UNITED NATIONS, May 18 (UPI) -- The U.N. labor agency has adopted a new coalmining labor code to ensure better safety in one of the world's most dangerous jobs.
In the wake of deadly mine accidents in China, Mexico and the United States this year, the U.N. International Labor Organization Thursday endorsed a new code of practices to improve miner health and safety and update an obsolete 20-year-old policy.
"If a safety net, which includes a number of critical checks and balances, is not in place to assess and control the hazards, accidents and occupational diseases can and do occur," the ILO said in a statement.
The code, adopted by experts representing workers, employers and governments at a meeting at the ILO's Geneva headquarters, bans hazardous processes or substances, enhances inspections and addresses health problems arising from excessive vibration and noise and will replace an existing code adopted in 1986.
Some 26 miners have died in the U.S. this year, with 12 killed in a Sago, West Virginia, accident in January. A February mine explosion killed 65 in Mexico, and China's coal miners reported 763 deaths and 483 accidents in the first four months of the year. Many of the accidents and fatalities are the result of outdated equipment and inadequate safety measures, ILO said.
The new code comprises a methodology for identifying hazards and preventing and minimizing risks including mine explosions, fires and the collapse of roofs; crushing of miners between machinery or machinery and the coal face; shock, burns and electrocution; inundations of dangerous gases; and premature or improper detonation of explosives.
It is to be submitted to the ILO governing body for endorsement in November.
