Improving Remedial Measures from Incident Investigations: A Study Across Ghanaian Mines.

Background: Learning from incidents for accident prevention is a two-stage process, involving the investigation of past accidents to identify the causal factors, followed by the identification and implementation of remedial measures to address the identified causal factors. The focus of past research has been on the identification of causal factors, with limited focus on the identification and implementation of remedial measures. This research begins to contribute to this gap. The motivation for the research is twofold. First, previous analyses show the recurring nature of accidents within the Ghanaian mining industry, and the causal factors also remain the same. This raises questions on the nature and effectiveness of remedial measures identified to address the causes of past accidents. Secondly, without identifying and implementing remedial measures, the full benefits of accident investigations will not be achieved. Hence, this study aims to assess the nature of remedial measures proposed to address investigation causal factors. Method: The study adopted SMARTER from business studies with the addition of HMW (H - Hierarchical, M - Mapping, and W - Weighting of causal factors) to analyse the recommendations from 500 individual investigation reports across seven different mines in Ghana. Results: The individual and the work environment (79%) were mostly the focused during the search for causes, with limited focus on organisational factors (21%). Forty eight percentage of the recommendations were administrative, focussing on fixing the problem in the immediate affected area or department of the victim(s). Most recommendations (70.4%) were support activities that only enhance the effectiveness of control but do not prevent/mitigate the failure directly. Across all the mines, there was no focus on evaluating the performance of remedial measures after their implementation. Conclusion: Identifying sharp-end causes leads to proposing weak recommendations which fail to address latent organisational conditions. The study proposed a guide for effective planning and implementation of remedial actions.

Relationships among causal factors influencing mine accidents using structural equation modelling.

Accidents occur due to a series of interactions between deficiencies within the various levels of a sociotechnical system. Quantifying the relationship between upper and lower levels helps develop accident countermeasures focusing on significant organisational latent conditions. This study explores the relationship between the causal factors of accidents within Ghanaian mines using SEM. Data obtained from the analysis of incident reports using HFACS-GMI were quantified to enable its use in the SEM software, as SEM calculations cannot be done using a 0/1 description. The study also tests five hypotheses, including the basic assumption of the HFACS model. The case study results showed that organisational factors significantly influence workplace/individual conditions; upper causal categories do not only influence adjacent immediate lower causal categories, and partial correlations exist between causal categories with a particular level. Based on the SEM model from LISERL, an accident causation path diagram was developed. The diagram reveals that leadership flaws, the technological environment and adverse physiological/mental states were the mediating factors in accident causation within the mines. The operational process has a prominent position in the organisational factors tier and is an essential factor in the entire accident system. Therefore, accident countermeasures should be directed to addressing operational deficiencies.

Ecological and human risk assessments of heavy metal contamination of surface soils of auto-mechanic shops at Bogoso Junction, Tarkwa, Ghana.

There is a growing recognition that activities at automobile mechanic shops could contribute to heavy metal contamination of soils. This study seeks to evaluate the ecological and human risk assessments of heavy metal contamination of surface soils of auto-mechanic shops at Bogoso Junction, Tarkwa, Ghana. Herein, 20 composite soil samples were taken, acid-digested, and the concentrations of Cu, Pb, Cd, Mn, Ni, Cr, and Fe were measured using a flame atomic adsorption spectrometer (SHIMADZU, AA 7000). Appraising metal pollution indices, the potential human and ecological risks associated with analyzed metals were carried out. Findings of the present study indicate that the levels of analyzed metals of soils exceeded the control soil sample and the European Union standards for soil quality. The mean metal concentration increased in the order Fe > Mn > Cu > Ni > Pb > Cr > Cd in the soils. Outcomes of enrichment factor, geo-accumulation index, and contamination factor revealed that the soil quality is deteriorated with Cu, Pb, and Cd. The potential ecological risk identified Cd and Pb as the richest elements and offered a high ecological risk in all sampling sites. Furthermore, hazard quotient of analyzed metals depicted that Ni and Mn in urban soils of Bogoso Junction automobile mechanic shops may pose a threat to children (HI > 1). Dermal contact and inhalation of soil particles are the main exposure routes for children susceptibility. Specifically, cancer risk associated with Cd inhalation was 10 times greater than oral ingestion of Pb, showing a relatively high carcinogenic hazard to humans. Altogether, artisanal activities such as engine repair, welding and soldering, vehicle overhauling, and oil exchange at the automobile mechanic shops could deteriorate the soil quality resulting in ecological and human health implications within the vicinity of automobile mechanic shops in Ghana.

Human health risk via soil ingestion of potentially toxic elements and remediation potential of native plants near an abandoned mine spoil in Ghana.

Integrated studies about potentially toxic elements (PTEs) in sites near gold mining spoils, their contamination and human health risk, as well as remediation potential of native plants are limited. Therefore, our aim was to assess the human health risk of PTEs (Al, As, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe, Ni, Pb, Ti, V, and Zn) in sites near an abandoned gold mine spoil in Ghana. We collected 52 soil samples near the mine spoil and from a natural forest, determined their total element contents, and calculated the soil contamination factor (CF), enrichment factor (EF), geo-accumulation index (Igeo) and the pollution load index (PLI). In addition, we calculated the human health risk of soil ingestion for adult males, females, and children using the hazard quotient (HQ) and hazard index (HI). We also assessed the phytoremediation potential of five native plants (Alchornea cordifolia, Chromolaena odorata, Lantana camara, Pityrogramma calomelanos- fern, and Pueraria montana) growing near the mine spoil, and calculated their transfer coefficient (TC) and translocation factor (TF). Total content of As (maximum: 3144.0 mg/kg) surpassed the trigger action value of 65 mg/kg. Total Zn content at 90th percentile in the Pueraria field (197 mg/kg) and maximum value at mine surrounding (76.7 mg/kg) were above the world soil average (70 mg/kg). Pollution load index and EF values indicated severe levels of soil contamination particularly with As and Ti. Hazard index (HI) values for all sites for children (0.7-134.56), adult males (0.05-10.6), and adult females (0.13-12.77) were above 1 and indicated high human health risk especially on children and women. Translocation factor shows that native plant species such as Chromolaena odorata and fern accumulated As, Cu, Ti, and Zn into their shoots and may thus have the potential to reduce the high soil contamination and its associated human health risk.

Analysis of Injuries in the Ghanaian Mining Industry and Priority Areas for Research.

BACKGROUND: Despite improvements in safety performance, the number and severity of mining-related injuries remain high and unacceptable, indicating that further reduction can be achieved. This study examines occupational accident statistics of the Ghanaian mining industry and identifies priority areas, warranting intervention measures and further investigations. METHODS: A total of 202 fatal and nonfatal injury reports over a 10-year period were obtained from five mines and the Inspectorate Division of the Minerals Commission of Ghana, and they were analyzed. RESULTS: Results of the analyses show that the involvement of mining equipment, the task being performed, the injury type, and the mechanism of injury remain as priorities. For instance, mining equipment was associated with 85% of all injuries and 90% of all fatalities, with mobile equipment, component/part, and hand tools being the leading equipment types. In addition, mechanics/repairmen, truck operators, and laborers were the most affected ones, and the most dangerous activities included maintenance, operating mobile equipment, and clean up/clearing. CONCLUSION: Results of this analysis will enable authorities of mines to develop targeted interventions to improve their safety performance. To improve the safety of the mines, further research and prevention efforts are recommended.

Hazardous waste landfill site selection in Western Ghana: An integration of multi-criteria decision analysis and geographic information system.

Most cities in developing countries are fast industrialising, leading to an increased hazardous waste generation. Though disposal occupies the bottom of the waste management hierarchy, it is an important component of the waste management chain, requiring greater focus to mitigate its environmental and human health effects. The selection of a hazardous waste landfill site is a complex decision-making process since it requires the consideration of several laws and regulations and the integration of various data. This study presents a multi-criteria decision analysis for selecting hazardous waste landfill sites in Western Ghana. Thirty-two evaluation criteria arranged according to four hierarchy levels were selected for the study. The selected criteria considered geo-environmental, economic and social factors. Twenty-one intermediate suitability maps were created, which were then aggregated to produce a composite landfill suitability map of the study area. To narrow down the search for space for landfill sites, optimality criteria were applied on the composite suitable map to select the best locations for landfill. The application of the optimality criteria led to the selection of 5% of the study area as optimal for landfill sites. However, the final decision for landfill site selection will require further in situ studies. Overall, this research provides a proven landfill site selection methodology, which provides essential support for decision-makers.

Focusing on Coal Workers' Lung Diseases: A Comparative Analysis of China, Australia, and the United States.

China has high and increasing annual rates of occupational lung diseases such as pneumoconiosis and silicosis. In contrast, Australia and the United States of America (USA) have greatly lowered their annual rates of lung diseases since the 1970s. This paper systematically compared and analysed the multi-elements of coal dust management and health management in these three countries to provide a reference for China. Regarding coal dust management, this paper found that coal workers in China are more susceptible to lung diseases compared to workers in the USA and Australia, considering fundamental aspects such as mine type, coal rank, and geological conditions. In addition, the controllable aspects such as advanced mitigation, monitoring methods, and the personal protective equipment of coal dust were relatively inadequate in China compared to the USA and Australia. Health management in China was found to have multiple deficiencies in health examination, co-governance, and compensations for coal workers suffering from lung diseases and healthcare for retired coal workers. These deficiencies may be attributed to insufficient medical resources, the Chinese government-dominated governance, ineffective procedures for obtaining compensation, and the lack of effective and preventive healthcare programs for the retired coal workers. Based on the USA and Australia experience, some suggestions for improvement were proposed.

Multi-criteria GIS-based siting of transfer station for municipal solid waste: The case of Kumasi Metropolitan Area, Ghana.

The increase in the quantity of municipal solid waste generated as a result of population growth in most urban areas has resulted in the difficulty of locating suitable land areas to be used as landfills. To curb this, waste transfer stations are used. The Kumasi Metropolitan Area, even though it has an engineered landfill, is faced with the problem of waste collection from the generation centres to the final disposal site. Thus in this study, multi-criteria decision analysis incorporated into a geographic information system was used to determine potential waste transfer station sites. The key result established 11 sites located within six different sub-metros. This result can be used by decision makers for site selection of the waste transfer stations after taking into account other relevant ecological and economic factors.