and silicosis β both irreversible fibrotic lung diseases. Dust suppression, enclosed transfer points, and respiratory protection are essential controls.
Spontaneous combustion of coal stockpiles
Coal exposed to air self-heats through oxidation. Stockpiles that exceed critical temperatures ignite spontaneously, producing toxic CO and SOβ gases while undermining the structural integrity of the pile itself. Thermal monitoring and stockpile-management protocols are the primary defences.
Heavy mobile equipment collisions
Dump trucks, excavators, and wheel loaders operate on haul roads that are often narrow, dusty, and shared with light vehicles and pedestrians. Blind-spot collisions, rollover on graded slopes, and tyre blowouts on overloaded trucks are the most common heavy-equipment incidents in coal-processing estates.
Conveyor-belt entanglement
Conveyors run continuously and carry coal across long distances. Nip points at head and tail pulleys, return idlers, and transfer chutes entangle clothing, limbs, and maintenance tools. Inadequate guarding and cleaning running conveyors by hand are the two most frequent root causes.
Noise-induced hearing loss
Crushers, screens, and conveyor drives produce sustained noise levels well above 85 dB(A). Chronic exposure without hearing protection causes permanent noise-induced hearing loss β an occupational disease that is underreported because the onset is gradual.
Slope instability and ground collapse
Stockpile slopes and overburden batters can fail without visible warning, burying workers or equipment at the toe. Geotechnical monitoring and exclusion zones are non-negotiable controls around active stockpile faces.