Miners in Ontario are allowed to be exposed to far more diesel particulate than they are in other provinces and jurisdictions and now the Ontario NDP is joining the United Steelworkers union in calling on the province to take action.
Sudbury MPP and NDP labour critic Jamie West issued a statement on the issue this week.
"No worker should ever be forced to jeopardize their health and safety simply by doing their job,” West said. “But our miners’ health is in danger. The research is clear: Ontario mine workers are getting ten times the recommended maximum exposure level of diesel particulate matter (DPM).”
As detailed by USW Local 6500 during a press conference earlier this month announcing their lobbying campaign to lower the DPM threshold, Ontario mines currently cap exposure at 400 mcg/mg, far higher than other jurisdictions.
At the Dec. 8 Local 6500 press conference, Sean Staddon, the WSIB representative for Local 6500, said the key concern is that the safety threshold for diesel particulates in Ontario is simply too high to be safe.
"It is 400 micrograms per-meter-cubed is the occupational exposure limit set out in the mining regulations for Ontario," said Staddon. It begs the question of how does Ontario compare with other industrialized areas. "It's absolutely the highest in all similar jurisdictions. So the United States is 160. The European Union is at 50. Australia is at 100. We are at four times that."
Staddon said the recommendation from scientists is not to exceed 20 micrograms.
"So really think about that and wonder why if we have a leading mandate in Ontario to be the safest and most productive and mining, then this is one of the laws that has to change," Staddon said.
Local miners also shared their experiences working in drifts made blue by diesel exhaust in a recent story by Sudbury.com’s sister publication NorthernOntarioBusiness.com.
West said lowering the maximum exposure level of DPM in mines will prevent cancer and other illnesses, and save lives in the process.
“The Doug Ford Conservative government must listen to miners and health and safety experts, and take urgent action to reduce the maximum exposure of Diesel Particulate in the Ontario’s mines,” the MPP said.
