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Friday, December 28, 1973
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TIGHTER CONTROL ON QUARRIES SAFETY STANDARDS
quarries,
The government is to tighten control over safety standards in
The Quarries (Safety) (Amendment) Regulations 1973, which will
become effective on January 1, 1974, offer a greater degree of safety to
workers operating at a height on the face or top of quarries. Commissioner
of Hines, Mr. I.R. Price, said the amending regulations were yet another
in a series to bolster Hong Kong's safety legislation.
Expressing deep concern about the safety and welfare of workers
engaged in quarry work and in other fields, Mr. Price said:
"It is my
duty to ensure that safety measures in all places of work are always up
to the required standard to safeguard the workers' well-being."
Almost all falls of persona from quarry faces, he said, resulted
in fatal injuries.
Since the enactment of the original quarries regulations
four years ago, 10 of the 14 fatal accidents recorded in quarries had
resulted from falls. In seven of the accidents the workers had not been
secured by safety ropes. In another case the safety rope had broken.
"The amending regulations therefore specifically require a quarry
proprietor to provide each of his workers with a safety harness, which the
worker has to wear, and a safety rope, one end of which must be securely
attached to the safety harness and the other to an anchorage," he said. "Any
person who contravenes the regulations is liable on conviction to a fine of
$5,000."
The regulations