Health,Safety & Wellbeing - Sustainability | Iluka Resources (original) (raw)
Protecting the health, safety and wellbeing of Iluka’s people is our highest priority.
Our focus is centered on creating a culture where all employees are leaders in promoting a safe working environment. This includes work to identify, assess and control risks, reduce the potential for occurrences of occupational illness and injury, and promote healthy lifestyles.
This approach is supported by Iluka’s Health, Safety, Environment and Community (HSEC) Management System, comprising Group Standards that define minimum performance requirements across key areas including risk and hazard management, contractor management, leadership and training, emergency and crisis preparedness, and audit and assurance.
The HSEC Management System requires Iluka’s workforce to comply with the requirements for a safe and healthy workplace for employees and contract partners. Employees are empowered to actively identify and eliminate or control hazards based on risk assessments and critical control checks. Frontline leaders utilise risk management tools to verify hazards are eliminated or effectively controlled. Contract partners are selected, engaged and managed to ensure Iluka’s performance requirements are met through prequalification, requalification, and ongoing support during their contract period.
Read more on Iluka’s safety and health performance in our Sustainability Data Book.
Health, Safety, Environment and Community Policy
Health, Safety and Wellbeing Programs
Iluka’s health, safety and wellbeing programs include:
- Critical Control Management (CCM) engages employees in the identification, elimination, control and mitigation of fatality risk. CCM provides confidence that health and safety material risks are being effectively managed, through a combination of program assurance, good governance and improved frontline knowledge of critical risks and controls. Frontline workers play a key role in recognising critical risks associated with their tasks and ensuring controls are in place before commencing Field supervisors verify and validate these control measures.
- Safe Production Leadership stands as a cornerstone for our frontline leaders, empowering them with essential skills and in-depth knowledge of Iluka systems and requirements through a blend of classroom-based education and competency assessments.
- Switched On advocates a mindset that safety is protecting people for a reason. Instrumental in helping Iluka achieve a material shift in safety performance, the program standardised many of Iluka’s health and safety risk management tools.
- Musculoskeletal Injury Management provides on-site physiotherapy for early intervention and support in treating minor sprains and strains. Emphasising employee wellbeing, the program integrates physical fitness sessions, health education, and strategies to enhance overall health.
- Safety visits are a positive leadership tool focused on behaviours and risk for specific tasks. It aims to increase visibility of frontline leaders through thematic discussions between the Iluka Leadership Team and those undertaking the task, generating opportunities to engage with all levels of the workforce to identify safety improvements.
- Our Occupational Hygiene program drives the assessment and review of workplace exposures that could affect employee health. In line with Iluka standards, procedures and guidelines, monitoring programs are based on qualitative and quantitative risk assessments. These programs, aligned with the operational risk profile, concentrate on measuring exposure to agents such as dusts, mists, gases and vapours, noise, radiation, heat stress, and waterborne microbes.
Iluka prioritises the mental health and physical wellbeing of employees through initiatives such as a dedicated wellbeing portal on the Iluka intranet for resources, tools and techniques to enhance wellbeing, and the provision of mental health first aid training for employees and supervisors. An Employee Assistance Program is available as a confidential support service that can help employees and their immediate families address a wide range of work and life challenges.
Iluka’s Mental Health Awareness eLearning module is mandatory for all employees. Lifeline WA’s mental health first aid training is also in place for appointed employees throughout the business.
Psychosocial Safety and Wellbeing
Iluka’s internal cross-functional psychosocial safety and wellbeing working group focuses on broad psychosocial risk including sexual harassment. The working group’s objectives cover leadership and culture; positive duty requirements; risk assessment and transparency; safety and amenity of accommodation villages; measurement; knowledge and training; employee support; and victim reporting and external developments. The working group implements company-wide initiatives to support safe and respectful behaviours at Iluka and incorporates feedback from internal focus groups, engagement surveys and risk assessments.
Iluka is a member of the Chamber of Minerals and Energy of Western Australia’s safe and respectful behaviours industry working group, which helps the company to align its actions to the recommendations of the Western Australian Government Inquiry into Sexual Harassment Against Women in the FIFO Mining Industry 2021.
Psychosocial safety and wellbeing are a priority at Iluka. All psychosocial matters are regularly reported to the Executive and Board, including matters raised for investigation and action. Regular updates on our actions and reported matters are provided at workforce Town Hall forums. Iluka is continuing to benchmark its processes externally with peer organisations on all aspects of the management of psychosocial hazards in the workplace.
Iluka seeks to be recognised and trusted as an industry leader on radiation management.
Mineral sands, as with other mineral ores, contain some level of naturally occurring radioactive material (NORM). This is associated with low level, naturally occurring potassium, uranium and thorium contained within the grains of the minerals: monazite, xenotime, zircon and some ilmenites. Any activity in which material containing radiation is extracted from the earth and processed can potentially concentrate NORM in the final products, co-products and residue materials.
Iluka identifies, assesses and controls risks associated with exposure to radiation from NORM and man-made sealed sources. Radiation exposure sources can be found within Iluka’s processing plants and laboratories, instrumentation and through all phases of activities, including exploration, project development, operations, rehabilitation and closure.
Radiation management practices are aligned with international best practice, including the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP), International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and applicable jurisdiction legislation. These practices include the responsible and safe management of waste, ensuring it is disposed of in accordance with relevant legislation as documented in site-specific radioactive waste management plans. These practices are regularly reviewed to capture updates, changes and revisions to international, national and state level requirements.
In line with Iluka’s Radiation Management Standard and site-specific radiation management plans, the company ensures exposure to radiation meets prescribed statutory limits and is as low as is reasonably achievable (ALARA), taking economic and societal factors into account. All Iluka radiation management plans are reviewed by the relevant national, state or territory government regulator against defined requirements before any approval to operate is granted. Once approved, these become licence conditions and obligatory standards which must be complied with to maintain a regulatory licence to operate.
Iluka recognises the importance of maintaining and enhancing the technical skills of its radiation specialists and ensuring the basic literacy in radiation management is broadly understood across the workforce. Iluka’s radiation specialists maintain their technical competencies through regular radiation safety training and development. Formal mentoring of Iluka’s radiation safety officers continues in accordance with Western Australian Government requirements.
Iluka collaborates with leading associations, such as the Radiation Services division of the Australian Nuclear Science and Technology Organisation (ANSTO). Specialists hold individual memberships to the Australasian Radiation Protection Society (ARPS), in addition to a Registrar position on the Australasian Radiation Protection Accreditation Board (ARPAB). Specialists also participate in consultation on the development of Western Australian Government’s radiation protection guidance for mineral sands, lithium, rare earth element mining and mineral processing sectors.