Queensland mineral mining retains separate welding and silica exposure entries

October 7, 2026

Queensland’s current Mining and Quarrying Safety and Health Regulation retains separate Schedule 5 entries for welding fumes and respirable crystalline silica. The official consolidation lists welding fumes at 5 mg/m³ and respirable quartz, cristobalite and tridymite at 0.05 mg/m³.

Schedule 5 excludes welding fumes, diesel particulate matter and respirable crystalline silica from its generic incorporation of the national airborne-contaminants standards. The 2023 amendment records the relevant schedule change. The Queensland mineral-mining record explains this sector baseline without treating it as a new 2026 commencement.

Read the schedule with the exposure provisions

Sections 133 to 136 govern exposure, adjustment and monitoring. They require attention to the worker’s relevant circumstances and work cycle, so the schedule numbers should remain connected to the applicable exposure calculation. The applicable exposure calculation requires the worker’s actual work cycle.

The generic incorporation exception means that a new national diesel entry cannot automatically be inserted as this sector’s legal limit. The numerical Queensland diesel baseline and the current QGN21 recommendations require separate verification.

APT’s practical interpretation is to identify the mine’s governing statute and preserve the schedule source in its exposure register. MQSH legislation governs the mineral mines and quarries discussed here. Queensland coal mining has a separate statutory framework and must be assessed separately.

For related developments, consult the industrial hygiene regulatory tracker.