Thread by @MiningNS

The #Westray mine in Plymouth, #NovaScotia, exploded at 5:20 a.m. on May 9, 1992, taking the lives of 26 miners.
#nspoli #cbpoli #capebreton

A public inquiry into the disaster, conducted Justice K. Peter Richard, led to significant changes in the way the industry is regulated and was a milestone in the establishment of a safety culture that has become a hallmark of the industry today.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia

As an industry, we believe the most important thing to come out of a mine is the miner, and our modern safety record reflects this. Injury rates in Nova Scotia’s mining and quarrying industry have been reduced 90% in the past two decades.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton

We are committed to continuous improvement in safety and to making sure a tragedy like Westray never happens again. Nothing is more important than ensuring our friends and colleagues get home safely to their families each night.
#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton

Justice Richard’s 1997 report also commented that “The industry is very close-knit with an interdependence, camaraderie, and fellowship that may be unique in modern-day business...

#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton

...And people in the industry, at all levels, regard what occurred at Westray as a personal matter affecting them as if it had happened in their own backyard. It is for them a family tragedy.”

#nspoli #cbpoli #novascotia #capebreton