Page 64 Page 62 Deeper mines present a challenge for mine rescue The use of mine rescue transport vehicles would enable rescue teams to get to the location of the incident quicker and remove injured workers to the sur face quicker for follow up medical care Deeper mines are hotter and more humid as a result shorter rescue shifts may be required Placement of undergrou d mine rescue stations was considered in some of the deeper mines But concerns were raised about how being located in a work environ ment deep within a mine would impact on the apparatus being efective as a cool and dustfree environment is needed to maintain rescue breath apparatus Mine rescue technology itself had improved and training in new mine rescue equipment needs to be added to the training courses The reability of breathing appara tus of four hour breathing appara tus versus the two hour variet was evaluated Some breathing appa ratus can be used up to four hours but best practices says limiting to two hours use is the best Rather than rely soley on rescuers with breathing apparatuses the review also considered the wisdom of us ing individua l breathing devices that miners would carry with them The Review heard that in recogni tion of the unique nature of emer gency management and mine rescue the need for separate and specifc risk assessment require ments should be considered The Review also looked at en hancing mine rescue capability at advanced exploration sites where similar risk exists to a fully operat ing mine and also at open pit sur face mines The ftness of mine rescuers was examined and more stringent ft ness requirements were called for and the need for stress manage ment teams to help frst respond ers who were engaged in a rescue efort In addition all Ontario mine res cue team members are required to have a minimum of standard frst aid to assist with injured workers Many have advanced frst aid training Finally the Review looked at how the training programs and the mine rescue competitions themselves could be improved The three other recommenda tions ofered by the review are The Ministry of Labour should require mining companies to conduct risk assessments to establish Emergency Response Plans for exploration sites new mines surface mines and min ing plants W orkplace Safety North to re vise the Mine Rescue Hand book to include guidelines for ftness of crew members critical inci dent stress management and acclimatization of emergency responders The Ministry of Labour to work with stakeholders to develop proposed recommendation s re garding the responsibilitie s of mine rescue crew members and mine owners employers with respect to mine rescue opera tions Contd from pg 60 T raining with new mine rescue equipment needs to be added courses