Lutz (2019) opines that due to societal, regulatory, labor and organizational pressures, combined with advances in technology and processes, mining has 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).1 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 National 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 (See Figure 1) in article. Yet, as seen in the graph for 25-plus years of tenure, 1995 to 2014, the combination of changes in geology, 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, rnusculoskeletal diseases and fatigue. For example, Weston et al. reported that for 2009- 2013, the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration data workforce ages and changes, and automation creates new, and sometimes unanticipated, health challenges associated with the worker-machine interface.
We talk a lot about safety culture, but health culture is not really part of our vernacular. As we edge toward the quarter-century mark, mine operators continue to be significantly challenged to mitigate known health risks, have access to the tools needed to accurately and fairly confirm fitness- for-duty, control the unknown hazards associated with expanding automation and create a "just culture" where any miner in need who seeks proactive care can do so with the confidence and real support of his or her employer. These 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, 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.
References
1. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/allmining.html .
2. https://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/topics/respiratorydiseases.html
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