2018-10 Working Paper 3.pdf

Health, Safety, Environment

Mining University Leoben Thomas Spörker

working paper

October 2018

part 3 4.

Protection of the Environment

4.1

Environmental Issues

Waste Management Act  objectives o no adverse effects o minimize emissions o protect and save resources o no danger for future generations  principles o waste avoidance o waste management o waste disposal

Water Management Act  water utilization  use of groundwater  protection and keeping clean of waters  protection of waters means protection of surface water, riverbank and groundwater  pollution means o directly or indirect release of substances or heat into water, which harms  the human health  the quality of aquatic ecosystems  directly dependent terrestrial ecosystems or  brings an impairment or disorder of the value of recreation o general concern for pollution control o storage and transport of substances hazardous to water  operations need to be designed, built, operated and abandoned that contamination of water is not to be expected o restrictions and bans on injecting media

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Forestry Act  objectives o conservation of forests and forest floors o ensuring a sustainable forest cultivation  definition of forests  deforestation o use of forest land for purposes other than for those of forest culture

Environmental Information Act  objectives o easy access to environmental information o reporting to authorities  status o air, water, soil, land, landscape o natural habitats, biodiversity  impact o substances, energy, noise, radiation o waste including radioactive waste, emissions  measures o policies, legislation, plans, programs, activities o administrative acts, environmental agreements  content of information o name (company) of the facility and site o informed person o description of the plant and the activity o dangers, hazards o dangerous substances (type and quantity) o nature of risks which can arise from incidents o behavior measures  type of information o internet o information at the gate of the operation o leaflets, unaddressed mail o open day, information event o announcement in a local print media, radio, TV

Incident Information Order  criteria for the selection of facilities subject to incident information order

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Directive on Industrial Emissions  protection of the environment (air, soil, water) in the framework of an "integrated analysis"  avoid protection of one protection objective at the expense of another  installations need to be operated according to "best available techniques"

Seveso Directive - Industrial Accident  directive on control of major-accident hazards involving dangerous substances  applies to operations where threshold values on dangerous substances are exceeded  in the area of mining for certain processing activities o chemical or thermal processing o storage operations associated with these processing operations o operational tailings disposal facilities, including tailings ponds or sedimentation ponds o gas storage operations  level 1 and level 2 operations  reporting of serious accidents  safety concept  security report  internal emergency plan  security management system

Environmental Impact Assessment  concentrated approval procedure  provincial government applies all relevant laws  examples o production of oil and gas o transportation of oil and gas o carbon capture and storage o frac stimulation

4.2

climate issues

 climate strategies o United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - UNFCCC o Climate Change Conference - Kyoto Protocol o flexible mechanisms  International Emissions Trading (IET)  Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) 3

 Joint Implementation (JI)  Domestic Offset Projects (DOP) o climate protection targets o CO2 equivalents  one metric ton of CO2 or an amount of other GHGs with equivalent global warming potential  greenhouse gas emissions  natural and anthropogenic climate risk o influence, boundary conditions o possibilities for the reduction of atmospheric CO2

4.3

Carbon Capture and Storage

 definitions o sequestration o geological sequestration o carbon capture and storage o acid gas injection  opportunities  reference projects  potentials (national, global)  geological, technical and safety aspects o wellbore integrity, reservoir integrity, long-term safety o release scenarios o monitoring  European directive on the geological storage of CO2  national transposition of the European directive

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5.

Risk management

5.1

Risk Management System

Elements of a Risk Management System  system definition and delimitation  risk assessment o risk identification  possible dangers, hazards, risks  risk identification tools (e.g. JSA, HAZID) o risk analysis  classification of probability  severity - classification negative effects  risk = probability x severity o risk evaluation  risk treatment (risk response) o risk matrix, risk inventory o avoid, mitigate, transfer o set required actions, measures  risk prevention  risk reduction  residual risk (warnings, instructions, training) o risk acceptance  risk monitoring o risk indicators  measurable sizes  correct selection of appropriate indicators o documentation o recurrent review

Crisis Management  management and communication of crisis in the public  factors for a successful crisis management

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5.2

Emergency Planning

Legal Framework  mining rights holder has to take precautions to protect o human health and safety o property owned by third parties and not assigned to him for his use o the environment o mineral deposits o the surface and has to o ensure that the surface remains useable after the cessation of the mining activities  mining rights holder has to o draw up and regularly update an emergency plan o for accidents, dangerous occurrences o for reasonably predictable natural and industrial disasters and o undertake the necessary action where required  emergency plan describes the guidelines for rescue operations  emergency plan comprises of o alert strategy plan and o action plan

Alert Strategy Plan  directory of required emergency numbers  correct emergency numbers are of key importance  work out and regularly update  designate a person who is responsible for the update  ensure, that changes are fully taken into account  clear alerting schema (when - who - whom - how)  clear alarm message  who has to be informed o persons and institutions o in-house and externally  objectives o optimal and efficient communication of all authorities and institutions o standardized forms for registration of emergencies o different hazards may require different alert plans o where necessary, prepare alert plans for working days and weekends respectively public holidays

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Action Plan  possible events (examples) o health and safety of persons o explosion, fire, health endangering and irrespirable media o environmental hazards o technical incidents o force of nature o burglary, vandalism o sabotage and terror  possible causes (examples) o technical failure of equipment or safety equipment o fatigue o human error o geogenic hazards (landslides) o external effects (natural disasters, sabotage, terror)  predictable scenarios (examples) o scope and impact of the event o affecting life and health of persons o affecting third party property o affecting environment o affecting surface, surface use  possible effects / impacts (examples) o people are injured, trapped o fire - heat effect o explosion - shockwaves o formation of areas with toxic or irrespirable media - gas cloud o environmental damage o secondary events in neighboring industrial plants "Domino effects" o reputational damage  available sources of information, documents (examples) o security reports o risk assessment o project documentation, permit notifications o expert opinions o orders of authorities o operating experience, information by third parties  required actions (examples) 7

o clear procedure who is responsible for mission control o definition of responsibilities and tasks o authorization to initiate the emergency measures o type of information for employees o measures for the evacuation and rescue of persons o arrangements for safeguarding danger areas o facilities for determining climatic conditions o operational facilities and equipment o required resources o description of all necessary measures o equipment necessary to combat the outbreak and spread of hazards o evacuation, barriers o information to the public o traffic block on roads and railways, overflight bans o shutting off power supply systems, water conservation measures o closure / decommissioning adjacent plants  scope of action plans o spatial, temporary, objective, functional o issuing date o date and version of the final version o person responsible for recurrent update  map series, descriptions o overview plan (building, equipment, storages) o detail designs (installations, access roads) o display sensitive plant areas o ex-zones plan, fire protection plan, gas protection plan o blow out prevention plan  information concerning operation site o operating purpose, operating hours, number of workers o description of activities, productions, safety-relevant components, procedures o description of dangerous technical facilities o what dangerous substances are present / may arise  information concerning surrounding o residential buildings, public facilities, industrial (interactions) o transport paths, public transport facilities o protected areas, water bodies, protected well area o other protection objectives

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5.3

Austrian Gas Protection Service

Internal Rescue Operations - Key Elements  duty of the mining rights holder to take safety precautions  making appropriate preparations in order to assist in rescue operations and taking required measures in emergency situations  local guides  cooperation and assistance agreements with emergency services  responsibility for mission control lies with the site manager

Transition of the Command of Rescue Operations  if the measures provided in the emergency plan are insufficient for a successful rescue operation, in particular o if the scale and duration of the operation will overstrain the mission command structure or o the available rescue teams and equipment are insufficient,  the command of the rescue operation shall pass to the provincial governor.

Higher Level Rescue Operations - Key Elements  rendering of assistance in the event of accidents  central gas protection station, obligations o advising mining rights holders on gas protection issues o coordination of organizational and technical tasks – beyond the internal level - for best emergency preparedness o responsibilities of the central gas protection station  inventory of equipment available for rescue teams  draw up the main rescue plan for joint assistance and the conduct of rescue operations; updating the same as necessary  concluding cooperation and assistance agreements with e.g. the Austrian Federal Armed Forces, fire services, tunnel rescue teams, emergency services and disaster relief organizations, foreign mine rescue teams  determining the principles for the gas protection service  determining the state of the rescue service and report to the Minister of Science, Research and Economy  mine right holders have to provide the following information to the central gas protection station o own emergency plans o mine maps and other required site maps o inventories of their equipment 9

 contribution to the gas protection service o gas rescue teams (technical support teams) o mining equipment, o logistics, management and the like o or financial resources

Critical Issues of the Mining Rights Holder  duty to take safety precautions  necessary precautions in the alert strategy and action plan  mine maps up-to-date  local guides (location briefing, pointing out dangers)  recurrent instructions, regular training  information to the gas protection station on o emergency plans, mine maps o inventories of their equipment o training schedule o size of technical support teams

6.

Preparation of Application Documents

 sources and requirements in standards  content and scope  construction permit plan, technical descriptions  temporal component  orientation with relevant legislation

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