Mine Safety and Health Research at NIOSH
NIOSH conducts mining surveillance through laboratories in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, and Spokane, Washington. These surveillance activities make extensive use of data obtained from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). MSHA maintains databases of reported employment and reported cases of accident/injury/illness for mine operators as well as for independent contractors working on mine property, as required under 30 CFR Part 50 [MSHA 2003a]. Data sources for mining are described as follows:
Accident/injury/illness database. Mine operators and independent contractors whose employees perform certain types of work on mine property (e.g., construction or demolition of mine facilities, shaft and slope sinking, drilling, and blasting) are required to file a Mine Accident, Injury, and Illness Report (Form 7000–1) [30 CFR 50.20; MSHA 2003b] for reportable incidents within 10 working days after the accident or injury, or within 10 working days following the illness diagnosis. MSHA defines reportable injury as all incidents that require medical treatment or result in death, loss of consciousness, inability to perform all job duties, or temporary assignment or transfer to another job. Injuries involving first-aid only are not reportable: these include one-time treatment and subsequent observation of minor scratches, cuts, burns, splinters, etc. that do not ordinarily require medical care, even if it was provided by a physician or a registered health care professional. Information reported on MSHA Form 7000–1 includes demographics of the injured or ill worker such as age, sex, years of total mining experience, years of experience at current mine, where the incident occurred (i.e., underground, surface, plant/mill), days away from work, days of restricted work activity, source of the injury, body part(s) injured, and a narrative description of the incident.
Employment database. Mine operators and independent contractors whose employees perform certain types of work on mine property are required to file a Quarterly Mine Employment and Coal Production Report (MSHA Form 7000–2) [30 CFR 50.30; MSHA 2003c] within 15 days after the end of each calendar quarter. This information is contained in MSHA’s address and employment files and includes the address and other contact information, production of clean coal tonnage, average number of persons employed during the reporting period, and the corresponding number of hours worked for each type of mining operational subunit (MSHA identifies 10 different operational subunits within mining, including underground operations, surface areas at underground mines, strip/open pit operations, culm banks, auger mining, dredging operations, other surface mines, independent shops, coal preparation plants or mills, and offices).
MSHA data compared with other surveillance systems. The mining data presented in this report may differ from mining industry data for the same period using the National Traumatic Occupational Fatalities (NTOF) Surveillance System (see NTOF description below) and CFOI (described previously). Both NTOF and CFOI use the 1987 Standard Industrial Classification (SIC) Manual [OMB 1987] to categorize fatal injuries by industry. The SIC classification scheme includes oil and gas extraction in the mining industry. MSHA excludes oil and gas extraction, as regulatory authority is delegated to OSHA. In addition, MSHA data include only incidents that occur on mine property. Therefore, an injury occurring during the course of work, but off mine property, is excluded from the MSHA file. NTOF and CFOI systems capture this type of injury. On the other hand, fatal incidents that occur on mine property under MSHA jurisdiction but are not work-related may be included in the MSHA file but may not be captured by NTOF or CFOI (e.g., visitors or customers at the mine). In addition, workers in other industries who are injured on mine property may be reported in the MSHA data under mining. In the CFOI or NTOF data, these workers are reported in the industry of the worker’s employer.
Hearing loss data. Data on hearing loss include unpublished audiometric data collected by NIOSH at 33 volunteer sand and gravel operations in 1999–2000.
For further information, contact
Surveillance and Research Support Activity
Pittsburgh Research Laboratory
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
P.O. Box 18070
Pittsburgh, PA 15236
Telephone: 412–386–6613
or
Surveillance, Statistics, and Research Support Activity
Spokane Research Laboratory
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
315 E. Montgomery Avenue, MS–P11
Spokane, WA 99207
Telephone: 509–354–8065
For more detailed information about mining employment and fatal and
nonfatal injuries, please visit our Web site at www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/topics/data/default.htm.
