Page 72 Contd on pg 72 By Frank Giorno Mine rescue volunteers are a dedicated group of mine workers who diligently train to respond to a workplace emergency in a timely and efective mannner Mine operato rs rely on mine res cue teams who have been trained in specialized skills to save lives during underground emergen cies During underground emer gency responses mine rescuers undergo physical and heat re lated stress that could if severe enough endanger their health In 2015 W orkplace Safety North the notforproft organizat ion that operates Ontario Mine Rescue re ported 945 injuries related to min ing in Ontario requiring the deploy ment of 53 emergency response teams Frequently occurrin g acci dents include undergroun d fres fallsofground mobile equipment collisions exposure to harmful en vironments and falls from heights which often require rescue Mine Rescuers carry heavy gear about 100 lbs while wearing per sonal safety clothes weighing an additional 22 kg and still perform ing the physical rescue tasks eg fght fre carry a casualty In addition to these physical de A Mine Rescuers Health mands underground mine condi tions are often very challenging including high heat and humidity which can worsen physical loads and induce a heat stress illness Though there have been no re ports of mine rescuers being in jured or killed in Canada in Po land six mine rescuers died during a mine rescue in 1998 from heat related illness That incident led to the creation of the International Mine Rescue Body an organiza tion dedicated for improving mine rescue training globally Ontario Mine Rescue partnered with Laurentian University s Cen ter for Research in Occupational Safety and Health CROSH to conduct a research projec t to un derstand the physiological efects of mine rescue and recovery work the frst of its kind in Canada it had Dr Sandra Dorman Professor in the Faculty of Health and Director of the Centre for Research in Occupational Safety and Health CROSH been studied abroad previously says T ed Hanley the V ice Presi dent of Ontario Mine Rescue Dr Sandra Dorman a Full Profes sor in the Faculty of Health and the Director of the Centre for Re search in Occupational Safety and Health CROSH at Laurentian University in Sudbury Ontario studied this problem at the 10th International Mine Rescue Com petition IMRC In 2016 Dr Dorman and the CRO SH research team monitored the health of mine rescuers who par ticipated in a 2hour rescue simu lation held in an underground mine in Sudbury Organized by Ontario Mine Rescue 27 teams of 6 participated The teams con sisted of a Captain V iceCaptain No 2 person No 3 person No 4 W earable technology can protect Mine rescuers health study concludes Page 70