Description
Supervision is carried out by technicians qualified as judicial police officers attached to the Service, in relation to those who report quarrying or mining operations to the supervisory authority, with the aim of verifying that the activities are carried out in compliance with provincial and national regulations governing the sector, with a focus on prevention aimed at encouraging self-regulation by providing information on legal obligations.
The monitoring carried out by the Service concerns:
- compliance with excavation plans
- compliance with the specific mining regulations set out in Presidential Decree 128/1959, designed to protect the health and safety of workers, to ensure that operations are carried out properly whilst safeguarding the safety of third parties and activities of overriding public interest, and to guarantee the sound management of mineral deposits
- the protection of workers’ health and safety in activities related to extraction and primary processing, such as splitting and sorting in the porphyry sector and the screening and selection of material in the aggregates sector, for which other provisions apply, including Legislative Decree 624/1996 and Legislative Decree 81/2008.
In addition, accidents occurring in the sector are investigated and the relevant inquiries are conducted on behalf of the judicial authorities.
Within the mining sector, supervisory activities are also carried out by the PAT Labour Service and, with regard to work not included in the mining production cycle but involving the use of mineral products—such as secondary and tertiary processing— by the Operational Unit for Prevention and Safety in the Workplace (UOPSAL) of the APSS.
To this end, the Provincial Executive annually approves the ‘Annual Programme of Inspections of Exploration, Quarrying and Processing Activities for Quarry Materials’, which sets out the minimum inspections required in the sector to be carried out by the aforementioned bodies.
Relevant legislation
At the following link you can consult the legislation and circulars issued periodically for the supervisory sector.