On Sunday, Mines and Energy Minister Geoff Wilson released Queensland Mines and Quarries Safety Performance and Health Report for the 2008 financial year.

Coal mining’s Lost Time Injury Frequency Rate (LTIFR) decreased from 4.9 per million hours worked to 4.4. For underground coal mines the decrease was from 12.6 to 8.

The lost time injuries and Disabling Injuries Frequency Rate (DIFR) decreased from 13.4 to 10.4 with underground coal decreasing from 35 to 24.

Of the underground coal workers, 77 suffered LTIs during the year, 154 suffered disabling injuries, 547 were medically treated (MDI) and there were 2288 LTI days lost.

There were 106 high potential incidents (HPI) in underground coal mines in 2007/08.

“What disturbs us, as the Chief Inspectors, are the large numbers of repeat high potential incidents, in particular uncontrolled movements of mobile equipment,” mines chief inspector Roger Billingham and coal mines chief inspector Gavin Taylor said.

“This would indicate that perhaps investigation may not be indicating the root causes of the incidents or that identified controls are not implemented. These issues need to be addressed by the industry.”

Almost half of the HPIs were electrical ranging from cable damage to poorly maintained equipment and equipment being incorrectly installed.

Loss of control/unplanned movement was also a common incident reported. Several incidents involved continuous miners, vehicle brake or steering failure. There was also a reported case of an Eimco being driven up a ramp with an empty trailer in tow when a bump in the road resulted in the trailer pin becoming dislodged. The trailer rolled back about 5m and stopped in a drain.

Over the period, two underground coal miners suffered permanent incapacity injuries. In one case an employee was walking through a cut out to allow an Eimco to pass when the machine changed direction suddenly and came into contact with the employee. The employee’s right foot was crushed and his injury resulted in amputation of the right leg below the knee.

In another incident an employee’s little finger was trapped while placing cog timber into a gap to raise a machine part. The machine part dropped onto the cog causing severe injury to the finger resulting in loss of the right hand little finger at the base of the nail.

Under the significant incident category, underground coal mines recorded a number of events.

A contract employee received facial injuries and chemical burns to his eyes when pressure in a hydraulic line containing a dilute phenyl-based product was released.

Whilst pulling a Bretby a wire rope broke and the end swung violently striking a mine worker in various parts of the body.

A mine worker was drilling a hole into the rib on the off driver’s side of the continuous miner when a steel barb caught the operator’s glove wrapping it around the steel and causing partial de-gloving of skin on the hand.

There were also a number of incidents where persons were in a “No Go” zone. The Inspectorate said the most serious was when a mine worker had gone to the off driver’s side of the continuous miner to obtain materials and had not told the driver. The worker had placed his leg between the miner and the rib. The miner driver moved the machine and it crushed the worker’s leg.

“Considering the publicity the fatality in April 2007 received where a miner driver was crushed against the coal rib by a shuttle car, it is a concern to continue to receive numerous incident reports on persons being in a No Go zone,” the report stated.

During the year there were no fatal accidents in underground coal.

Compensation claims in coal mining cost $A6.6 million during the year, with a large number of the 366 claims coming from trauma to muscles and tendons.

Broken down at a mine level, North Goonyella No.1 was the worst performer across LTIs, DIs, MDIs, HPIs (equal with Grasstree), Total Recordable Injuries, and LTI days. Oaky North had the highest DI days.

Recording zero LTIs were Aquila and Newlands; zero DIs Aquila, Bundoora, Grasstree, Kestrel and Newlands; zero HPIs Newlands Northern and Newlands; zero LTI days Aquila and Newlands; and zero DI days Aquila, Grasstree, Kestrel and Newlands.

Sunday’s report was the first incorporating changes to the way statistics were recorded following an expert investigation last year.

"Concerns were raised that some figures in previous reports didn't accurately reflect what was really happening on the ground," Wilson said.

"For instance, there are now statistics on the severity of injuries with a record of how many days an injured worker was off the job. That in itself reflects the significance of an injury rather than how many injuries were sustained.

"You've got to have the full facts. You've got to know what's really happening at the coal face. That's the only way to bring about real change.”