Wheel rim ejected during tyre inflation

The NSW Resources Regulator has issued a safety alert after a haul truck tyre rim was ejected into the air, putting a worker at risk.

The rim of the truck wheel assembly ejected from the tyre on Friday 15 December at 5.45am. The wheel assembly was on the mine’s workshop floor. The tyre was being inflated after having the rim o-ring seals replaced.

The rim, weighing around 2.5 tonnes, was ejected about 1.5 metres above the tyre.

The wheel assembly had been removed from a haul truck during maintenance and the tyre was deflated and stored. The incident occurred during the process of fault-finding the leak.

The Regulator has drawn attention to several considerations for industry when managing heavy earthmoving wheel assemblies including controlling line-of-fire risks through retention of rim components using engineering controls.

The full report is published on the website.