The Reminder is making its archives back to 2003 available on our website. Please note that, due to technical limitations, archive articles are presented without the usual formatting.
A recent mishap at Lalor that sent a handful of miners to a medical clinic could have been fatal, says the head of Hudbay's largest union. On the morning of Oct. 7, six miners exposed to sulphur dioxide gas from an underground sulphide blast received medical attention in Snow Lake before returning to work the same day. 'I believe we're very lucky we didn't have fatalities with this incident,' said Tom David, president of United Steelworkers Local 7106. Davie said an investigation into the incident found that a fume-monitoring system at Lalor was out of service, as was a large fan that helps ventilate the mine following detonated blasts. 'There were fail-safes that should have prevented our guys from working that weren't working in the mine,' he said. A sulphide blast occurs when fast-oxidizing sulphide dust present in a mine is ignited by a detonated blast. This releases toxic SO2 gas that can cause illness or even death when inhaled at sufficient concentrations. See 'Medical' on pg. Continued from pg. In the case of the incident at Lalor, a spokesperson for Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health said six exposed miners received medical treatment 'as a precaution.' Hudbay said the workers were sent to the nearby Snow Lake Clinic 'as per procedure and returned to work the same day.' Davie said the union believes the workers had 'serious injuries' as they suffered from throat irritation and vomiting. 'We take that as a very serious situation,' he said. Davie said a temporary stop-work order was issued at Lalor following the sulphide blast. Work is now underway as usual. The Manitoba Workplace Safety and Health spokesperson confirmed only basic details of the incident, including the date and number of people who underwent medical treatment. 'Beyond that, it would not be appropriate to comment until such time as the investigation is complete,' the spokesperson said. Brad Lantz, vice-president of Hudbay's Manitoba operations, said the sulphide blast occurred in an underground development heading. 'The incident is being investigated by the mine officials, Workplace Health and Safety, Worker Safety Representatives and the Mines Inspector,' Lantz added in a brief statement. Davie said it's his understanding that the six miners who received medical treatment consisted of five Hudbay employees and one contractor. He said he is eager to review the final report from the investigation. The Lalor mine, located near Snow Lake, is in the initial production phase.
