Draft National Mining Agenda

The NORA Mining Sector Council requests comments from individuals and organizations on the current draft of the "National Mining Agenda: For Occupational Safety and Health Research and Practice in the U.S. Mining Sector". This document sets forth objectives for a National mining health and safety research program and recommends objectives in seven major areas, including disaster prevention, disaster response, health hazards, ventilation, work organization, systems operation and management, and human factors engineering. While research to address some of these objectives is underway in NIOSH, the Agenda is meant to encourage independent organizations or collaborative partnerships to tackle objectives that NIOSH is not currently able to pursue.

The North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) is the standard used by Federal statistical agencies in classifying business establishments for the purpose of collecting, analyzing, and publishing statistical data related to the U.S. business economy. The NAICS code for Mining is 21. However in NORA the Mining Sector is defined by the industry segments coded under NAICS Code 212: Mining (except Oil and Gas), which includes the coal mining, metal ore mining, and nonmetallic mineral mining and quarrying segments of the industry, and those sections that apply to these segments coded under NAICS Code 213: Support Activities for Mining. Although Oil and Gas Extraction is included in the NAICS Code 21, a separate NORA group was formed for the Oil and Gas Extraction industry sector.

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) estimates that there were about 249,000 employees of mining companies in 2010; around 89,000 were in coal mining, 36,000 in metal mining, and 124,000 in nonmetallic mineral mining.¹ In addition to those employed directly by mining companies, there were also about 112,000 contractors. During 2006-2010, 296 miners and contractors were fatally injured in mines, mills, and prep plants¹ and many more died from respiratory diseases attributed to occupational exposures in mines. In addition there were about 35,000 lost-time injuries during this same period and of those miners who were examined in the NIOSH X-Ray Surveillance Program between 2005 and 2009 that had 25 or more years of experience, the x-rays of nearly one out of every 14 showed evidence of pneumoconiosis.² The NORA Mining Sector Council has developed research objectives aimed at developing the knowledge and technology to prevent the hazards and exposures that lead to deaths, injuries, and diseases in the mining industry.

The NORA Mining Sector Council is seeking public comment on its draft national agenda. The Council is particularly interested in comments from those who have insights into the impact of these goals and activities on the well-being of the workforce. In addition, the Council is seeking comments from those organizations and individuals who would commit to advancing one or more of these goals through partnerships. The Council looks forward to the constructive comments and feedback from the public. Use the following links to review and comment on this document.

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Draft Preliminary Public Comment Version:
Draft National Mining Agenda

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Public Comment Period

Written comments on the document will be accepted through October 30, 2012 in accordance with the instructions below. All material submitted to NIOSH should reference Docket Number NIOSH-246. All electronic comments should be formatted as Microsoft Word and make reference to docket number NIOSH-246.

Comments will be accepted until 5:00 p.m. EST on October 30, 2012

To submit comments, please use one of these options:

• Send NIOSH comments using this online form
  
  
• Send comments by email.
  
  
• Fax comments to the NIOSH Docket Office: 513-533-8285
  
  
• Send by Mail to:
  NIOSH Mailstop: C-34
  Robert A. Taft Lab.
  4676 Columbia Parkway
  Cincinnati, Ohio 45226