Quarries: Your health and safety guide

What it contains

Quarries involve significant risks to workers and people living or working near a quarry. People can be seriously injured or killed by a range of hazards, including the operation and maintenance of machinery and equipment (plant), falls from height and explosions. These incidents can have catastrophic results.

This health and safety guide helps you understand the risks of working in quarrying and how to make your workplace safer. It also tells you:

• what a quarry is
• the most common risks in quarrying
• an employer and employee’s legal duties
• an employer’s legal duty to consult with employees
• how to identify and assess risks and hazards
• how to control these risks using one or a combination of approaches
• when an employer must review hazard identification, risk assessment and risk controls

At the end of the document, you’ll find a list of terms used in this document and what they mean. You’ll also find a list of relevant tools for more information or advice.