Health and occupational hygiene
Sustainability website / Health / Health and occupational hygiene
Policy and approach
Policy and approach / Performance and goals
We aim to eliminate occupational illnesses through providing a workplace that is free from significant occupational health and hygiene hazards and proactively work with employees and contractors to contribute towards healthier lifestyles. This enables us to improve productivity, reduce absenteeism and enhance recruitment and retention.
We identify the public health risks affecting our people and the communities associated with our operations (including HIV and AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis) and implement initiatives to mitigate these in partnership with appropriate stakeholders.
Performance and goals
Policy and approach / Performance and goals
In 2007, 35 new occupational illnesses were recorded at Xstrata’s managed operations from a workforce of over 56,000 employees and contractors. The number of new occupational illnesses per million hours worked more than halved in 2007 to the lowest level recorded since Xstrata’s inception in 2002.
Noise-induced hearing loss continues to represent the majority of new occupational cases, accounting for almost half of all new illnesses in 2007. Respiratory complaints including occupational reversible asthma from chrome, vanadium or dust exposure accounted for six new illnesses in 2007, with one case of silicosis. Five new illnesses relating to musculo-skeletal injuries were reported and this is a growing issue due to the ageing profile of our workforce in developed nations.
Other occupational health risks at our operations include exposure to lead, hexavalent chromium, beryllium, nickel compounds, heat stress and fatigue.
Wellness programmes include advice, education and employee assistance initiatives to address obesity, smoking, alcohol abuse, fatigue, nutrition, sleep apnoea, mental health and emotional issues. These programmes are in place across Xstrata’s managed operations and are prioritised according to risk.
Noise-induced hearing loss
All operations implement hearing conservation programmes including static and personal monitoring and regular testing for all potentially exposed employees and contractors. Our approach aims to reduce noise at source wherever possible to levels below international recommended standards through design modifications, exclusion zones and ‘buy quiet’ programmes for new or upgraded equipment. Where noise levels exceed acceptable levels, suitable personal protective equipment is mandatory. Noise-induced hearing loss typically manifests over time and a large proportion of new cases reported in 2007 related to long-standing employees exposed to historic poor management practices.
Respiratory diseases
Exposure to dust containing vanadium causes occupational, reversible asthma in a certain proportion of the population. Xstrata Alloys operates one integrated vanadium operation in South Africa and has implemented a target of no employees exposed to dust concentration in excess of 0.05mg/m3 by 2010. All new cases of occupational respiratory complaints in 2007 were recorded at Xstrata Alloys operations. Six of the seven cases related to sensitisation to vanadium.
One case of silicosis was reported at Xstrata Alloys’ Maloma anthracite operation in Swaziland in 2007. The illness was reported by an employee who currently works as a cleaner at surface level but previously worked underground at the Maloma operation and in South African gold mines. Silicosis is an occupational lung disease that typically develops over a long period of time typically over ten years following a period of exposure to dust containing silicon.
Lead
Xstrata Zinc operates zinc-lead operations at McArthur River Mine (MRM) and Mount Isa Mines in Australia, Brunswick mine and smelter in Canada and Northfleet lead refinery in the UK. Exposure to lead has a history of adverse health effects. Comprehensive biological and workplace monitoring programmes are in place at all lead operations. Blood lead limits are set at levels below international occupational health guidelines at all Xstrata operations.
In 2007, the average blood lead level of all employees and contractors remained at a similar level to the previous year (13.2µg/dl compared to 13.1µg/dl in 2006). We remove any employees with blood lead levels in excess of 35µg/dl (or 40µg/dl in the Mount Isa lead smelter) from the workplace until blood lead levels reduce to below 30µg/dl. The Northfleet lead refinery has progressively reduced blood lead removal levels to an industry-leading limit of 30µg/dl in 2007. Mount Isa Mines increased the frequency of employee and contractor testing in 2007, in particular for long-serving employees or those with elevated blood lead levels, including the introduction of testing rooms on site to facilitate more frequent blood lead testing and performance indicators based on compliance with prescribed blood lead test frequencies. No employees recorded blood lead levels in excess of the Australian national limit of 50µg/dl in 2007.
