| Document ID (ISN) | 111757 |
| CIS number |
11-0382 |
| ISSN - Serial title |
1232-1087 - International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health |
| Year |
2011 |
| Convention or series no. |
|
| Author(s) |
Elenge M.M., De Brouwer C. |
| Title |
Identification of hazards in the workplaces of artisanal mining in Katanga |
| Bibliographic information |
2011, Vol.24, No.1, p.57-66. Illus. 24 ref. |
| Abstract |
While artisanal mining takes place in casual framework and with total ignorance of good practices, few studies have focused on the origin of hazards specific to each workplace constitutive of this exploitation facility. Nevertheless, this study is a condition of an efficient occupational safety and health control in this sector. This study of the Ruashi artisanal mine in Congo identifies different workplaces and the hazards specific to each of them, through the observation and analysis of the various tasks, tools and processes used. The investigated exploitation facility consists of five categories of workers: diggers; crushers; washers; hand-made furnace workers; loaders. Beside the risks common to these various workplaces and ensuing notably from the lack of hygiene and working in bad positions, operating in underground galleries exposes diggers to the risks connected with collapsing parts of the mine, suffocation, dehydration or fine particles in the breathed air. Crushers are especially exposed to traumatism risks, notably ocular, and loaders are exposed to risks related to handling heavy loads. Several simple risk prevention measures are proposed. |
| Descriptors (primary) |
Congo, Democratic Republic of; small enterprises; informal sector; mining industry; copper mining; developing countries |
| Descriptors (secondary) |
arsenic and compounds; underground work; work in confined spaces; physical workload; work posture; job study; personal hygiene; welfare facilities; poisoning; collapse |
| Document type |
D - Periodical articles |
| Subject(s) |
Mines and quarries
|
| Broad subject area(s) |
Industries and occupations
|
| Browse category(ies) |
OSH in developing countries
Precarious employment
Copper and compounds
Mining and quarrying
|
