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Mining and social protectionSafety and HealthTo outsiders, the preoccupation of miners with their safety and health might seem obsessive. But where else do workers face a constantly changing combination of workplace circumstances, both daily and throughout the work shift? In what other occupation, in an atmosphere without natural light or ventilation, is one creating voids in the earth by removing material and trying to ensure that there will be no immediate reaction from the surrounding strata? Despite considerable efforts in many countries, the toll of death, injury and disease among the world's mineworkers means that, in most countries, mining remains the most hazardous occupation when the number of people exposed to risk is taken into account. Given the importance of OSH for the sector, ILO has focussed on these issues and, in addition to the Safety and Health in Mines Convention, 1995 (No.176) developed codes of practice that provide guidance on how to conduct safe mining operations. The most recent Code of practice on safety and health in underground coalmines has just been published. It is available in English, French and Spanish. It has also been published in Chinese; translations into Hindi and Polish are forthcoming. Other work on OSH conducted by ILO, in particular by its SafeWork Department, is also highly relevant to the mining sector: a large body of codes of practice and guidelines is available on good OSH practices; concise and precise information contained in the ILO Encyclopaedia of Occupational Health and Safety; and the ILO's International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses is an internationally recognized tool for recording systematically radiographic abnormalities in the chest provoked by the inhalation of dusts. Useful links/resources
Links to other ILO safety and health information
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Updated by MMTT. Approved MH/ET. Last update: 28 November 2007.