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Legislative Council - Fifty-Fifth Parliament, First Session (55-1)
2023-05-02 Daily Xml
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Silicosis

In reply to the Hon. C. BONAROS ().22 February 2023).

The Hon. K.J. MAHER (Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, Attorney-General, Minister for Industrial Relations and Public Sector): I have been advised:

1. From 1 October 2020 to 1 April 2021, SafeWork SA undertook a compliance campaign focused on respirable crystalline silica (RCS) in the fabrication, construction, and mining industries. Inspectors conducted 199 site visits and 71 compliance audits.

During the last three years SafeWork SA has undertaken 26 investigations after receiving complaints and notifiable incidents relating to the risk of exposure to RCS. There were also several other routine inspections relating to other matters where inspectors determined that a potential risk to RCS was detected.

2. The RCS campaign resulted in a total of 102 statutory notices being issued where breaches of the work health and safety legislation were identified, consisting of 95 improvement notices and seven prohibition notices.

The largest area of noncompliance identified in the campaign was the failure to conduct air monitoring to determine the airborne concentration of substances or mixtures to which a workplace exposure limit applies. Identifying the hazards of RCS and implementing appropriate control measures were other main areas of noncompliance.

The reactive and routine investigations resulted in 13 prohibition notices and 43 improvement notices being issued. These notices related to safe work method statements; air monitoring; respiratory and personal protective equipment; maintenance of control measures for silica whilst undertaking concrete cutting; and training.

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