An Introduction to the Boulby Underground Labs. An Overview of the Health & Safety Structure

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "An Introduction to the Boulby Underground Labs. An Overview of the Health & Safety Structure"

Egbert Gilmore
5 years ago
Views:

1 An Introduction to the Boulby Underground Labs An Overview of the Health & Safety Structure

2 ton Aycliffe Peterlee Billingham Redcar UK s only operational Potash mine 1100m deep Shafts sunk 1970 Boulby - Where? Hartlepool Inverness arlington Stockton Middlesbrough Edinburgh Belfast Newcastle Dublin Liverpool Birmingham London Plymouth

3 Geology Lias Shales Bunter sandstone water bearing strata. Whilst sinking shafts rock had to be frozen due to saturation Bunter mudstone horizon prevents water ingress Potash mining horizon ~ 1100m to 1350m

4 Mine Plan 900 kms of tunnels! 8 miles North, 5 miles South Stub 2 Stub 2a,3 H Area JIF Area Map of the old Dark Matter research areas Map of the mine excavations

5 The Good Old Days B & Q Garden Shed Germanium detector Liquid Nitrogen Dewars

6 Development of Lab Areas Mid 90 s Stub 2 - ZEPLIN experiment Stub 2a/3-200 Ton Water Tank Late 90 s H Area Home to NAIAD crystals 2002 onwards JIF Area 1000m2 new lab area housing 2 nd Generation dark matter detectors

7 Health & Safety Structure Figure 1: Interrelationship between stakeholders, relevant safety codes and rulebooks and facility users and experimental projects

8 Stakeholders HM Mines Inspectorate Power to close Mine Cleveland Potash Ltd Power to close facility Boulby Underground Facility Owners & Operators responsibility to ensure health and safety codes are implemented Experimental Institute H&S Groups responsibility to ensure duty of care is discharged Experimental Group responsibility to ensure experiments comply with H&S regulations and procedures

9 HM Mines Inspectorate Branch of the Health & Safety Executive HMI is the authorative body for Mines & Quarries in the UK. Regular inspections and Boulby Mine. Has the authority to serve prohibition working notices. Investigates in event of incident/accidents HMI has visited the JIF lab area in July 03 and made recommendations.

10 Cleveland Potash Ltd (CPL) Mine operators. Authorising agent for Health & Safety on site. Ultimate Duty of Care resides with CPL. They have the power to shutdown experiments/or lab areas for breaches in Health & Safety. The Managers Rules are the H & S Boulby. Frequent Spot Check visits

11 Boulby Underground Facility Boulby Management Board discharges H & S responsibilities to operational team. Clear communication through regular reporting. Any disputes between Users & Facility resolved. Facility owned by University of Sheffield and operated by CCLRC.

12 Boulby Underground Facility Group (BUFG) Is the sole point of contact between Users and mine operators (designated CPL Manager) Mechanism to delivery Users needs/requirements. BUFG Gate Keeper for operational safety.

13 Health & Safety Process HMI recommended mechanism by which CPL had an oversight of science operations. The Project Implementation Plan (PIP) was born. All new experiments have to follow this procedure before deployment. Change Control is part of the process

14 PIP 4. Implementation phase for exp. PIP a living document. Change Control forms part of the process 3. Full Study (management of risks, hazards, methods and in the experiment ) approved by Stakeholders including CPL 2. Green Light by BMB for full evaluation 1. New Experiment initial evaluation

15 Boulby Safety Panel Meets bi annually. All Home Institute User groups represented. (Sheffield, CCLRC, Imperial College). Audit underground visits to Boulby Form an advisory group in Feasibility stage.

16 Safety Codes Multi layered system. 1. DM Rules (The Bible) written by JM taking into account CPL Managers Rules (Fire Risk Assess etc) 2. CCLRC Risk Assessment s s / Method statements for Experiments 3. COSHH 4. Radiation Local Rules 5. Boulby Safety System (daily booklet completed in Mess room prior to work) 6. On Site practical risk assessment for hostile underground environment.

17 Supervision Again multi layered approach: 1. Daily Supervisor appointed by Facility Team. Min. of 50 shifts u/g. Must have passed written exam for competency. Can supervise working people. 2. Approved Persons Min. of 20 shifts u/g Must have passed written exam for competency. 3. New Starts - Close Personal Supervision. Must be within ear / eye shot at all times. < 20 shifts u/g. 4. Visitors - same as New Starts

18 Problems with u/g lab areas Mine roof closure closure rate increased due to unusual geological conditions. Lab reconstruction and relocation of services. Air-conditioning of labs required. Temps can reach degrees underground. Power outages unreliable supply Materials have to go vertically down 5m wide shaft. Underground persons limit is 10. Under discussion with CPL. Ingress of Hydrogen Sulphide gas (replacement of equipment, restrictions to access to labs.) Salt very soluble limited use of fresh water. Salt corrosive atmosphere regular checking of equipment that travels in and out of the Pit.

Status and Outlook. Fraser Duncan Queen's University. Majorana Collaboration Meeting June 2005

Status and Outlook. Fraser Duncan Queen's University. Majorana Collaboration Meeting June 2005 Status and Outlook Fraser Duncan Queen's University Majorana Collaboration Meeting 20 21 June 2005 SNOLAB Science Objectives Particle Astrophysics: Low energy solar neutrinos Search for dark matter Search