XN000022-1973-12-28 — Page 9

1

Friday, December 28, 1973

8

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