Mined raw materials, or products produced from them, are essential for all industries. Mining will remain an essential industry even with the shift to sustainable energy as critical minerals that will support the needs for zero-emission vehicles, carbon-free energy, and production of energy resources and everyday products must be mined. Respirable crystalline silica (RCS) is one of the most prevalent and severe health hazards in mining – one that has been well-known since the Hawks Nest Tunnel Disaster in 1930. A recent paper from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Healt ..read more

Workers who are exposed to occupational heat stress (i.e., the combination of heat from environment factors, metabolic heat, and clothing/PPE) may be at risk for heat-related illnesses and injuries.  Heat-related illnesses may include heat stroke, heat exhaustion, heat cramps, heat rashes, and rhabdomyolysis. Injuries with heat as a factor may also occur, such as falls when someone becomes dizzy or slips on sweat puddles on floors. All miners should be trained on heat stress, a growing issue as underground mines extend to hotter, deeper areas and surface mines experience more frequent and ..read more

  A rockburst is a phenomenon where rock or coal is violently ejected into mine openings. Rockbursts can release significant amounts of energy and have the potential to injure workers and disrupt operations. Despite decades of research, these events are notoriously difficult to predict, and focus has turned to managing the related risks. In hardrock mines, seismic monitoring – the same technology used to monitor earthquakes, has proven invaluable for understanding and managing rockburst-related hazards. Most deep hardrock mines have a seismic monitoring system. However, coal mines, specif ..read more

Today is World Cancer Day. Around the world, 12.7 million people are diagnosed with cancer every year, and the number is expected to increase due to the growth and aging of the population, as well as reductions in childhood mortality and deaths from infectious diseases in developing countries (ACS 2011). Cancer is the leading cause of death in developed countries and the second leading cause of death in developing countries. Cancer is a group of diseases characterized by uncontrolled growth and spread of abnormal cells. If the spread is not controlled, it can result in death. Environmental fac ..read more

Little is known about the cardiovascular risks for miners in the US as most research to date has focused on respiratory illness. Potential mining-related risk factors for cardiovascular disease such as particulate matter, carbon monoxide, noise, vibration, temperature extremes, and shift work combined with personal risk factors can put miners at greater risk of poor cardiovascular health.  In an effort to better understand miners’ risk, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) examined blood pressure and obesity, both risk factors for cardiovascular disease, among ..read more

Yesterday, in honor of National Sleep Awareness Week, we blogged about sleep and work and the risks to workers, employers, and the public when workers’ hours and shifts do not allow for adequate sleep.   This blog provides a brief overview of some of the work that NIOSH intramural scientists are carrying out to better understand these risks and ways to prevent them. Nurses/Reproduction Issues/Shift Work NIOSH studies are examining shift work and physical demands with respect to adverse pregnancy outcome among nurses, specifically the association between work schedule and risk of spon ..read more

 Background All underground coal miners in the United States receive escape training on a quarterly basis. This training prepares them for exiting the mine in the event of an emergency and it must include walking either the primary or the secondary escape route from their work area to the outside (30 CFR, 2015). As a way to both study the mine emergency escape system and to supplement the existing training, NIOSH researchers developed the Mine Emergency Escape Training (or MEET) software. MEET uses a virtual immersive environment to create an underground coal mine escape experience focusi ..read more

Two unique NIOSH programs bring vital safety and health screening directly to miners. Mobile Hearing Tests Miners are at increased risk for noise-induced hearing loss from the use of high-powered motorized equipment, air-powered tools, and work involving striking, drilling and digging. To protect workers’ hearing, employers must have a hearing conservation program in place which includes engineering controls, administrative controls, and personal protective equipment. Additionally, annual hearing tests are required under the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) and Mine Safety ..read more

You may have some hypotheses about how work affects the health of the U.S. population, but collecting data from a nationally representative sample is expensive and time-consuming. What if there was free data available at your fingertips? You’re in luck! NIOSH sponsored an Occupational Health Supplement (OHS) to the 2010 National Health Interview Survey (NHIS), and the data is publicly available. See the NIOSH Topic Page for more information. Over 17 thousand current and recent U.S. workers supplied information on their industry, occupation, and the workplace health conditions and exposures lis ..read more

February 4th, 2020 is World Cancer Day, and we are reflecting on the role of the occupational cancer research being done at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) in reducing the burden of cancer worldwide. Cancer develops as a result of the body losing its ability to control the growth and spread of abnormal cells. Globally, cancer is the 2nd leading cause of death accounting for 9.6 million deaths in 2018 (IARC 2020). There are 17 million people diagnosed with cancer every year worldwide, and this number is expected to increase (ACS 2018). While there is no si ..read more