ENVIRONMENTAL, HEALTH AND SAFETY MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS FOR UNDERGROUND MINING

The serious problems of contaminants and environment impacts produced by human action in the subsurface (air, groundwater and rock in interaction with human activities), particularly in underground mines, require an integrated approach in terms of specific rules, laws and management systems in the domain of Occupational Safety and Health. As the ISO 14001 standard is mostly directed for the prevention and control of environmental commitments at the Earth surface, it does not deal with environmental problems in the subsurface environment, although its extended range would be highly regarded for this particular application. Under these trends for the extension of standards to underground mines important aspects have to be considered besides the minimization of environmental impacts, namely in terms of improving efficiency and cost reduction. These requirements consider the economic feasibility of alternatives or correctives actions to use, as a very important goal in engineering projects. The integral management system known as EHSMS (Environmental, Health and Safety Management System) may provide good working conditions for human work in subsurface environment, minimizing any negative impacts from mining activity and favorable contributions to improve local community life. The main components of this system are depicted in the following diagram and will be detailed in the article