The NIOSH MiningThe NIOSH MiningProgramProgram

My Goals for Today’sMy Goals for Today’sMeetingMeeting

! Provide the rationale for our currentmining research program

! Provide you with a broad overview of themining program within NIOSH

Goal’s ContinuedGoal’s Continued

! Share with you the current focus areaswithin the mining program

! Share with you some future directions

! Have a discussion of these topics

Outline of Today’sOutline of Today’sPresentationPresentation

! An overview of the mining industry withemphasis on health and safety issues

! An overview of the NIOSH mining program! Current focus areas of the mining program! Future plans and directions! Discussion

NIOSHNIOSH

! Vision: Delivering on the Nation’s promise:safety and health at work for all peoplethrough research and prevention.

Office of Mine Safety andOffice of Mine Safety andHealthHealth

! Mission: Provide national and worldleadership to prevent mining work-relatedillness, injury, and death by gatheringinformation, conducting scientific researchand demonstrations, and translating theknowledge gained into products andservices.

EmployeesEmployees

108,060101,519102,296Total

2,19712,63346,297Underground

105,86388,88655,999Surface

Sand, Graveland Stone

Metal andNonmetal

Coal

What Is Unique About MiningWhat Is Unique About Mining! One of the 6 extreme work environments (space,

underwater, arctic, deserts, mountains andunderground)

! Confined space! Visibility is poor! Surrounding structure is unpredictable! Atmosphere is dusty and potentially toxic or

explosive

The First International DesignThe First International Designfor Extreme Environmentsfor Extreme Environments

AssemblyAssembly

University of Houston,November 12-15, 1991,Houston, Texas

Fatalities & RatesFatalities & Rates

1966-70 1971-75 1976-80 1981-85 1986-90 1991-950

200

400

600

800

1,000

1,200

Num

ber o

f Fat

aliti

es (5

-Yea

r Agg

rega

tes)

0

50

100

150

200Annual Average Fatality R

ate

Coal M/NM Rate Coal Rate M/NM

Sunshine fire (91 deaths)

Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977Consolidated federal mine regulations for Coal and M/NM under DOL/MSHA

Farmington explosion (78 deaths)

Federal Coal Mine and Safety Act of 1969Regulatory enforcement vastly increased

Still have a long way to go...Still have a long way to go...

! 1999, U.S.– 90 fatalities– 16,127 injuries

! 461,290 days lost

– 882 new cases of occupational illnesses

RespirableRespirable Coal Dust Coal Dust! 1100 deaths in 1999

! Annual cost of$1,600,000,000

! 8% of undergroundcoal miners withmore than 25 yearshave CWP

0

500

1000

1500

2000

2500

Dea

ths

87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96Year

Coal Dust Problems CouldCoal Dust Problems CouldGet WorseGet Worse

! Productivity isincreasing every year(and dust generationincreases withproductivity)

! As deeper coalbeds areexploited, ventilationwill become moredifficult

Average Longwall Production as Reported by Mine Operators

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

5000

6000

71 73 75 77 79 81 83 85 87 89 91 93 95 97 99

Year

Shift

Pro

duct

ion,

tons

Noise-induced Hearing LossNoise-induced Hearing Loss

! 70 – 90 % of coal minershave a hearing disability

! In general, if you areover 45 years of age andhave 20 years in themines, you are hearingimpaired

Percentage of Miners Percentage of Miners Exceeding 25 Exceeding 25 dBAdBA Hearing LossHearing Loss

0

10

20

30

40

50

60

70

80

90

100

20 24 28 32 36 40 44 48 52 56 60 64

Age in Years

Per

cent

Hea

ring

Im

pair

men

t

Coal M NM Non-Exposed

FatalitiesFatalities

! Fatality rate is 6times greater thanthe nationalaverage

3.8

13.9

22.1

25.8

27.5

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Fatality Rates/100,000

All Industries

Construction

Agriculture

M/NM Mining

Coal Mining

Fatality Rates by Industry (U.S.)1998

Causes of UndergroundFatalities

Causes of Surface Fatalities

Diesel ParticulatesDiesel Particulates! 30,000 underground

workers are exposedto concentrations thatare 20 times greaterthan 50 ug/m3

! Primarily the metaland nonmetal miners

Silica DustSilica Dust

Silica Dust Samples Exceeding PEL for Underground Coal Mining

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

Perc

ent

Roof B olter C ontinuous Miner Shearer

Operator Location

GOLD AND STONE MINESMOST FREQUENTLY SAMPLED OCCUPATIONS

0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

G OL D ST O NE

Perc

ent

Ove

r Si

lica

PEL TRU CK D RIVER

F R-EN D LOAD OPTR

R OT DR ILL OPTR

---------------------------

F R-EN D LOAD OPTR

R OT DR ILL OPTR

TRU CK D RIVER

InjuriesInjuries

! Severity of injuries isgreater than otherindustrial sectors

! Long-term effects ofworking in anunderground settingare significant

Equipment SafetySafety of Processor Control

2.9 3.3

2.7 2.1

2.9 1.8

5.7 1.9

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8

Injuries /100 E mployees

All Indus tries

Metal Mining

NonmetallicMining

C oal Mining

Injury R ates by S everity (U .S )1998

Lost T im e N o Lost T im e

Causes of Lost-time Injuries

UndergroundOperations

SurfaceOperations

Toxic SubstancesToxic Substances

! Many metal mineworkers are exposedto more than twice thePEL.

! For silver mining,almost half theworkers areoverexposed.

Technology and KnowledgeTechnology and KnowledgeShortcomingsShortcomings

!Dust measurement

!Hearing loss prevention strategies

!Adequate structural designsmethodologies

Significant IssuesSignificant Issues!Equipment safety

!Aging workforce

!Disaster prevention and lifesupport

High Priority ResearchHigh Priority ResearchAreasAreas

!Dust monitoring and control

!Hearing loss prevention

!Fatality prevention

Dust Monitoring and ControlDust Monitoring and ControlReal-Time Monitoringfor Coal Dust Exposures

Silica Exposures atSurface andUnderground Operations

Strategies for DustControl

Hearing Loss PreventionHearing Loss PreventionSurvey of Noise Sources

Miner Exposures

Hearing ConservationPrograms

Quiet-by-Design

Fatality PreventionFatality PreventionGround Falls

Equipment Safety

Powered HaulageSystems

Research Program OverviewResearch Program Overview

FundingFundingFY2000 Mining Laboratory Budgets

(In Millions)

$24.0

$8.2$2.7

PRLSRLExtramural

Spokane Research LabSpokane Research Lab! Spokane, Washington! 100 Employees! Mining Injury and Disease

Prevention! Catastrophic Failure

Detection and Prevention! Mining Surveillance and

Statistical Support! Extramural Coordination

and InformationDissemination

ZEUSZEUSHydrogen Powered “ZeroHydrogen Powered “ZeroEmission Utility Solution”Emission Utility Solution”

Mark II Free-fall ShockMark II Free-fall ShockTesting Machine- SpokaneTesting Machine- Spokane

Ore Pass and HoistingOre Pass and HoistingResearch Facility – SpokaneResearch Facility – Spokane

Pittsburgh Research LabPittsburgh Research Lab! Pittsburgh, Pa! 300 Employees! Disaster Prevention

and Response! Health! Mining Injury

Prevention! Surveillance, Statistics

and Research Support

Lake Lynn LaboratoryLake Lynn Laboratory

Conveyor Belt FireConveyor Belt Fire Explosives TestingExplosives Testing

Grain ExplosionGrain Explosion DOT TestingDOT Testing

Mine Roof SimulatorMine Roof Simulator

LongwallLongwall Dust Gallery Dust Gallery

Extramural ResearchExtramural Research•Colorado School of Mines

•University of Kentucky

•Penn State University

•Virginia Polytechnic Institute

•West Virginia University

•Harvard Medical Center

•Michigan Tech University

Extramural Research AreasExtramural Research Areas

Noise-induced hearing loss prevention

Mine ventilation

Ground control

Surveillance

Training

Rock Mechanics

Future Plans and VisionFuture Plans and Vision! Never forget that it is about the safety and

health of the mine worker.! Work with, listen to, and be guided by our

stakeholders.! Increase the use of partnership to bring

more resources ($ and expertise) to bear onthe problems.

Future Plans and VisionFuture Plans and Vision! Better serve the mine worker by improving

how we get the results of our work into themines.

! Increase the size of the extramural researchcomponent in direct support of on-goingintramural efforts.

Lew Wade, Associate Director for Mining

Phone: 202-401-2192 Email: low0@cdc.gov

Washington, DC

Ros Hill, Lab Director

Phone: 509-354-8001 Email: gzh0@cdc.gov

Spokane, Washington

Jeff Kohler, Lab Director

Phone: 412-386-6601 Email: jtk4@cdc.gov

Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Questions andQuestions andDiscussionsDiscussions