Vehicle accident risk assessment in mines

Abstract

The problem of ensuring the safety of modern production is one of the most important. An increase in mineral production and the development of technology lead to an increase in the number of mechanized equipment used in mining enterprises. Transport, in turn, is one of the main factors leading to industrial accidents. The article analyzes the risk of such accidents at large mining enterprises. The share of accidents related to the use of vehicles increases every year and makes up about 25 % of the total number. A mine with annual production of more than 5 million tons of ore was selected as a research model. The risk probability of vehicle accidents in the absence of traffic control was determined. A technique that allows you to take into account the available statistical data on the frequencies and probabilities of possible adverse events, which may be the cause of accidents with vehicles, was chosen to assess risks. Cases of transportation of both ordinary and dangerous goods are considered. The authors determined the probability of accidents for various scenarios and types of vehicles when transporting conventional and dangerous goods, taking into account the lack of traffic light regulation at the interfaces of mining operations. In each case, several possible scenarios for the occurrence of accidents are analyzed. The results of calculations of vehicle accident risks in case of fire and explosion of dangerous cargo are presented. The probability of a collision between one vehicle and another, as well as the probability of a collision when traffic flows on the interfaces, has been established. As a result of the calculation, it was found that the risk of accidents in all cases was acceptable even taking into account deviations from the requirements of the Federal norms and rules in the field of industrial safety. The effectiveness of traffic control to reduce the risk of accidents is planned to be evaluated in further studies. This method allows us to assess the risks of accidents when justifying the safety of mines.