SAND & GRAVEL OPERATOR 

MINING FACTS – 2004 

In 2004, a total of 7,074 sand and gravel mining 

operations reported employment to the Mine Safety 

and Health Administration (MSHA). 

•	 Sand and gravel mines were the largest mining 

sector, comprising 48.9% of all mining operations. 

•	 Sand and gravel mines were found throughout all 

50 states. 

A total of 37,000 employees,

1

 corresponding to 

33,364 full-time equivalent (FTE)2

 employees, were 

reported by sand and gravel mine operators. 

•	 Within the mining sectors,3

 sand and gravel mine 

operator employees accounted for 12.3% of all 

employee hours reported to MSHA. 

0 

50 

100 

150 

200 

250 

1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 

Number of Employee Hours

(millions) 

Coal Operator 

Metal Operator 

Nonmetal Operator 

Stone Operator 

Sand & Gravel Operator 

Coal Contractor 

Noncoal Contractor 

Eight work-related fatalities occurred among sand 

and gravel operator employees in 2004. This compared to 10 fatalities in 2003. 

•	 The sand and gravel mine operator fatality rate 

was 24.0 fatalities per 100,000 FTE employees. 

•	 Fifty percent of the sand and gravel fatalities in 

2004 occurred to employees with the MSHA job 

title of 'Supervision/management/foreman/boss.' 

0 

2 

4 

6 

8 

10 

12 

2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 

Number of Fatalities 

0 

6 

12 

18 

24 

30 

36 

Fatality Rate

(per 100,000 Full-time Equivalent Employees) 

Number Rate 

There were 753 nonfatal lost-time injuries among 

sand and gravel operator employees occurring at a 

rate of 2.3 injuries per 100 FTE employees. A total 

of 34,856 days lost4

 from work resulted from these 

injuries. 

•	 The most frequent classifications of nonfatal 

lost-time injuries for sand and gravel operator 

employees involved handling materials (n=241; 

32.0%) and slip or fall of person (n=241; 

32.0%). 

•	 Sprains and strains were the most frequently 

reported nature of injury (n=296; 39.3%). 

•	 The back was the most frequently reported part 

of the body injured (n=155; 20.6%) followed by 

fingers (n=105; 13.9%). Back injuries represented 7,919 days lost from work. 

Distribution of Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries 

by Accident Class, 2000-2004 

11% 9% 6% 

28% 35% 

12% Handling materials 

Slip or fall of person 

Hand tools 

Powered haulage 

Machinery 

All other 

Note: "Fall of ground" includes MSHA's Accident/Injury/Illness classification for fall of face, rib, 

pillar, side, or highwall (from in place); fall of roof, back, or brow (from in place); and underground 

machinery cases when the source of injury was caving rock, coal, ore, or waste. 

DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health 

September 2007 
In 2004, 20 cases of were 

reported to MSHA by sand and gravel operators.5 

This compares to 15 cases reported in 2003. 

•	 Joint, tendon, or muscle inflammation or irritation accounted for the most frequently reported 

occupational illnesses (n=10; 50.0%). 

occupational illnesses •	 There were six cases of hearing loss or impairment reported to MSHA (30.0% of all occupational illnesses reported). 

•	 Other cases of occupational illness reported by 

sand and gravel mining operations in 2004 

included heat stroke, sunstroke, heat cramps, etc. 

(n=2; 10.0%) and dermatitis (n=2; 10.0%). 

Mining Characteristics, 2004 

Commodity and 

Type of Employer 

Coal Operator 

Metal Operator 

Nonmetal Operator 

Stone Operator 

Sand and Gravel Operator 

No. of 

Mines 

2,011 

251 

741 

4,401 

7,074 

No. of 

Companies 

--

--

--

--

--

No. of 

Employees 

73,024 

25,205 

19,432 

68,417 

37,000 

No. of FTE 

Employees 

80,069 

26,091 

20,183 

71,153 

33,364 

Fatality 

Rate 

28.7 

7.7 

5.0 

11.2 

24.0 

Nonfatal 

Lost-time 

Injury Rate 

3.9 

2.1 

2.7 

3.2 

2.3 

Operator Total 14,478 -- 223,078 230,860 18.2 3.2 

Coal Contractor -- 2,550 30,228 17,964 27.8 2.6 

Noncoal Contractor -- 4,143 42,511 22,198 36.0 1.7 

Contractor Total -- 6,693 72,739 40,162 32.4 2.1 

TOTAL 295,817 271,022 20.3 3.0 

Data may not add to totals due to independent rounding. Number of employees was rounded at the subunit level of each mine to be consistent with 

MSHA reporting. Fatality rates were computed per 100,000 FTE employees. Nonfatal lost-time injury rates were computed per 100 FTE employees. 

Data source: Publicly released files of employment and accident/injury/illness data collected by MSHA under 30 CFR 50. 

Notes: All analyses exclude office employees, except for the total number of mining operations. Further statistical methodology is 

available on the NIOSH Internet [http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/mining/statistics/method.htm]. 1

Number of employees is the average number of persons working at individual establishments during calendar quarters of active 

operations. Employment numbers were rounded at the subunit level of each mine to be consistent with MSHA reporting. 2

Full-time equivalent employees were computed using reported employee hours (2,000 hours = 1 FTE). 3

Mining sectors: coal operators, metal operators, nonmetal operators, stone operators, sand and gravel operators, coal contractors, and

 noncoal contractors. 4

Includes actual days away from work and/or days of restricted work activity. For permanently disabling injuries only, statutory days 

charged by MSHA were used if they exceeded the total lost workdays. 5

Because of the complexity of attributing disease causation to the workplace, occupational illnesses may be underreported. 

To receive NIOSH documents or for more information about 

occupational safety and health topics, contact NIOSH at 

1–800–CDC–INFO (1–800–232–4636) 

1–888–232–6348 (TTY) 

e-mail: cdcinfo@cdc.gov 

or visit the NIOSH Web site at http://www.cdc.gov/niosh 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2007–171 

SAFER • HEALTHIER • PEOPLETM