NIOSH Mining Safety and Health Research

Musculoskeletal injuries are a significant and costly problem for the mining industry. The NIOSH-sponsored National Occupational Health Survey of Mining found that exposure of mine workers to musculoskeletal overload conditions clearly plays an important role in musculoskeletal injuries at coal, metal, and nonmetal mines. Current research efforts under the Ergonomics research program involve investigating the musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the mining industry to obtain a better understanding of the effectiveness of ergonomic interventions.

Investigating Musculoskeletal Disorders (MSDs)

To evaluate the effectiveness of ergonomic interventions within a mining organization to reduce MSDs, NIOSH has entered a long-term partnership with a surface coal operation near Rock Springs, WY. The new ergonomics process at the cooperating mine has been in operation for about 1 year. it will take several more years for it to evolve and be fully accepted. A plan on how to assess its impact is being developed jointly with NIOSH and the cooperators management. However, employees have reported more than 40 separate concerns, and the mines newly formed ergonomics committee is addressing more than 12 separate issues. Examples of ongoing projects are:

• Handle design on 20-lb sledgehammers
• Jolting and jarring during ripping tasks with certain dozers
• Manual handling of dragline power cables
• Heavy manual lifting performed by mine service operators while unloading trucks
• Control layout on drilling machines
• Impact-resistant gloves for mechanics
• control layout on water trucks
• Reducing the weight of welding helmets

Two worker concerns have resulted in NIOSH-led efforts for interventions. These are being introduced in a controlled manner, with extensive baseline data collected before the intervention is introduced and additional data collected for several years after the introduction.  This approach allows NIOSH researchers to better understand and report on both the effectiveness of the intervention and its method of introduction.  The two intervention projects are:

• Dragline Workstation Design - Report cards and the mines injury records showed that a large percentage of dragline operators (41%) were regularly experiencing shoulder pain. The job requires high levels of repetitive wrist, elbow, and shoulder motions to manipulate the draglines two joystick controls.
• Powder Crew Tasks - Information received from supervisors and workers shows that the powder crew performs manually intensive work at the mine in rather extreme weather conditions. These include tying the shots, shoveling, taping holes, and awkward postures while loading holes. Some of these tasks are being examined to assess frequency and duration of exposure to a variety of risk factors. Alternatives are being investigated that fit within the context of engineering design, work practices, and personal protective equipment.