The Surveillance, Statistics, and Research Support activities at NIOSH's Pittsburgh and Spokane Research Laboratories are involved in the collection, analysis, and interpretation of safety and health data related to mining occupations in order to report on the overall incidence, prevalence, and significance of mining occupational safety and health problems. Reports on trends in incidence of mining-related fatalities, morbidity, and traumatic injury are prepared. Involvement includes the participation and coordination of research projects and institute-wide surveillance initiatives. The activities provide consultation in the formulation of research questions, study design, data collection, and statistical methods to support laboratory research.

Mining Fact Sheets

For quick reference, Fact Sheets covering a variety of topics of general interest relating to mining operations, workers, fatalities, nonfatal lost-time injuries, and occupational illness are now available for each of the mining commodity sectors. Further fact sheets are under development.

Graphs, Tables, and Maps

Graphs, tables, and maps summarizing a variety of information reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) are generated on a regular basis.  Data used to create these graphs, tables, and maps were obtained from the MSHA databases of reported employment and reported cases of accident/injury/illness for mine operators as well as independent contractors working on mine property. See the Statistical Methodology for further details.

• Mining Operations
• Employees
• Fatalities
• Injuries
• Illness and Disease
• Occupational Exposure
• Historical Mine Disasters

National Survey of the Mining Population

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), as part of the process to improve the safety and health of American workers, tracks the number and rates of work-related injuries, fatalities, and disease for the mining labor force.  Since 1986, there has been little research on the demographics of the nation’s miners, such as age, gender, job title, and years of mining experience.  These data are needed to understand the risk of work-related injuries and disease, and to customize safety and health interventions for specific subgroups of the mining industry.  To fill this data gap, the NIOSH Pittsburgh Research Laboratory is conducting the National Survey of the Mining Population.

Statistical Publications

• The Worker Health Chartbook, 2004 (PDF, 8.8 MB), DHHS (NIOSH), Publication No. 2004-146, consolidates information from the network of injury and illness surveillance tracking systems in the U.S. and is designed for agencies, organizations, employers, researchers, workers, and others who need to know about occupational injuries and illnesses. Chapter 4 focuses on the high-risk occupations in the mining and construction industries.  This Chartbook is also available on-line in HTML format.
• Worker Health Chartbook, 2000 (PDF, 16 KB), DHHS (NIOSH), Publication No. 2000-127. The section Focus on Mining presents a detailed overview of mining and injuries. This report includes a historical perspective of fatal injuries during the 85-year period 1911-1995, along with data on fatal and lost work-day injuries during the 10-year period 1988-1997. This Chartbook is also available on-line in HTML format.
• Worker Health Chartbook, 2000, Focus on Mining (PDF, 1.3 MB) published by DHHS (NIOSH), Publication No. 2002-121, May 2002. Contents of this booklet were taken from the Worker Health Chartbook, 2000.
• Injuries, Illnesses, and Hazardous Exposures in the Mining Industry, 1986-1995: A Surveillance Report (PDF, 20.9 MB).  DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2000-117. The report summarizes available data on work-related fatal and nonfatal injuries in the mining industry for the 10-year period 1986-1995.

Contact CDC Info at 1-800-CDC-INFO (1-800-232-4636) or send an e-mail to cdcinfo@cdc.gov to request printed copies of these publications.