The unlikely threat of hoses on a mine site

The NSW Government safety bulletin has warned of a threat to mine workers from the most unlikely of objects: hoses.

More specifically, hoses fitted with lever handle ball valves, which are common on mine sites and have injured workers on multiple occasions.

The lever on the business end of the hose is easy to snag and inadvertently activate, suddenly releasing pressurised water or air, and causing the hose — with its heavy metal head — to flail dangerously.

The bulletin reports two recent incidents.

"A deputy was filling a load haul dump (LHD) with water on 20 April 2023," the bulletin reported.

"While passing the hose across the LHD, the handle of the ball valve attached to the free end of the hose activated causing the hose and valve to flick back striking the deputy's nose and glasses. The deputy suffered a laceration to the nose."

And in the same week, another worker was injured by a hose while washing out a concrete kibble.

"The worker turned the hose off at the ball valve, placed it on the kibble, and while climbing onto the kibble, the hose moved, activating the ball valve," the bulletin said.

"The hose and valve flung back cutting the person's forearm."

Part of the issue is that the level-style handle of ball vales only requires only 90 degrees of rotation to achieve full flow.

This style of hose is designed for being fixed to solidly mounted pipework, which allows for quick activation.

But workers aren't isolating hoses at the fixed valve and dissipating pressure from the hose. Instead, they’re typically turning off the valve at the discharge end of the hose, and leaving the hoses charged with pressure.

Some ball valves are fitted with a slider lock, however, this is a gravity slide and the orientation of the valve may render this control ineffective.

So what can mine operators do to combat the tyranny of hoses?

The NSW Government makes several recommendations, including:

If these recommendations are impractical, the bulletin recommends fitting hoses with nozzles that will not engage without direct involvement by a worker such as trigger handles or two-handed controls.