NIOSH Develops Improved Mining Safety and Health Web Topic Page

www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining

Introduction

The NIOSH Office of Mining and Construction Safety and 

Health Research has redesigned its Mining Safety and Health 

Web topic page. The updated page incorporates a significant 

amount of new safety and health information, plus an improved 

layout to better serve stakeholder needs. It also provides background information about the NIOSH Mining Research Program, including research awards, core competencies, unique 

labs, community and educational outreach, and a brief discussion of how the research program is structured. The new Web 

topic page can be found at www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining. 

"Search" Feature 

The redesigned Web topic page features improved search 

capabilities. The "Search Mining" feature on each page lets you 

search only the NIOSH Mining Safety and Health Web topic 

page. The user can still search the entire NIOSH Web page by 

using the "Search NIOSH" option. 

New Safety and Health Topics 

 Developers expanded the "Safety and Health Topics" and 

reorganized the site to make it easier to find information. Each 

topic link now has a significant amount of new and updated 

information, as well as links to related topics of interest. Safety 

and health topics include dusts, diesel exhaust, hearing loss, 

contact with electric current, fires, explosives, ventilation, 

emergency management, new and older workers, and education 

and training. All topics can be accessed from the home page 

(Figure 1). 

Publications 

 Although the Web topic page highlights many of the most 

requested publications on the safety and health topic links, you 

can find a complete list of downloadable publications as well. 

More than 600 mine safety and health publications are now 

downloadable from the page. Short summaries let the user 

quickly identify publications of interest. 

Products 

 The updated Web topic page offers more than 120 NIOSH 

mine safety and health products, including training exercises, 

toolbox talks, videos, computer software, guides, and checklists, 

many of which are downloadable. If not, instructions are given 

on how to obtain copies. Some of our products include: 

 • Software to analyze horizontal stress, design pillars for 

longwall mines, and select roof bolts for ground control. 

 • Educational software including the Hearing Loss Simulator, which simulates the effects of noise and aging; and Coal 

Country, which teaches children about coal formation, mining 

techniques, and everyday uses of coal. 

 • Utility software including the HazCom Helper software to 

assist individuals in writing a HazCOM plan, as required by the 

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), to track hazardous chemicals at their mine sites. 

 • Guides for troubleshooting roof support systems, underground workstation design, and seating design. 

 • Training exercises and videos that can be used for safety 

training. 

Data and Statistics 

General mining statistics are used by a wide variety of 

stakeholders. The NIOSH Mining Web topic page offers statistical 

graphs, tables, maps, fact sheets, and other publications that 

document the mining population, injuries, fatalities, diseases, and 

occupational exposures for all mining commodities. If users prefer 

to analyze data themselves, downloadable files of MSHA data are 

available. These cover employment, production, injuries, fatalities, 

and accident data from 1983 to the present and are available in both 

SPSS® and dBASE® formats. 

No. 511 November 2005 
Figure 1.—Home page of the NIOSH Mining Safety and Health Web topic page.

Calendar 

 The event calendar tracks upcoming mine safety and health 

events. We welcome requests to include your event on our calendar. 

For More Information 

 NIOSH appreciates your feedback on how to improve our 

Mining Safety and Health Web topic page to better serve our 

customers. If you have any suggestions or would like additional 

information, contact Michael J. Brnich, Jr., CMSP, NIOSH 

Pittsburgh Research Laboratory, Cochrans Mill Rd., P.O. Box 

18070, Pittsburgh, PA 15236–0070; phone: 412–386–6840; fax: 

412–386–6780; e-mail: MBrnich@cdc.gov. 

To receive other information about occupational safety and 

health topics, call 1–800–35–NIOSH (1–800–356–4674), or 

visit the NIOSH Website at www.cdc.gov/niosh 

Mention of any company name or product does not constitute 

endorsement by the National Institute for Occupational 

Safety and Health. 

SPSS is a registered trademark of SPSS, Inc. 

dBASE is a registered trademark of dataBased Intelligence, 

Inc.

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2006–107