Coal Miner Health: 1970 to 2014

Coal and Related Carbon Resources / Related Environmental Issues / Environmental Impact

Lutz reports that due to societal, regulatory, labor and organizational pressures, combined with advances in technology and processes, mining bas made great strides in safety improve­ments across the sector. During the past decade, mine fatal­ities have fallen by approximately 40 percent, and lost-time injury rates have decreased by almost half (2.4 to about 1.4 per 100 full-time equivalents). However, mitigating miner health risks and managing negative health outcomes continues to be a significant chal­lenge for many operators. Historically, the greatest health risk in mining has been associated with chronic respiratory exposures to dusts, particulates, gases, vapors and fumes.

The rational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) tells us, "Miners are at risk of developing lung diseases called pneumoconioses because of their regular exposure to airborne dust, and miners with five or more years of mining experience who are exposed to exhaust from diesel engines have an increased risk of dying from lung cancer." While lung diseases most commonly associated with respiratory exposures in mining include silicosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer and coal worker pneumoconiosis, tremendous improvements in these dis­eases have been made. Yet, as seen in the graph for 25-plus years of tenure, 1995 to 2014, the combination of changes in geology (type of rock drilled), mining methods and workforce demo­graphics has resulted in increasing disease rates for some populations.
Additionally. there are many other health challenges as­sociated with mining that have not seen dramatic improve­ments, including hearing loss, musculoskeletal diseases and for U.S. mines, these musculoskeletal diseases were reported mostly for workers with less than five years or more than 20 years of mining experi­ence. The highest number of days lost was associated with shoulder and knee injuries, which increased with age.

Lutx concludes the article by stating that miner-health challenges underscore the great need for increased cross-organizational transparency and sharing of best practices, sector-wide enhanced pipeline of well-trained, highly professional employees, and expanded focus on. and underwriting of, targeted. practical research with rapid lab-to-mine translation that benefits both large- and small-mine operators. With greater understanding of automation at the human-machine interface. additional tools for controlling exposures, and effective technologies for evaluating fitness for duty in real time, he thinks that we can make dramatic strides toward eliminating occupational diseases in mining and send our miners home every shift across their career at least as healthy as they arrived to start their career.

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