Steelworkers call on province to protect miners from diesel exposure

The Steelworkers union in Sudbury is calling on the Ontario government to change legislation that regulates how much diesel particulate miners can be exposed to underground.

The United Steelworkers Local 6500 is working with the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health (CROSH) at Laurentian University and Occupational Health Clinics for Ontario Workers (OHCOW) to work to change Ontario’s legislation for diesel particulate exposure, which was recognized as a carcinogen in 2012.

Dr. Sandra Dorman, from CROSH, said exposure to the particulate shortens lifespans.

“It’s also associated with other health consequences like heart disease and high blood pressure and respiratory diseases,” Dorman said.

She said any exposure to diesel particulate is bad for you, but miners are exposed to extremely high levels on a daily basis.

“In a regular city, the smog levels at 50 micrograms per cubic metre would be warnings for people not to go outdoors,” said Nick Larochelle, Local 6500 president.

“We’ve been working in levels of up to 220, in some places, they don’t shut it down until it reaches 400.”

Sean Staddon, Local 6500's WSIB representative, said decades into their careers, miners or those who have retired are getting sick from exposure to diesel particulate.

“For the last few decades our office has fielded plenty of occupational disease claims and we can directly correlate that to the exposure our members are getting underground,” Staddon said.

“It is getting into our members’ lungs and causing them to be sick.”

Many European countries have decreased diesel particulate levels by swapping out old equipment for electric, installing air filtration systems and using remote-controlled devices.

While it may be costly, Dorman said it will save lives.

“We have new technology that allows us to tackle this as a province and to me, it’s a no-brainer,” she said.

“To change the standard, because we know when we change the standard we enforce a regulation and that requires the removal of the particulate and it’s going to save lives.”

In response to a request from CTV News, the Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development sent this statement:

“The Ministry of Labour, Immigration, Training and Skills Development is committed to the health and safety of all Ontario workers who go to work in this province’s mines and mining plants every day. The ministry is reviewing and considering lowering the current Occupational Exposure Limit for total carbon where diesel-powered equipment is operated in an underground mine.

There will be a town hall meeting at the Steelworkers Hall on Dec. 8. Speakers will share their experiences regarding exposure in the mines.