• 152. (1) The employer shall provide a self-rescuer to every person granted access underground and shall train the person in the use of it.

• (2) The employer shall retrain every employee who goes underground in the use of the self-rescuer at least once every three years.

• (3) Every employee shall carry a self-rescuer at all times when the employee is underground.

• 153. (1) The employer shall provide and maintain the first aid supplies and equipment set out in Column I of each item of Part I of Schedule V in the quantities set out in Column II of that item, within 100 m of

  • (a) the face of each development; and

  • (b) each working face on any roadway to that face.

• (2) The employer shall provide every underground manager, overman and shotfirer with a first aid kit that contains the supplies set out in Part II of Schedule V.

• (3) Every overman and shotfirer shall carry a first aid kit referred to in subsection (2) at all times when underground.

• 154. (1) At least once every month, a qualified person shall

  • (a) inspect the first aid supplies and equipment referred to in subsections 152(1) and 153(1) and (2); and

  • (b) make a written report of the results of the inspection referred to in paragraph (a) to the mine rescue station superintendent.

• (2) The report referred to in paragraph (1)(b) shall be countersigned by the mine rescue station superintendent.

• 155. (1) Before stoppings or barricades are installed for fire protection in an area of a coal mine, all persons, other than those persons required to install the stoppings or barricades, shall be evacuated from the area.

• (2) No person shall enter an area referred to in subsection (1) for a period of 24 hours after stoppings or barricades have been installed, except for the purpose of saving life, preventing injury or relieving human suffering.

156. Where coal is left unmined as a barrier against fire or flooding or for any other safety purpose, no person shall remove the coal.

157. All openings to any underground area that is not being worked or developed shall be

• (a) stopped off; and

• (b) posted with a warning sign that states “DO NOT ENTER” and “ENTRÉE INTERDITE”.

• 158. (1) The employer shall submit to the Coal Mining Safety Commission for approval a notice in writing of the employer’s intention to carry out any of the following activities in a coal mine, at least 90 days before beginning any of those activities, namely,

  • (a) the development, construction or alteration of a portion of a coal mine;

  • (b) the introduction or alteration of mining methods or technology;

  • (c) the use of new methods of construction, operation or installation of equipment;

  • (d) the introduction or alteration of any main fan, booster fan, machine, equipment or instrument;

  • (e) the introduction or alteration of transportation equipment or a transportation system for employees or materials;

  • (f) the construction underground of a bulkhead, dam or permanent stopping;

  • (g) the construction of a tailing dam, a water storage reservoir or a structure above ground for the storage of explosives;

  • (h) the introduction of any electrical equipment or electrical system that has not been previously approved, or the alteration of any electrical equipment or electrical system; or

  • (i) the bulk transportation of explosives.

• (2) The notice referred to in subsection (1) shall contain pertinent detailed drawings, plans and specifications.

• (3) Where the drawings, plans and specifications referred to in subsection (2) are in respect of a submarine area, they shall indicate

  • (a) the mining method to be used;

  • (b) the area from which coal is to be extracted;

  • (c) sections of the strata between the sea bottom and the workings;

  • (d) the location of any faults or other geological disturbances; and

  • (e) the calculated strain on the sea bottom.

• (4) For the purposes of subsection (3), a submarine area includes an area below any body of water or material that may flow.