A worker has been killed in the third fatal quarry accident this year.
A preliminary examination of the incident in Ballintra, Co Donegal, suggests that the man died after becoming entangled in machinery, the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) said.
The death, which was reported to the HSA yesterday, follows a fatality in Wexford on May 3rd in which another worker was entangled in machinery, and on March 1st a death occurred in Donegal when a quarry face collapsed.
The deaths come after 2004 was the first fatality-free year this decade, and the authority has issued an urgent warning to the quarrying industry to improve safety standards.
Health and safety inspector Pat Griffin said the same types of incidents are reported each year.
"We have spent many years advising management and representative bodies of the risks involved and what they need to do to control those risks," he said.
"Surely it is not beyond the industry to ensure that these very few risks are proactively managed and workers are kept safe."
The authority was seeking to work in partnership with industry to ensure worker safety.
"However, if workplaces are not willing to engage, we will have no hesitation in taking the necessary enforcement action, including seeking the assistance of the High Court to close unsafe workplaces."
The HSA said the main risk areas in the quarrying industry were vehicles, machinery, falls from heights and the collapse of quarry faces.
It urged all in the industry to improve safety standards.
Safe systems of work in quarries should include reversing cameras on vehicles, the use of high-visibility clothing, designated pedestrian routes, traffic management systems, electronic brake testing, and CCTV systems where necessary, the authority said.
Fixed machinery should be guarded and isolated before maintenance, and quarry faces should be inspected by a competent person on a daily basis, it added.