Integrated Occupational and Environmental Risk Assessment in Cement Surface Mining: The IMORM Model

Surface mining represents a significant intervention into the natural environment, negatively affecting air, water, soil and local ecosystems. In cement production, these impacts are closely connected to occupational health and safety risks, particularly in processes involving blasting operations. The aim of the article is to design, implement, and empirically verify an integrated model for assessing occupational and environmental risks in the cement production process, with an emphasis on the surface mining of raw materials stage, which will enable a comprehensive assessment of the interrelationships between risks, increase the accuracy of their evaluation, and support effective decision-making in OSH management and the environmental performance of the enterprise. The research was conducted as a case study using a combination of scientific quantitative methods focused on designing and verifying the integrated IMORM model in the cement industry. The methodological approach included an analysis of the requirements of ISO standards, methodological recommendations of EU-OSHA, comparison of approaches, expert interviews, observation in practice, application of a checklist, point-based method, risk catalogue, synthesis of knowledge, modelling, and verification. The application of an integrated approach to risk management demonstrated higher effectiveness compared to traditional approaches, whereby all unacceptable OSH risks were reduced to an acceptable level after the implementation of measures. In the environmental area, the risk score decreased significantly by 52.9%, and in the OSH area, the risk index decreased by 31%. At the same time, the model’s ability to effectively prioritize measures and identify cross-cutting solutions with a high impact was confirmed. The contribution of the article lies primarily in expanding knowledge in the field of integrated risk management and in proposing a practically applicable model that reflects the requirements of management systems according to the standards ISO 14001, ISO 45001 and ISO 31000. The IMORM model represents a tool applicable to enterprises with a high level of occupational and environmental risks, particularly in the mining and processing industries. The model also supports more comprehensive decision-making in the field of OSH and environmental management and contributes to improving the safety and environmental performance of the enterprise.