Occupational Safety Risk Assessment for Wola Heavy-Duty Machinery Operator in a Romanian Diabase Open –Pit Mine

Abstract

Occupational safety risk assessment is always the basic stage of the systematic approach of reducing the impact of undesired events (work injuries and occupational illnesses), by decreasing both their likelihood of occurrence and the gravity/severity of the generated impact. Eighteen years ago, when, as a consequence of the regulatory changes induced by our country’s accession into the European Union, the risk assessment became mandatory/compulsory. Since then some progress was factually realized in the spirit of applying different risk analysis techniques in all Romanian organizations. Even if there are many aspects that are requiring further improvement, an effectively validated and nationally accepted indigenous tool is nowadays available. This method was put in practice in this research paper, in order to analyse, evaluate and assess the safety risks related to several of the main activities/jobs in a diabase open pit mine exploiting construction stone in a certain province of the country. Based on the results obtained, it has become feasible to propose realistic measures aimed at preventing the identified and quantified risks located in the field of unacceptable risks and protecting exposed workers to their effects. The case study developed and synthesized in this article confirms the capability of the risk assessment process to facilitate the substantiation of the decisions regarding the allocation of resources towards the minimization of the risks encountered in the work processes by different categories of workers in the mining companies.