ABSTRACT
Some leading cases concerning breaches of the statutory requirements and of the common law are analysed with a discussion of the applicable regulatory legislation, and proposed new developments, where the activity has involved or will involve tunnel mining and the use of compressed air. Compressed air is widely used in tunnel mining because of its effectiveness and versatility as a tunnelling method notwithstanding its possible danger to health to tunnel miners and others who work alongside them such as engineers, fitters and electricians. Special hazards of compressed air work include the development of decompression sickness and dysbaric ostenecrosis. The evidence suggests firstly that a system of strict medical examination and surveillance and careful compliance with the relevant statutory regulations will normally ensure a relatively low incidence of morbidity and, secondly, that the statutory rules might usefully be strengthened or improved. The authors of this paper examine the legal consequences of this activity and make proposals for reform.
