A COMPENDIUM 

OF NIOSH MINING RESEARCH

 2002
 

U.S. Department of Health and Human Services 

Public Health Service
 

Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
 

Washington, DC
 

December 2001
 
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documents and information
 

about occupational safety and health are available from
 

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This document is the public domain and may be freely copied or reprinted. 

Disclaimer: Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by NIOSH. 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2002-110 
FOREWORD
 

The mining community serves the needs of our Nation in virtually every aspect of our daily lives by providing 

the materials we use for construction, electronics, manufacturing, energy, agriculture, medicine, and 

electricity. This industry has demonstrated time and time again an almost unbelievable ability to rise to any 

and all challenges it faces. Productivity has increased over the past 20 years to levels never before imagined, 

and the industry operates in one of the most difficult and challenging environments imaginable. The 

professionalism and pride of our mine workers are unmatched throughout the world, and our mining 

community is held in the highest regard around the globe. Interactions with mining professionals from other 

countries have always left me with a deep feeling of respect for what our mining community accomplishes. 

The recent tragedy we faced with the coal mine explosion in Alabama is a reminder to all of us about the 

dangers of rock and mineral extraction. The miners who lost their lives in the explosion included a group that 

went back to the working area of the mine in an attempt to rescue others. In the mining environment, all 

workers tend to be first responders and are always concerned about the welfare of their brothers and sisters. 

While we have achieved great success in almost eliminating mine explosions, we must be forever vigilant to 

ensure that changing geological conditions do not compromise the safety of mining operations. We are 

mining at deeper levels than ever, producing rocks and minerals at far greater rates, and operating increasingly 

complex mining systems, all in an environment that is best described as challenging and hostile. In order to 

ensure the safety and health of our precious resource—the mine worker—we must all work together toward 

the common goal of protecting the worker. 

The NIOSH mining research program will continue to serve the needs of the mining community by being a 

strong advocate for safety and health. Our goal is the protection of the mine worker, and we will continue 

to conduct research toward the ultimate goal of ensuring that mining personnel are as healthy at the end of 

their careers as they were at the beginning. The mining research program will address all research areas that 

have been identified as important to the mining community, and I am proud of our recent accomplishments, 

many of which are identified in this report. We certainly face a number of challenges in the near future, 

including loss of experienced mine workers due to retirement, an influx of new, inexperienced workers, more 

challenging mining conditions, and a global economy that requires extremely efficient and highly productive 

operations. As the mining community has repeatedly demonstrated in the past, they will rise to the challenges 

they face, and NIOSH will be there with them. 

Lewis V. Wade, Ph.D. 

Associate Director, Office for

 Mine Safety and Health Research 

National Institute for Occupational

 Safety and Health 
CONTENTS
 

HEARING LOSS PREVENTION
 

Investigation of Technology for Hearing Loss Prevention ...................................... 

Page 

1 
 

Cross-Sectional Survey: Noise Exposure Patterns/Sources ..................................... 2 
 

A Model Hearing Conservation Program for Coal Miners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3 
 

Engineering Controls for Hearing Loss Prevention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 
 

Definition and Assessment of Engineering Noise Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
 5

Investigation of Impulse Noise in Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 
 

A Health Hazard Study of Surface Drilling Operations ........................................ 7 
 

Evaluating the Role of Positive and Negative Emotion in Promoting Hearing Conservation Behaviors
 

Among Coal Miners ................................................................. 8 
 

DUST MEASUREMENT AND CONTROL
 

Dust Control for Longwall Mining ........................................................ 9 
 

Assessment of Personal Particulate Exposure ................................................ 
 10

Dust Control in Surface Coal Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 
 

Silica Dust Control in Metal/Nonmetal Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12 
 

Control of Silica Dust Exposures in Underground Coal Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 
 

Development of Enhanced Spray Dust Capture Principles for Improved Silica Dust Suppression . . . . . . . 14 
 

Characterization of Visual Dust Plumes From Highwall Drills at Surface Coal Mines ................ 
 15

DIESEL EMISSIONS 

Reducing Diesel Particulate Exposure in Western Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 
 

Diesel Engine Emissions Measurement and Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 
 

Selecting and Evaluating Diesel Emission Controls on Mine Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 
 

OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS AND HEALTH HAZARDS
 

Particle-Induced Lung Injury in Mixed Exposures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 
 

Effects of Dusts on Asthma and Pulmonary Infectivity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
 20

Environmental Causation of Allergies and Asthma . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 
 

Genetic Factors for Silicosis and Lung Cancer in Gold Miners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 
 

Portable Monitors for Airborne Metals at Mining Sites . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 
 

Characterization and Communication of Chemical Hazards in Mining and Processing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24 
 

Toxic Fumes From Blasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
 25

Investigating Air Quality Issues in Metal/Nonmetal Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26 
 

HAZARD DETECTION AND WARNING DEVICES
 

Safety Enhancements for Off-Highway Dump Trucks . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 
 

Mobile Mining Equipment Warning Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 
 

Evaluating Collision Warning Systems for Construction Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 
 

Evaluating Roadway Construction Work Zone Interventions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
 30

Lockout/Tagout, Jammed and Moving Machinery Controls . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 
 

Advanced Warning of Ground Stability Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 
 

Wide Area Roof Fall Detection and Warning System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 
 

Overhead Power Line Contact Alarm for Mobile Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 
 

Investigation of Electromagnetic Precursors to Rock Bursting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
 35

Smart Fire Sensors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36 
 

INJURY PREVENTION AND EQUIPMENT DESIGN
 

Materials Handling Accident Reduction in Underground Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 
 

Reducing Injury Risk from Jolting and Jarring on Mobile Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38 
 

Biomechanical Modeling of Jarring and Jolting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39 
 

Ergonomics Interventions in Mining ....................................................... 
 40

Reducing Slipping and Falling Injuries at Surface Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 
 
CONTENTS—Continued

Human Factors Design for Machine Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 

Page 

42 
 

Fundamental Studies in Electrical Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43 
 

Injury Prevention for Metal/Nonmetal Drilling and Bolting Operations ............................ 44 
 

Safety Issues of Storage and Transport of Bulk Solids . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45 
 

Evaluation of Heat Stress and Interventions in Surface and Underground Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46 
 

New Technology to Increase ROPS Use on Tractors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 
 

TRAINING AND EDUCATION
 

Interactive Training and Educational Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 
 

Evaluation of Interactive Mine Safety and Health Training Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49 
 

Evaluating Toolbox Training for Construction and Mining . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 
 

Virtual Reality for Mine Safety Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 51 
 

Mine Rescue and Response . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52 
 

Education and Training for an Evolving Mining Workforce . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 53 
 

Intervention Through Education and Training to Prevent Hearing Loss Among Miners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54 
 

GROUND CONTROL
 

Identification and Control of Rock Burst Hazards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55 
 

Ground Stability Assessment With Seismic Monitoring . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 
 

Development and Evaluation of Innovative Roof Support Technologies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57 
 

Preventing Injuries From Falling Rock in Underground Coal Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58 
 

Reducing Ground Falls in Underground Stone and Nonmetal Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 
 

Slope Stability Hazard Recognition for Metal/Nonmetal Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60 
 

Reducing Ground Fall Hazards in Nevada Underground Gold Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61 
 

FIRES, EXPLOSIONS, AND VENTILATION
 

Control and Suppression of Mine Fires . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62 
 

Explosion Hazards Reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63 
 

Investigation of Methane Control Issues in Underground Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 64 
 

Extended-Cut Air Delivery Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 
 

Ventilation of Large-Opening Mines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66 
 

Life Support for Survival and Rescue . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 
 

Laser Safety in Potentially Flammable Environments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68 
 

Surface Blasting Safety and Health . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 
 

Explosives Hazard Surveillance and Evaluation for the Mine Safety and Health Administration . . . . . . . . 70 
 

Improving CFR Safety Evaluations for Mine Ventilation Seals and Stoppings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 
 

Hydrostatic Evaluation of Mine Seals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72 
 

Remote Construction of Seals for Mine Fire Control and Abatement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 
 

Lake Lynn Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74 
 

SURVEILLANCE
 

Coal Workers’ Health Surveillance Program . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75 
 

National Coal Workers’ Autopsy Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 
 

Airways Disease in Miners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 
 

A Cohort Mortality Study With a Nested Case Control Study of Lung Cancer and Diesel Exhaust Among
 

Nonmetal Miners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78 
 

Risk Factors for Atherosclerosis Among Coal Miners . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80 
 

Improving Surveillance Data Utilization Through Geographical Information Systems . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 
 

Economic and Social Consequences of Injury at Sand and Gravel Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82 
 

Health Effect Studies of Uranium Millers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 83 
 

Neurotoxic Chemical Hazards in Coal Preparation Plants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84 
 
HEARING LOSS PREVENTION
 

INVESTIGATION OF TECHNOLOGY FOR 

HEARING LOSS PREVENTION 

RESEARCHER: David C. Byrne 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

A subject’s hearing is assessed in the auditory test lab. 

KEYWORDS: Noise, hearing 

loss, hearing protectors, 

earplugs, earmuffs, 

communication 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Byrne DC, Driscoll DP [1998]. 

Acoustical considerations for 

effective emergency alarm 

systems in an industrial setting 

(part 1). Milwaukee, WI: 

Council for Accreditation in 

Occupational Hearing 

Conservation, Update 9(3). 

Byrne DC, Driscoll, DP [1998]. 

Acoustical considerations for 

effective emergency alarm 

systems in an industrial setting 

(part 2). Milwaukee, WI: 

Council for Accreditation in 

Occupational Hearing 

Conservation, Update 9(4). 

NIOSH [1994]. The NIOSH 

compendium of hearing 

protection devices. Cincinnati, 

OH: U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services, Public 

Health Service, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 95-105. 

PURPOSE: Evaluate practical technological advances

in hearing protective devices for use in different mining 

environments. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Previous NIOSH research shows that miners 

develop hearing loss much more quickly than nonoccupationally noiseexposed individuals and that miners experience a greater severity of 

hearing loss than would be expected for nonoccupational noise-exposed

persons of the same age and sex. As described in the National Occupational Research Agenda, problems created by occupational hearing loss include

(1) reduced quality of life due to social isolation and unrelenting tinnitus,

(2) impaired communication with family members, the public, and

coworkers, (3) diminished ability to monitor the work environment (i.e.,

warning signals, equipment sounds, etc.), (4) lost productivity and 

increased accidents resulting from impaired communication and isolation,

and (5) expenses for workers’ compensation and hearing aids. 

Although eliminating hazardous noise is the long-term solution to the

noise problem, miners will likely need to rely on personal hearing

protection in certain situations for quite some time. However, it is well 

known that noise attenuation provided by hearing protectors as they are

worn during everyday use is usually quite different (i.e., worse) than when

tested under lab conditions. In addition, workers may refuse to wear their

hearing protection for any number of reasons. This project was initiated to

evaluate practical technological advances in hearing protectors, with an

emphasis on optimizing the balance between effectiveness, comfort,

overprotection, and communication ability. 

The recently completed auditory research facility is now under-going

the accreditation process conducted by the National Institute of Standards

and Technology under the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation

Program. Experiments are planned to investigate the factors that affect a

miner’s ability to hear hazard and warning sounds (e.g., roof working,

alarm signals, spoken communications, etc.). A service contract has been 

initiated to record and digitally store samples of typical warning sounds

heard in an underground coal mine. This information will be analyzed in

the lab to develop recommendations that can be offered to the mining

community regarding correct earplug/earmuff usage to maximize the

recognition of hazard and warning sounds while adequately protecting the

miners’ hearing. 

1 
CROSS-SECTIONAL SURVEY: NOISE 

EXPOSURE PATTERNS/SOURCES 

RESEARCHER: Eric R. Bauer, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

KEYWORDS: Hearing loss, 

noise exposure, research, 

exposure assessment 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bauer ER, Kohler JL [2000]. 

Cross-sectional survey of noise 

exposure in the mining industry. 

In: Bockosh GR, Karmis M, 

Langton J, McCarter MK, 

Rowe B, eds. Proceedings of 

the 31st Annual Institute of 

Mining Health, Safety and 

Research. Blacksburg, VA: 

Virginia Polytechnic Institute 

and State University, 

Department of Mining and 

Minerals Engineering, pp. 17-

31. 

Bauer ER, Podobinski DJ, 

Reeves ER [2001]. Noise 

exposure in longwall mining 

and engineering controls 

research. In: Proceedings of 

Longwall USA International 

Exhibition & Conference. 

Overland Park, KS: Intertec 

Publishing Corp., pp. 51-69. 

A noise survey was done at this large surface coal mine. 

PURPOSE: Establish representative noise exposure 

profiles of various mining occupations and equipment. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Overexposure to noise is a 

serious problem for U.S. mine workers. Every day, 80% of the Nation’s 

miners go to work in an environment where the time-weighted average 

(TWA) noise levels exceed 85 dBA. Moreover, 25% of the miners are 

exposed to a TWA noise level that exceeds 90 dBA. Baseline information 

that provides a current and systematic characterization of worker noise 

exposure patterns and mining noise sources is needed. This research is 

essential to develop effective intervention strategies targeting engineering 

controls for noisy equipment and hearing protection practices and to help 

ensure that the hearing of miners is preserved, that future hearing loss is 

prevented, and that the quality of life of the Nation’s miners is enhanced. 

The approach of this research is to conduct a cross-sectional field study 

of the noise exposure of mine workers. This includes a variety of mine 

types, mining methods, equipment, geographic locations, and mine sizes. 

Representative noise exposure profiles for the various mine worker occupations will be established by taking full-shift noise exposure measurements using time-resolved dosimeters, combined with worker task 

observations. In addition, noise level profiles of various mining machines 

will be obtained using handheld sound level meters. 

Recent project emphasis has been focused on large surface coal mines 

and coal prep plants. Noise surveys have been completed at four surface 

coal mines, four coal prep plants, two underground coal mines, and an 

underground lead mine. Preliminary results show that there is potential for 

overexposure to noise at these sites if workers spend a significant time in 

the noisy locations. Future surveys are planned, with an emphasis on 

underground coal and metal/nonmetal mining. 

2 
A MODEL HEARING CONSERVATION 

PROGRAM FOR COAL MINERS 

RESEARCHER: David C. Byrne 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Prototype of inexpensive personal noise dosimeter. 

KEYWORDS: Noise, hearing 

conservation, hearing loss 

prevention 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Franks JR [1996]. Analysis of 

audiograms for a large cohort of 

noise-exposed miners. 

Cincinnati, OH: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

Division of Biomedical and 

Behavior Science. 

NIOSH [1998]. Criteria for a 

recommended standard: 

occupational noise exposure, 

revised criteria 1998. 

Cincinnati, OH: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 98-126. 

PURPOSE: Design a model hearing conservation 

program for coal miners that includes both traditional and 

novel approaches toward hearing loss prevention. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Hearing loss is 1 of the 21 priority research 

areas in the National Occupational Research Agenda and is a major 

occupational health problem for coal miners. The prevalence of noiseinduced hearing loss (NIHL) has remained relatively unchanged for the last 

20 years. A significant reason for this is the lack of a systematic plan of 

intervention proven to be effective for the mining community. 

Together with researchers from The Pennsylvania State University, 

a multiyear cooperative agreement project was initiated to develop and 

implement a model hearing conservation program (HCP) at a working 

underground coal mine. The objectives are to design a model HCP that 

incorporates the best practices of well-run programs from other industries, 

implement this program at a cooperating mine, evaluate the program over a 

5-year period to demonstrate its efficacy in preventing hearing loss, and 

transfer the findings of this study to the coal mining industry (and others) as 

quickly and thoroughly as possible. 

Other specific goals are to fully evaluate, document, and statistically 

analyze hearing threshold shifts to quantify the program’s effectiveness; 

determine individual worker and group data relative to self-reported 

perception of a hearing handicap; identify the relationship between NIHL 

and hearing threshold shifts; determine the most effective hearing 

protection devices by measuring the amount of sound attenuation provided 

for each individual miner; and explore the practicality of using inexpensive 

personal noise monitors for alerting miners to the presence of excessive 

noise levels. 

A detailed plan for each program element was completed, and databases were created to analyze audiometric test results, noise exposure 

measurements, and other information. Periodic hearing tests have been 

ongoing and will continue to be done every April and November for the 

duration of the project. During the third year, attention was focused on the 

evaluation of personal hearing protection and the development and testing 

of effective health education training materials and delivery methods. As 

this project begins its fourth year, more emphasis is to be placed on the 

investigation and evaluation of technological advances in personal noise 

monitoring equipment and alternative approaches to hearing loss 

prevention. 

3 
ENGINEERING CONTROLS FOR HEARING 

LOSS PREVENTION 

RESEARCHER: Peter G. Kovalchik 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

KEYWORDS: Noise, control 

technology, mining, equipment 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bartholomae RC, Parker RP 

[1983]. Mining machinery 

noise control guidelines. 

Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. 

Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Mines, Handbook 

2-83. 

Coated flight bars on the continuous miner’s conveyor 

system. 

PURPOSE: Develop a strategy and implementation plan 

for the use of noise controls in mining to reduce noiseinduced hearing loss (NIHL) among mine workers. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Overexposure to noise remains 

a widespread, serious health hazard in U.S. mining and other industries 

despite 25 years of regulation. Most other categories of illnesses and 

injuries associated with mining have improved, except for hearing loss. 

The use of heavy equipment, the drilling of rock, and the confined work 

environment are just a few factors that contribute to high levels of noise 

exposure in mining. A recent NIOSH analysis of a large sample of 

audiograms showed that by age 51 about 90% of coal miners and 49% of 

metal/nonmetal miners had a hearing impairment. By contrast, only 10% of 

the nonoccupational noise-exposed population had a hearing impairment by 

age 51. Simply stated, most miners have a hearing loss by the time they 

retire. While NIHL is the most common occupational disease in this 

country, this problem is especially acute among miners. This project 

focuses on targeting engineering noise control for mining as the first line of 

defense. 

Partnerships have been established with JOY Technology, Inc., 

Kennametal, Inc., Fletcher, Inc., and Consol Energy, Inc. These companies 

are helping to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of various 

implementation strategies. The strategies form the basis of a long-term 

implementation plan where appropriate engineering controls are to be 

selected and targeted to reduce excessive noise exposures to workers. 

This project is investigating continuous miners and roof bolters. The 

investigations have concluded that water will decrease the sound level of 

the continuous miner by at least 5 dB at the frequency range between 1,000 

and 6,000 Hz. Other engineering controls on the continuous miner that 

show promise is the coating of flight bars on the continuous miner’s 

conveyor system. These preliminary investigations show reduced noise 

levels. However, more investigations are needed for wear or abrasive 

verification. Wet drilling is also being looked at to see if it is a viable 

engineering noise control solution for roof bolting machines. 

4 
DEFINITION AND ASSESSMENT OF 

ENGINEERING NOISE CONTROLS 

RESEARCHER: Efrem R. Reeves, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

A mechanic removes sound absorption material from a 

motor to prepare for a noise measurement with an uncontrolled source. 

KEYWORDS: Noise, control 

technology, sound level, hearing 

conservation 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bartholomae RC, Parker RP 

[1983]. Mining machinery 

noise control guidelines. 

Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. 

Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Mines, Handbook 

2-83. 

Franks JR [1996]. Analysis of 

audiograms for a large cohort of 

noise-exposed miners. 

Cincinnati, OH: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

Division of Biomedical and 

Behavior Science. 

Rasmussen G [1989]. Intensity: 

its measurement and uses. 

Sound and vibration 23(3):12-

21. 

PURPOSE: Document and evaluate noise control 

technologies that are used in or applicable to the mining 

and construction industries and then expand this base of

 information to other industries. Acquire a better

 understanding of noise-generating mechanisms to help

 develop new noise control technology. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Noise-induced hearing loss is the most 

common occupational illness in the United States today. More than 

30 million workers are exposed to excessive noise levels. Engineering 

control of noise is the long-term solution to the Nation’s occupational 

hearing loss problem. However, in the mining industry the application of 

engineered noise controls has had many problems. An important step for 

the application of existing control technology or the development of new 

technology is to identify existing controls and their effectiveness. 

Engineering noise control effectiveness is measured by acquiring 

acoustic data with and without the control in place. The measured acoustic 

parameters include sound pressure level, sound intensity level, and percent 

noise dose. If a control cannot be removed from an application, an effort is 

made to find a machine of similar make, model, and age without the 

treatment in place. 

In addition to being used to evaluate the effectiveness of an engineering 

noise control, sound intensity measurements are applicable for noise source 

location. Once the primary noise sources are identified, engineering 

controls can be more effectively implemented. 

To date, extensive noise measurements have been made at a western 

U.S. underground gold mine. Several more visits are planned to various 

western underground gold mines in the near future. 

5 
INVESTIGATION OF IMPULSE NOISE IN 

MINING 

RESEARCHERS: Alex C. Smith and Michael J.

 Sapko 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Measurement of pressure wave in the Lake Lynn underground mine. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, 

exposure, intense sounds, 

impulse noise 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Kuroda E, Kobayashi N [1982]. 

Studies on methods for 

measuring blast noise: part 2. 

J Ind Explosives Soc (Japan) 

43(4):233-238. 

Kuroda E, Yoshida T, Ito S, 

Kobayashi N [1982]. Studies 

on methods for measuring blast 

noise: part 1. J Ind Explosives 

Soc (Japan) 43(4):225-232. 

PURPOSE: Determine the extent of the hearing loss 

hazard from intense noise sources and develop the basic

 knowledge required to reduce the hazard through effective

 control technology and training. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Impulse noise sources exist throughout the 

mining and construction industries and, to a lesser extent, in agriculture and 

manufacturing. These sources are varied and range from explosives to pile 

drivers. There are insufficient data to quantify the extent of the resultant 

health problem or even to support the development of damage risk criteria 

for impulse noises in confined areas. The most readily available 

information consists of military data on peak pressure levels associated 

with unconfined surface detonations as a function of distance and charge 

mass. There are very little data on blasting in underground complexes, e.g., 

tunnels and mines. The impulse noise from blasting in an underground 

mine differs from that on the surface and is strongly influenced by mine 

geometry, openings, and wall roughness. In a mine entry, the peak

 intensity is higher at a given distance than for the same explosive mass 

detonated on the surface. Also, significant low-frequency acoustic 

oscillations remain for several seconds after the passage of the pioneer 

pressure pulse. The cumulative effect on workers associated with impulse 

noise exposure of low frequencies remains unclear. However, considerable 

anecdotal evidence suggests that the effect is pronounced. 

Research continues to measure the pressure wave forms from the 

confined detonation of the Mine Safety and Health Administrationapproved permissible “Rock Buster” in the Lake Lynn Laboratory underground mine. Pressure wave forms are evaluated with an audiometric 

model developed by Dr. G. Richard Price, U.S. Army, Aberdeen Proving 

Ground. Preliminary results show that the waveforms measured around 

one 90° bend can produce a serious hearing loss in an unprotected ear from 

one exposure to one waveform. In the 95% percentile ear, the model would 

predict a 40- to 50-dB permanent threshold shift, resulting in permanent 

hearing loss. Experimental results, verified by the model, also show that a 

worker detonating these devices from 200 feet away and around one 90° 

bend is protected by wearing a properly fitted hearing protection device, 

such as a plug or muff. Close collaboration with the U.S. Army Research 

Laboratory continues in FY02 with a focus on multiple-wave interactions 

within and around corners. 

6 
A HEALTH HAZARD STUDY OF SURFACE 

DRILLING OPERATIONS 

RESEARCHERS: R. J. Matetic and David K.

 Ingram 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Controlled free-field noise measurements on an air-rotary 

drilling rig. 

KEYWORDS: Drilling, noise, 

silica dust 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Tomb TF, Gero AJ, Kogut J 

[1995]. Analysis of quartz 

exposure data obtained from 

underground and surface coal 

mining operations. Appl Occup 

Env Hyg 10(12):1019-1026. 

PURPOSE: Quantify health hazards (noise and dust) 

associated with the surface drilling industry. Develop

 appropriate engineering controls, recommend healthier and 

safer work practices, and examine the use of personal protective equipment 

to minimize or eliminate these hazards to workers. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Past NIOSH research has concluded that 

short- and long-term exposure to excessive levels of noise can result in 

noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL). In addition, excessive levels of 

respirable silica dust can lead to silicosis. Occupational hearing loss is the 

most common job-related disease in the United States. NIHL is permanent 

and irreversible. NIOSH data indicate that at least 70% of mine workers 

engaged in drilling activities suffer NIHL severe enough to be classified as 

a hearing disability. Previous studies by the Mine Safety and Health 

Administration have shown that silica dust levels exceed the permissible 

exposure level for surface mine drillers 75% of the time during which they 

are performing drilling operations. These same noise and dust hazards exist 

at all surface drilling operations. 

Currently, this National Occupational Research Agenda project is 

investigating noise and dust exposures at various locations on many types 

of surface drilling equipment to quantify the extent of the health hazards 

and to develop techniques or solutions to reduce their effects. Results from 

14 field sites in 6 States on 6 different drill rigs have shown that surface 

drilling operations are generating excessive noise levels and, in some cases, 

excessive dust levels. Each field investigation provided free-field noise 

measurements, A-weighted sound pressure profiles, and personal noise 

dosimeter data (along with personal dust monitoring data), all supplemented with a time motion study. These field data are being reported to 

the drilling industry via national and State annual drilling association 

conferences. Furthermore, a cooperative agreement with the second largest 

manufacturer of drilling equipment has been established to investigate 

engineering control strategies to reduce hazardous noise and dust output 

during drilling operations. Recent lab and controlled field testing has 

identified several noise sources on drilling equipment that can be targeted 

for engineering control designs. Ultimately, this project will specify the 

health hazards of surface drilling operations and provide tools and 

techniques to improve workers’ exposures to these hazards. 

7 
EVALUATING THE ROLE OF POSITIVE 

AND NEGATIVE EMOTION IN 

PROMOTING HEARING CONSERVATION 

BEHAVIORS AMONG COAL MINERS 

RESEARCHER: Charles Vaught, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Wearing hearing protection for 85-

to 90-dBA noise levels is an element 

of the new noise rules promulgated 

by MSHA. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, 

hearing loss, communication 

research 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Witte K [1993]. Message and 

conceptual confounds in fear 

appeals: the role of judgment 

methods. South Comm J 

58:147-155. 

Witte K [1994]. Fear control 

and danger control: an empirical 

test of the extended parallel 

process model. Communication 

Monographs 61:113-134. 

Witte K, Morrison K [1995]. 

The use of scare tactics in AIDS 

prevention: the case of juvenile 

detention and high school 

youth. J Appl Comm Res 

23:128-142. 

PURPOSE: To test the notion that positive emotions and 

humor are as effective at motivating behavior change 

(such as the wearing of hearing protection) as negative 

emotions, or “fear messages.” 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Following a study of 17,260 

audiograms from 2,871 coal miners, NIOSH concluded that 90% of coal 

miners have a hearing impairment by age 51, compared with only 10% of 

the general population. Current hearing conservation research, done in 

collaboration with the Health Effects Laboratory Division and Michigan 

State University, is investigating two strategies designed to increase

 hearing loss prevention behaviors among coal miners. A communication 

framework for studying emotion in behavior change, the Extended Parallel 

Processing Model, has been developed and validated in several 

occupational settings. It is being used to assess the comparative 

effectiveness of humor versus fear in motivating coal miners to adopt 

hearing loss prevention behaviors. 

This research is timely because of new Mine Safety and Health 

Administration (MSHA) noise standards in effect as of September 2000. 

The new plan has a number of voluntary behaviors associated with it, 

including the wearing of hearing protection at noise levels between 85 and 

90 dBA. Materials that explain key provisions of the new standards and 

list steps to be taken by miners to lessen the effects of noise have been 

developed and pilot tested. The principles of message development, 

design, and implementation used in this study can also be applied to other 

occupational groups and risks. 

8 
DUST MEASUREMENT AND 

CONTROL 

DUST CONTROL FOR LONGWALL 

MINING 

RESEARCHER: Jay F. Colinet 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Wind tunnel used to evaluate shield dust entrainment. 

KEYWORDS: Coal mine dust, 

underground mining, control 

technology 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Listak JM, Chekan GJ, Colinet 

JF [2001]. Laboratory 

evaluation of shield dust 

entrainment in high-velocity 

airstreams. SME preprint 01­

144. Littleton, CO: Society for 

Mining, Metallurgy, and 

Exploration, Inc. 

Rider JP, Colinet JF [2001]. 

Reducing worker exposure to 

dust generated during longwall 

mining. In: Proceedings of the 

Seventh International Mine 

Ventilation Congress (Krakow, 

Poland), pp. 275-282. 

Rider JP, Colinet JF, Prokop AE 

[2001]. Impact of control 

parameters on shearer-generated 

dust levels. SME preprint 01­

184. Littleton, CO: Society for 

Mining, Metallurgy, and 

Exploration, Inc. 

PURPOSE: Reduce the respirable dust exposure of mine 

workers at longwall mining operations of underground coal mines. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Medical studies have shown that long-term 

exposure to excessive levels of respirable coal mine dust can lead to coal 

workers’ pneumoconiosis (CWP), a debilitating lung disease commonly 

known as “black lung.” The most recent results of a voluntary x-ray 

screening program for underground coal mine workers shows that about 8% 

of the workers with 25 or more years of mining experience were diagnosed 

with CWP. As of 1999, shift production from longwall mining operations 

averaged 5,000 tons per shift. Longwall mines accounted for over 50% of 

underground coal production. Nearly one of every five compliance dust 

samples from longwall operations exceeded the permissible exposure limit. 

Data from dust sampling, medical screening, and production trends show 

that controlling dust on longwalls remains a major health concern and 

challenge for longwall mining. 

This project addresses improvements in the application of primary 

control technologies: ventilating air and spray water. Testing is being done 

at NIOSH’s full-scale longwall gallery to evaluate the interactions between 

ventilating air, water flow, water pressure, spray system design, cutting 

direction, and mining height to measure the impact on dust levels on the 

longwall face. Tests at a mining height of 7 feet show that increases in 

airflow, spray system design, and spray operating pressure had the greatest 

impact on shearer operator dust levels. More testing is being done at a 

mining height of 9 feet. Tests were also done within a wind tunnel 

designed to simulate dust liberation during shield advance to quantify dust 

entrainment in airstreams of increasing velocity. Statistically significant 

increases in respirable and total dust levels were observed as air velocity 

was increased from 400 to 1,600 feet per minute. Testing is continuing to 

evaluate the impact of dust composition and/or moisture content on 

entrainment levels. 

9 
ASSESSMENT OF PERSONAL 

PARTICULATE EXPOSURE 

RESEARCHER: Jon C. Volkwein 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

The model of the one-piece personal dust monitor (right)

may replace both the cap lamp battery and dust sampling 

filter (left) for an overall reduction in weight and volume 

carried by the miner. 

KEYWORDS: Dust, exposure

assessment, coal mining, dust

sampling, black lung 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Cantrell BK, Volkwein JC 

[2001]. Mine aerosol 

measurement. In: Willeke K, 

Baron PA, eds. Aerosol 

measurement: principles,

techniques, and applications.

New York, NY: John Wiley &

Sons, Inc. 

Ramani RV, Mutmansky JM,

Honglin H, Volkwein JC,

Marple VA, Olson BA, et al.

[2001]. A comparative

evaluation of the differentialpressure-based respirable dust

dosimeter with the personal

gravimetric respirable dust

sampler in underground coal

mines. In: Proceedings of the

Seventh International Mine 

Ventilation Congress (Krakow,

Poland), pp. 243-251. 

Volkwein JC, Thimons ED 

[2001]. New tools to monitor 

personal exposure to respirable

coal mine dust. In: Proceedings

of the Seventh International 

Mine Ventilation Congress

(Krakow, Poland), pp. 143-150. 

PURPOSE: Develop person-wearable dust monitors. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Prolonged inhalation of

respirable coal mine dust can cause coal worker’s

pneumoconiosis (CWP). During 1968-90, CWP caused

the death of 55,467 U.S. coal miners. In 1988, NIOSH 

 recommended that diesel exhaust be regarded as a potential

occupational carcinogen. The American Conference of Governmental 

Industrial Hygienists recently recommended a diesel particulate threshold

limit value of 50 μg/m3

. 

The sampling of coal mine dust has remained virtually unchanged for

the last 30 years. The instrument used to determine personal compliance

with this standard is the coal mine dust personal sampler unit. It consists of 

a size classification device, a filter, and an air pump. The unit has remained 

the same because of the simplicity of design and the ability to sample

directly for dust mass. However, there are drawbacks. Sampling is at

infrequent intervals, and the results are not provided soon enough for timely

correction of overexposure. New types of coal mine dust sampling devices

to measure dust and diesel particulate are required. To fill these needs, 

NIOSH is developing various devices to meet different sampling

requirements. 

Under contract, NIOSH is developing a highly accurate person-wearable

dust monitor using the tapered-element operating microbalance (TEOM)

principle. The TEOM is the heart of a dust monitor used commercially to

assess combustion particulate and ambient air quality levels. 

A new, low-cost instrument is using differential pressure as a surrogate for 

mass. This device uses a disposable sample tube and a small pump to deposit

mass onto a filter. Dust levels are denoted by an increase in pressure. 

New commercial instruments and new combinations of technologies are

being evaluated. This includes a combination of size-selective sampling and

differential pressure measurement. This could be the basis for a novel, nearreal-time diesel particulate monitor for mine use. 

Smoke detector technology is being integrated with light-scattering

technology to discriminate between coal mine dust and diesel particulate. The 

combined detector/light-scattering approach uses ion trap technology and

discrete forward light scattering to determine diesel and dust levels,

respectively. 

Much of this work is being done in partnership with industry and

academia. This research is expected to result in several new tools and

approaches to particulate measuring in mining. 

10 
DUST CONTROL IN SURFACE COAL 

MINING 

RESEARCHER: Jeffrey M. Listak 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Preparing to sample dust generated by a 

surface drill. 

KEYWORDS: Surface 

mining, respirable dust, drilling, 

silica, dust control technology 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

NIOSH [2001]. Technology 

news 485: Improved cab air 

inlet location reduces dust levels 

and air filter loading rates. 

Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health. 

NIOSH [2001]. Technology 

news 487: Sweeping compound 

application reduces dust from 

soiled floors within enclosed 

operator cabs. Pittsburgh, PA: 

U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health. 

PURPOSE: Identify the effectiveness of existing dust 

control technologies used for highwall rock drills and 

bulldozers at surface coal mining operations and improve 

coal miners' health protection from silica dust exposure 

through the advancement of control technologies. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Silicosis is a well-known 

occupational disease that kills more than 200 people 

annually and cuts across a wide variety of industrial 

settings. Surface mine rock drillers in particular are at high 

risk because of the potential of being exposed to extremely high levels of 

respirable silica dust when drilling through rock containing silica. NIOSH 

conducted a study of job categories to examine exposure data collected 

during a 2-year period at surface mine sites, prep plants, and 

shop/maintenance facilities. The study concluded that the highwall drill 

operator and helper had the highest silica exposures of all job categories 

examined. 

The interactions between drilling parameters and overburden lithology 

will be characterized to determine how these interactions affect respirable 

silica dust generation. A new sampling method was developed and tested 

for silica dust monitoring of surface mine rotary drill rigs and surveys at 

field sites have begun. Once the drilling parameters and rock characteristics have been defined in terms of their impact on silica dust generation, appropriate control technologies can be developed to reduce silica 

emissions. Furthermore, many surface drills have dust containment 

problems at the shrouded drill table over the hole. Full-scale testing of a 

prototype inlet hood for the drill's primary dust collection system is being 

done for respirable dust capture at various parametric conditions. Comparative tests with the traditional inlet configuration will be performed. 

During surface mine dust surveys, sampling was also done to identify silica 

sources, exposures, and controls for bulldozer operators. Finally, investigations into improving quality control methods to ensure the integrity 

of enclosed environmental cabs on surface mining equipment are being 

done through cooperative work with mining companies, equipment 

manufacturers, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 

A Cooperative Research and Development Agreement was drafted with 

Clean Air Filter, Defiance, IA, to develop field test methods for evaluating 

the environmental integrity of enclosed operator cabs. 

11 
SILICA DUST CONTROL IN METAL/

NONMETAL MINING 

RESEARCHERS: Andrew B. Cecala and 

Gregory J. Chekan 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Haul truck dumping at a crusher in an underground limetone mine. 

KEYWORDS: Silicosis, silica 

dust, control technology,

underground mining, surface

mining, mineral processing 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Cecala AB, Organiscak JA,

Heitbrink BA [2001]. Dust 

underfoot: enclosed cab floor 

heaters can significantly

increase operator’s respirable

dust exposure. Rock Prod 

104(4):39-44. 

NIOSH [2001]. Hazard 

controls: dust protection for bag

stackers. Cincinnati, OH: U.S. 

Department of Health and

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health,

HC31, DHHS (NIOSH)

Publication No. 2001-142. 

NIOSH [2001]. Technology

news 486: Floor heaters can 

increase operator’s dust

exposure in enclosed cabs.

Pittsburgh, PA: U.S.

Department of Health and

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health. 

PURPOSE: Develop control technology to reduce 

worker exposure to silica and other harmful contaminants 

in metal/nonmetal mining operations. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Although all types of respirable dust can harm 

a worker’s lungs, overexposure to respirable silica is extremely hazardous. 

Chronic overexposure to respirable crystalline silica (particle diameter 

< 10 microns) leads to progressive lung deterioration known as silicosis. In 

addition, the International Agency for Research on Cancer has stated that 

silica dust is carcinogenic (lungs). Records of the Mine Safety and Health 

Administration (MSHA) show that there is a significant percentage of both 

underground and surface metal/nonmetal miners overexposed to silica each 

year. The following occupations have the highest exposures: truck drivers, 

crusher operators, front-end loader operators, rotary drill operators, bag 

operators, bag stackers, laborers, maintenance, cleanup, and utility workers. 

An extensive effort is ongoing to lower equipment operators’ dust 

exposure by improving filtration efficiency and pressurization in enclosed 

cabs in all types of mining equipment. This research is being done jointly 

by the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory and the Engineering and Physical 

Hazards Branch (Cincinnati) in cooperation with MSHA, a number of 

mining companies, and several dust filtration and pressurization manufacturers. Evaluations are being done at several different surface mining 

operations on rotary drilling machines. An enclosed cab study is also being 

evaluated on a haul truck at an underground limestone mine. 

Research is being done at underground limestone and gold mines to 

determine primary silica dust sources and evaluate control technology. 

Improvements in mine-wide ventilation and localized ventilation systems 

are being investigated as a primary means for controlling various dust 

sources in limestone mines. In gold mines, roadheading machines can 

generate high dust levels. Research has begun to quantify dust generation 

levels and sources before evaluating controls. 

Another effort is a cooperative study with a silica sand operation to 

investigate the potential for improving clothes-cleaning capabilities in an 

enclosed booth environment. Several different possibilities are being 

examined to provide for the best cleaning potential in the shortest time 

period. 

12 
CONTROL OF SILICA DUST EXPOSURES 

IN UNDERGROUND COAL MINING 

RESEARCHER: Gerrit V. R. Goodman, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Emptying a dust collector box on a roof bolter. 

KEYWORDS: Silica 

exposures, dust, coal mining, 

ventilation 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Goodman GVR, Organiscak JA 

[2001]. Laboratory evaluation 

of a canopy air curtain for 

controlling occupational 

exposures of roof bolters. In: 

Proceedings of the Seventh 

International Mine Ventilation 

Congress (Krakow, Poland), pp. 

299-305. 

Goodman GVR, Listak JM, 

Organiscak JA [2000]. 

Occupational silica dust 

exposures and their control on 

continuous mining operations. 

In: Bockosh GR, Karmis M, 

Langton J, McCarter MK, 

Rowe B, eds. Proceedings of 

the 31st Annual Institute of 

Mining Health, Safety and 

Research. Blacksburg, VA: 

Virginia Polytechnic Institute 

and State University, 

Department of Mining and 

Minerals Engineering, pp. 105­

114. 

PURPOSE: Develop means of reducing exposures to 

respirable silica dust at the continuous mining machine and 

roof bolter operators’ location. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: In-mine surveys suggest that 

overexposures to respirable silica dust can occur when the 

roof bolter works downwind of the mining machine. A 

canopy air curtain, mounted on the underside of the roof bolter operator’s 

canopy, was evaluated and shown to reduce these exposures by providing a 

constant flow of filtered air over the breathing zone of the bolter operator. 

However, its size could detract from its usefulness in lower seam 

operations. To provide more headroom under the canopy, an air tube was 

tested for its ability to control respirable dust levels. Results showed that 

this device provided dust reductions for positions close to the air tube, but 

was more adversely affected by higher mean entry air velocities than the 

canopy air curtain. However, the air tube offers certain advantages, 

including a smaller profile that requires less headroom beneath the 

operator’s canopy. It is also more effective at lower air flows than the 

canopy air curtain and uses a smaller fan that costs less, while producing 

less heat and noise. A roof bolter manufacturer recently revealed that the 

main hydraulic circuit on the bolter could be used to power the system fan. 

Consequently, in-mine evaluations of the canopy air curtain and air tube are 

planned. 

Roof bolter operators can also expose themselves to high levels of 

respirable dust when removing drill cuttings from the dust collector on the 

bolter. Two methods of cleaning the dust collector are being evaluated: 

using a wooden wedge to scrape dust from the box, and inserting a rigid 

box or flexible bag into the largest compartment of the dust collector to 

collect the dust. The wedge is a very common, but unacceptable method 

that is used to scrape dust from the box onto the mine floor. Preliminary 

testing shows that high dust levels can be generated when cleaning the 

collector with the wedge, and considerable dust can also be deposited on the 

clothes of the bolter operator. The other method allows the collector dust to 

be loaded into the rigid box or flexible bag, which is then be removed so 

that the dust is dumped against the rib in a controlled manner. The rigid 

box/flexible bag method seems to reduce airborne dust levels and clothes 

contamination. 

13 
DEVELOPMENT OF ENHANCED SPRAY 

DUST CAPTURE PRINCIPLES FOR 

IMPROVED SILICA DUST SUPPRESSION 

RESEARCHER: John A. Organiscak 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Water-powered scrubber testing to improve air movement 

and dust capture. 

KEYWORDS: Respirable 

crystalline silica dust, mining, 

spray dust capture 

PURPOSE: Develop several novel spray nozzle 

technologies using fluid dynamic principles to improve 

water droplet collection efficiency of airborne respirable silica dust. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Overexposure to airborne respirable 

crystalline silica dust can cause serious or fatal respiratory disease. Mining 

machine operators were the most frequent occupation (16.0%) recorded on 

silicosis-related death certificates during 1991-92. Coal mining was the 

first (9.5%) and metal mining was the third (8.6%) most frequently 

associated industry. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) 

compliance data for permissible exposure limits (PELs) show that a 

significant portion of the airborne respirable dust samples collected in the 

mines exceed the mandated PELs. Nearly 25% of the coal mine dust 

samples and over 20% of the metal mine dust samples exceed the MSHAmandated PELs. About 13% of the dust samples from nonmetal and stone 

mines also exceed their mandated PELs. These data show that there 

continues to be a high likelihood of overexposure to silica dust in the 

mining industry, especially in coal and metal mines, which have a high 

incidence of silicosis deaths. 

The approach to combat respirable silica dust exposure is to develop 

several enhanced spray dust capture principles into mine functional 

engineering control systems. This focuses on increasing the probability of 

water droplet and respirable dust particle interaction by (1) increasing the 

number of smaller sized spray droplets per unit volume of water used and 

(2) optimizing the energy transfer of spray droplets with the dust-laden air. 

Water droplet size distributions and velocities for various spray nozzle 

types are being measured by a phase Doppler particle analyzer at Carnegie 

Mellon University’s Spray Technology Center. NIOSH researchers are 

studying water spray(s) operating parameters for air inducement 

characteristics in a tube. Multiple in-series spray arrangements along the 

tube are being investigated to determine optimal design characteristics for a 

small high-efficiency water-powered scrubber. 

14 
CHARACTERIZATION OF VISUAL DUST PLUMES FROM HIGHWALL 

DRILLS AT SURFACE COAL MINES
 

RESEARCHER: Joseph C. Cocalis 

AFFILIATION: Division of Respiratory Disease Studies 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(304) 285-5711 

KEYWORDS: Surface coal 

mine highwall drill, visible dust, 

respirable dust, respirable 

crystalline silica, particle size 

distribution, submicrometer 

particulate 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

30 CFR 72, Health Standards 

for Abrasive Blasting and Drill 

Dust Control; Surface Coal 

Mines and Surface Work Areas 

of Underground Coal Mines. 

PURPOSE: To characterize visible mineral dust plumes from highwall 

drilling operations at surface coal mines. Characterization includes an 

assessment of the respirable dust concentrations, particle size distributions, 

and respirable crystalline silica content. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Although visible dust plumes indicate 

possible silica dust overexposure to drill operators, the extent of 

overexposure is not known. To evaluate this, surveys were done at about 

21 surface coal mines throughout the 11 Mine Safety and Health 

Administration coal mine health districts. This project characterized visible 

dust plume exposures that occurred as a result of poor highwall drilling 

work practices. Since visible dust plumes do not occur when controls are 

working properly and when proper work procedures are followed, it was 

necessary to simulate poor work practices (with safeguards in place). For 

example, miners imitated improper use of the dust control shroud, while at 

the same time precautions were taken to ensure that both miners and 

investigators were not overexposed to respirable dust containing quartz 

and/or respirable crystalline silica. Preliminary findings indicate that where 

there is visible dust there is respirable dust, that short-term, high-intensity 

respirable crystalline silica exposures are possible when visible plumes are 

present, that the percent silica can vary as a highwall drill is moved to 

various locations within a mine, and that some cab filtration systems were 

ineffective under certain conditions. 

15 
DIESEL EMISSIONS 

REDUCING DIESEL PARTICULATE 

EXPOSURE IN WESTERN MINES 

RESEARCHERS: Ron Backer, Dave Denton, 

Chelsea Woodward, and 

Richard Miller 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Zero emission utility solution (ZEUS) vehicle, an internal 

combustion vehicle that operates on hydrogen. 

KEYWORDS: Diesel exhaust, 

diesel particulate matter, worker 

exposure, mine health and 

safety, hydrogen, hydride 

storage 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Woodward C [2001]. Internal 

combustion mine vehicle: an 

intermediate step for hydrogen 

fuel use. Presentation at 

Canadian Hydrogen Association 

conference, Victoria, British 

Columbia, Canada, June 17-20. 

PURPOSE: Reduce the exposure of workers in western mines to 

potentially dangerous exhaust emissions from diesel engines. Products of 

this research will be information and tools that the mining industry can use 

to reduce worker exposure levels. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Exposure to diesel exhaust, especially diesel 

particulate matter (DPM), has been recognized as a health concern for some 

time. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has identified 

DPM as a potential hazard, and a new rule governing the emission of DPM 

in underground metal and nonmetal mines took effect July 5, 2001. 

Research includes evaluating diesel exhaust after treatment; developing 

real-time methods for measuring ambient DPM; evaluating diesel fuel 

substitutes such as hydrogen, water emulsions, and biodiesels; and 

investigating new technologies that can mitigate DPM levels in 

underground mines. A hydrogen-powered internal combustion mine truck, 

ZEUS (zero emissions utility solution), is being used as a test vehicle to 

prove this technology as a feasible alternative to fossil fuel. Cooperators 

include mine operators, equipment suppliers and manufacturers, NIOSH, 

and MSHA. 

A fully successful program has the potential to reduce exposure to 

diesel particulates by 90% or more. If implemented in underground mines, 

almost 100,000 workers would see significant reduction in DPM exposures. 

Research results could also be applied in other industrial sectors where 

diesel engines are used in close quarters, e.g., factories and warehouses. The 

transfer of technology to these sectors could easily reduce exposure for 

hundreds of thousands of employees in nonmining industries. 

16 
DIESEL ENGINE EMISSIONS 

MEASUREMENT AND ANALYSIS 

RESEARCHERS: James D. Noll, Ph.D. and 

J. Emery Chilton, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Researchers analyze workplace samples for diesel exhaust 

particulate using NIOSH Method 5040 for Diesel Exhaust 

(Elemental Carbon). 

KEYWORDS: Underground 

mining, diesel, exhaust, soot, 

elemental carbon, measurement 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Cantrell BK, Watts WF Jr. 

[1997]. Diesel exhaust aerosol: 

review of occupational 

exposure. Appl Occup Env Hyg 

12(12):1019-1027. 

McDonald JF, Cantrell BK, 

Watts WF Jr., Bickel KL 

[1997]. Evaluation of a soybean 

oil based diesel fuel in an 

underground gold mine. CIM 

Bull 90(1015): 91-95. 

PURPOSE: Advance technology for measurement of

worker exposure to diesel exhaust contaminants in

 underground mines. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Various State, Federal, and private healthwatch organizations have declared diesel particulate matter (DPM), or

carbon-based soot, to be a suspected or probable carcinogen. Recently, one

nongovernment body, responsible for recommending occupational exposure guidelines, recommended a DPM concentration limit of 50 μg/m3

. 

DPM levels in U.S. mines expose about 30,000 workers to concentrations

that approach 20 times this limit. 

The analytical procedure recommended by the Mining Safety and

Health Administration in its final rule governing exposure of underground

workers to DPM is to use the instrumentation and techniques of NIOSH

Method 5040, which provides the carbon content (organic, elemental, and

other forms of carbon, such as carbonates) of the dust collected on a filter

sample. This project directly addresses the issue of accurately measuring

DPM in the presence of carbon-containing mine aerosols (coal, limestone,

and other ore dusts), oil mists, and cigarette smoke. Although a sizeselective sampler is used to restrict the filter deposit to primarily DPM

particles, which are finer than mine dusts, it is uncertain whether this is

sufficient. NIOSH performs lab and field experiments to define and

mitigate the effects of nondiesel dusts on the measurement of DPM. 

In underground mines with airborne ore dusts and elevated DPM levels,

ore samples are being gathered. Thus far, two mines have been visited; one 

contains bitumen, the other a graphitic ore. Size distributions of workplace

dusts have been obtained and host rock samples have been pulverized to a

size distribution that represents that of the mine. The samples are mixed

with diesel exhaust and injected into a lab chamber. Dust samples are

collected from within the chamber, and the results are analyzed. The goal is

to quantify the effects of the carbon-based dusts on the compliance method

and, ideally, to develop methods to stop these effects. 

Another recent development being investigated is the use of a second

quartz filter behind the first to serve as a means to partially mitigate the

oversampling of organic vapor by quartz and to pick up spurious

contamination from organic vapor of nondiesel origin. The organic carbon

on the second filter is subtracted from that on the first. 

Accurate DPM measurement can reduce uncertainties about workplace

concentrations of DPM, which enables better assessment of the effects of 

control technology on tailpipe emissions. 

17 
SELECTING AND EVALUATING DIESEL 

EMISSION CONTROLS ON MINE 

EQUIPMENT 

RESEARCHERS: George H. Schnakenberg, Jr., Ph.D.

and Aleksandar Bugarski, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Diesel exhaust upstream and downstream of a particulate 

matter filter is sampled to determine filtration efficiency for 

solid carbon core particles (diesel soot). 

KEYWORDS: Underground 

mining, diesel, exhaust, soot, 

exhaust controls 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Schnakenberg GH Jr. [2001]. 

Estimate of technically feasible 

DPM levels for underground 

metal and nonmetal mines. Min 

Eng 53(9):45-51. 

PURPOSE: Investigate and evaluate performance of

exhaust measurement methods and diesel exhaust control 

technology for application in underground coal and metal/

nonmetal mines. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: The Bituminous Coal Operators Association,

the United Mine Workers of America, and NIOSH formed a partnership to

address the means to control diesel emissions and to comply with the Mine 

Safety and Health Administration coal diesel rule that was promulgated in 

January 2001. The goal of this alliance is to find and test practical methods

to reduce diesel exhaust contaminants. Concerns, which formerly focused 

on outby light-duty vehicles, are now shifting to outby heavy-duty and

permissible inby vehicles. 

Control technology, predominantly hot filters, is currently commercially available to the mining market. This project addresses the suitability

of these filters for underground coal mine use (i.e., how well do they filter, 

can they spontaneously burn off collected soot, do they affect concentration

of CO and NO2?). 

Extensive testing of filters and other technology is to be done on the

bench at The Pennsylvania State University and at Lake Lynn Laboratory 

using a transportable engine dynamometer now under construction. The 

dynamometer will be capable of handling both light- and heavy-duty coal

mine engines. Testing at Lake Lynn allows the first real-world controlledcondition testing, where exhaust dilutions and other factors are closer to

real-mine situations. Particulate matter in tailpipe, partial flow dilution 

tunnel, and mine entry dilution will be measured. Effects of control 

technology, such as filters, fuel sulfur, water-fuel emulsions, etc., on the 

particulate emissions and the regulated gases emissions are to be assessed. 

With this dynamometer, it is also possible to measure other effects, such as 

engine derating and modified loadings at high-elevation mines in Utah. 

Another activity has been to try various methods to determine in-use

exhaust filter performance. To that end, several in-use filters have been 

tested in a U.S. and in Canadian mines. 

Consult www.deep.org and www.dieselnet.com for up-to-date reports of

research in the area of diesel emission control technology. 

18 
OCCUPATIONAL ILLNESS 

AND HEALTH HAZARDS 

PARTICLE-INDUCED LUNG INJURY IN 

MIXED EXPOSURES 

RESEARCHER: Ann F. Hubbs, D.V.M., Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION: Health Effects Laboratory Division

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(304) 285-6032 

Photomicrograph of the alveolus of a rat exposed to silica 

dust and then to the CYP1a1-inducer, NF. 

KEYWORDS: Mixed 

exposures, lung cancer, 

pneumoconiosis 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Albrecht C, Adolf B, 

Weishaupt C, Hohr D, 

Zeittrager I, Frieman J, et al. 

[2001]. Clara-cell hyperplasia 

after quartz and coal-dust 

instillation in rat lung. Inhal 

Toxicol 13:191-205. 

Battelli LA, Hubbs AF, 

Ma JYC, Kashon ML, 

Castranova V [2001]. 

Quantifying cellular expression 

of cytochrome P4501A1 

(CYP1A1) in the pulmonary 

alveolus: a comparison of 

indirect enzymatic 

immunohistochemistry (IH) and 

indirect immunofluorescence 

(IF). Toxicologist 60:403. 

Battelli LA, Hubbs AF, 

Simoskevitz RD, Vallyathan V, 

Bowman L, Miles PR [1999]. 

Cytochrome P450 1A1 and 2B1 

in the rat lung: exposure to 

silica and inducers of xenobiotic 

metabolism. Toxicol Sci 48:97. 

PURPOSE: Epidemiology studies suggest that coal

miners, most of whom are smokers, are greatly exposed to respirable

particles, such as coal dust and silica dust, but are not at increased risk of

getting lung cancer. Rats exposed to high doses of some, but not all,

respirable particles develop lung cancer. While some interpret this to mean

that mechanisms leading to lung cancer differ in rats and humans, the

rodent exposures are largely exposures to single agents, whereas the human

exposures are mixed exposures. 

These studies aim to clarify how silica and coal dust influence the

metabolism of chemicals that cause cancer in humans and lab animals so 

that animal studies can be more accurately extrapolated to miners. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Major cancer-causing agents in cigarette

smoke do not actually cause cancer until they are metabolized by an

enzyme system in the body called cytochrome P450 (CYP). CYP comes in 

many different forms. One of the most important of these is CYP1A1, the

system that changes the polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) in

cigarette smoke into cancer-causing agents. An important trait of CYP1A1

is that the compounds it metabolizes can actually induce the activity of

CYP1A1 manyfold. This greatly increases the actual carcinogen dose from

inhaled cigarette smoke. 

Researchers are investigating whether the dusts of coal mines are truly

independent of the carcinogens in cigarette smoke. It was found that in lab 

animals, the dusts in coal mines actually change CYP1A1 and thus the

expected carcinogen dose from cigarette smoke. Several dusts present in

coal mines—coal dust, iron oxide, and silica—each alter the induction of 

CYP1A1. However, the response (increasing or decreasing) differs with

each dust. Thus, each of these dusts is an apparent modifier of the cancercausing ability of cigarette smoke. This means that animal experiments on

dusts alone may be comparable to human epidemiology studies of

nonsmoking miners, but not to those of smoking miners. 

Using techniques developed in the lab, researchers are investigating

whether expression of CYP1A1 is also changed by dust exposure in the

lungs of autopsied coal miners. The goal is a better understanding of the

cancer risks of miners and other workers in the dusty trades. 

19 
EFFECTS OF DUSTS ON ASTHMA AND PULMONARY INFECTIVITY 

RESEARCHER: Vincent Castranova, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION: Health Effects Laboratory Division

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(304) 285-6056 

KEYWORDS: Mixed 

exposures, chronic pulmonary

obstructive disease, pulmonary

infections, diesel exhaust 

particles 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Castranova V, Ma JYC,
 

Yang H-M, Antonini JM,

Butterworth L, Barger MW,

et al. [2001]. Effect of exposure

to diesel exhaust on the
 

susceptibility of the lung to

infection. Env Health Perspec

109(Suppl 4):609-612.
 

Yang HM, Antonini JM,

Barger MW, Butterworth L,

Roberts JR, Ma JKH, et al.
 

[2001]. Diesel exhaust particles

suppress macrophage function

and slow the pulmonary

clearance of Listeria
 

monocytogenes in rats. Env
 

Health Perspec 109:515-521.
 

Yang HM, Barger M,

Castranova V, Ma JKH,
 

Yang J-J, Ma JYC [1999]. 

Effect of diesel exhaust particles

(DEP), carbon black, and silica

on macrophage response to

lipopolysacchride: evidence of

DEP suppression of macrophage

activity. J Toxicol Env Health
 

Part A 58:261-278.
 

PURPOSE: Determine the effects of diesel exhaust particles on asthma 

and the ability of the lung to fight infections. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: NIOSH and the Mine Safety and Health 

Administration are concerned that exposure of underground miners to diesel 

exhaust particulate (DEP) could be a health risk. In addition, breathing 

DEP is considered a mixed exposure because DEP contains a mixture of 

chemicals that include a solid carbon core (soot), plus other toxic organic 

substances absorbed on the surface of the core. For this reason, research 

into possible adverse lung responses to breathing DEP is a National 

Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) priority and is vital. This project 

is evaluating the effects of DEP on the lungs to fight infection by testing the 

ability of alveolar macrophages (AMs) to engulf and kill bacteria. AMs are 

white blood cells in the lungs that “eat” and destroy foreign material, such 

as bacteria, that may have been breathed into the lungs. 

This project involves studies in cells, lab animals, and human subjects. 

In the cell studies, AMs taken from the lungs of laboratory rats have been 

treated in petri dishes with DEP, the solid core of DEP, or the organic 

chemicals that have been removed from the core. DEP decreases the ability 

of AMs to engulf bacteria and reduces the reactive substances produced by 

AMs that are needed to kill bacteria. The ability of DEP to alter AM 

function seems to be due to the organic chemicals absorbed on the solid 

core of the DEP. DEP directly administered to rat lungs also depresses AM 

function. As a result, rat lungs treated with DEP are less able to kill 

bacteria, which causes the infection to increase and spread to other parts of 

the body. It is then possible that workers exposed to high DEP levels may 

be more susceptible to lung infections. 

To study this finding in humans (in collaboration with the U.S. 

Department of Defense), mechanics who work on diesel-powered vehicles 

at Fort Lewis, WA, were given a questionnaire. They were asked questions 

about the seriousness and frequency of symptoms related to asthma and 

lung infections. Sampling the nasal linings of these workers has also been 

done to determine the presence of disease and inflammation after exposure 

to DEP. The results are now being analyzed. 

20 
ENVIRONMENTAL CAUSATION OF 

ALLERGIES AND ASTHMA 

RESEARCHERS: David N. Weissman, M.D., and

 Paul D. Siegel, Ph.D., Daniel M.

 Lewis, Ph.D., and Vincent

 Castranova, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION: Health Effects Laboratory Division

National Institute for

 Occupational Safety and Health

(304) 285-5720

Lymphocytic lung inflammation induced by exposure of 

mice with normal aryl hydrocarbon receptor function 

(Ahb-1) or reduced function (Ahd

) to intraperitoneal olive oil 

(OO) or BNF in olive oil (BNF) and aerosolized phosphatebuffered saline (PBS) or ovalbumin in PBS (OVA). 

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was done after exposures, 

and total numbers of lymphocytes recovered by BAL are 

shown on the horizontal axis. 

KEYWORDS: Mixed 

exposures, chronic pulmonary 

obstructive disease, infectious 

disease 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Weissman DN, Siegel PD, 

Zhuang ZZ, Lewis DM [2001]. 

Augmentation of inflammatory 

and immune responses to 

inhaled antigen by combined 

exposure to 

beta-naphthoflavone (BNF) 

[Abstract]. J Allergy Clin 

Immunol 107:S146. 

PURPOSE: The National Occupational Research Agenda

states that “workers are commonly exposed to combinations 

of chemicals or physical agents, but knowledge about the 

potential effects of mixed exposures is limited.” Examples 

of mixtures cited include welding fumes, diesel exhaust 

particulate (DEP), and irritants such as metals on dust particles. As many 

as 1 million U.S. workers in the construction, transportation, mining, and 

other industries are estimated to have at least part-time exposure to DEP. 

Researchers hypothesize that inhalation exposure to chemicals called 

polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) alters lung immunity. PAH are 

found in airborne emissions from diesel engines and other combustion 

processes. Changes in lung immunity could predispose exposed people to 

allergies, airways obstruction, and respiratory infections. Researchers also 

believe that PAH affect lung immunity by binding to a receptor on cells 

called the aryl hydrocarbon receptor (Ahr). 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Combined exposures to a PAH (beta 

naphthoflavone (BNF)) and an allergen (ovalbumin (OVA)) in mice were 

carried out. Both mice with functional Ahr (Ahb-1) and mice bred to have 

poorly functional Ahr (Ahd

) were used. Data show that exposure to BNF 

increases inflammatory and immune responses induced by inhaling OVA. 

However, this effect does not seem to require binding to the Ahr. 

Nasal scraping samples from persons exposed to diesel exhaust and 

nonexposed controls were obtained. These are now being analyzed. 

Results will yield information on lung reactions to mixed dusts and will be 

useful for risk assessment. 

21 
GENETIC FACTORS FOR SILICOSIS AND LUNG CANCER IN GOLD MINERS 

RESEARCHERS: Ainsley Weston, Ph.D., and Leslie T. Stayner, Ph.D.
 

AFFILIATION: Health Effects Laboratory Division, and Education and Information Division

 National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(304) 285-6060
 

KEYWORDS: Genetics, risk 

assessment, silicosis 

PURPOSE: Examine the relationship between genetic markers and 

occupational exposures to silica and asbestos in lung cancer, mesothelioma, 

and silicosis. Genetic changes that occur with the disease may give clues 

about past exposures, as well as prognosis and genetic variations in the 

inherited genes that may cause different people to react differently to 

similar exposures. The outcome of this project will yield important information on mechanisms of occupational cancer and silicosis. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Lung tissue samples that were obtained as part 

of a workers compensation autopsy program are stored in an archive by 

collaborators at the National Center for Occupational Health, Johannesburg, 

Republic of South Africa. Samples are identified and obtained for both 

cases of disease and controls (from people who died with healthy lungs). 

A study was done that establishes the feasibility of isolating the DNA and 

determining the genetic markers from the South African lung tissue 

samples. 

Initially, the sample numbers for these experiments are small because 

they are designed to come up with the logistics of sampling the archival 

samples in South Africa, bringing the samples to Morgantown, WV, and 

determining if the samples contained sufficient DNA for this study. 

Researchers have chosen to amplify two genes, GSTT1 and GSTM1, which 

code for glutathione S-transferases, the enzymes that detoxify certain 

chemicals known to cause cancer. This gene is absent in some people; thus, 

these people may be more sensitive to certain chemical exposures. Initial 

studies identified that, of 167 samples, 147 were analyzable for GSTM1 and 

136 for GSTT1. Further, crude statistical analysis showed that people 

lacking GSTM1 were at almost three times greater risk of lung cancer. 

People without GSTT1 had nearly seven times greater risk of mesothelioma. 

No associations were found for silicosis. Based on these preliminary data, 

researchers have designed confirmatory studies. 

22 
PORTABLE MONITORS FOR AIRBORNE 

METALS AT MINING SITES 

RESEARCHER: Pamela L. Drake 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Filter samples are analyzed for lead using field-portable 

anodic stripping voltammetry. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, 

exposure assessment, airborne 

contaminants 

PURPOSE: Use existing or newly developed fieldportable technologies and methods to (1) determine 

airborne metal concentrations in mines and refining

operations rapidly so potential overexposures can be 

assessed quickly and (2) implement and evaluate

intervention controls on a timely basis. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Most workers at mining and construction sites

encounter dust and fumes throughout the workday. In some cases, metals 

and trace amounts of other toxic substances in these dusts and fumes can 

cause adverse health effects if exposures are great enough. Identifying

toxic substances such as metals in airborne dust is a goal for all mining 

commodities. 

Presently, the most common methods for assessing workers’ exposures

to airborne metals involve collecting filter samples and sending them to an 

analytical laboratory, where wet chemistry methods are used for sample 

preparation and analysis. While these methods are very accurate, they tend

to be costly, and the time delay from sample collection to analytical result is 

often at least several weeks, by which time the worker may have moved on

to a different task or location. Field-portable instruments designed to 

measure airborne metal concentrations are cost effective and can help

identify tasks or locations of excessive airborne metal exposures with endof-shift speed. Such immediate results can facilitate the rapid evaluation of

control strategies. NIOSH researchers are characterizing and testing such 

cost-effective, on-site screening methods. 

Airborne lead was measured at milling, refining, and recycling

operations using field-portable x-ray fluorescence (XRF) spectrometry and 

anodic stripping voltammetry (ASV). Preliminary results were given to the

mining companies within 2 days of sample collection. The samples were 

then sent for confirmatory wet chemistry analysis using standard analytical

methods. Future studies will use portable XRF spectrometry for multiple 

elements being developed at NIOSH’s Health Effects Laboratory Division

and a method for hexavalent chromium analysis by portable visible 

absorption spectrophotometry being developed by the Division of Applied

Research and Technology. 

Collaborators: This project is part of collaborative work with 

NIOSH’s Division of Applied Research and Technology and the Health

Effects Laboratory Division’s Exposure Assessment Branch and Health 

Communication Research Branch. 

23 
CHARACTERIZATION AND COMMUNICATION OF CHEMICAL HAZARDS

 IN MINING AND PROCESSING
 

RESEARCHERS: Pamela Drake and Douglas Scott 

AFFILIATION: Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

PURPOSE: Provide information on chemical hazards and assessment 

training to mine safety personnel to assist in protecting workers from 

chemical hazards. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Exposure to airborne metallic particulates and 

other chemicals in the mining industry, particularly in milling and refining 

facilities, may expose thousands of workers to health risks. As reported in 

the 1996 National Occupational Health Survey of Mining Technical Report, 

NIOSH inventoried 2,570 different chemical substances and 84,939 trade 

name substances at 491 selected mine sites, and these substances were 

found to be the source of the largest potential exposure for workers. The 

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently enacted a Hazard 

Communication Standard (30 CFR 47), or the HazCom rule, that requires 

operators and contractors to assess the hazards of chemicals they produce or 

use and provide information to miners, MSHA, and NIOSH concerning the 

chemical hazards found at their mines. Under the HazCom rule, if 

operators produce a chemical or a chemical mixture they must “review 

available scientific evidence to determine if the material is hazardous.” The 

rule becomes effective on June 30, 2002. 

Many small- and medium-sized mining operations do not have the 

expertise to assess chemical hazards found at their mining, milling, and 

refining sites. This project will provide chemical hazard information and 

assessment training to mine safety personnel to assist in protecting workers 

from chemical hazards. We will provide technical assistance and develop 

printed materials, videos, and workshops concerning previous hazard 

assessments, industrial hygiene monitoring strategies, equipment and 

methods, and the health effects of particularly hazardous materials. 

Workers in this type of industry tend to be kinetic learners; therefore, 

traditional training methods may be ineffective at actually changing the way 

a worker thinks about his/her own health and safety. Attendees at the 

Western Mining Summit held at SRL in January 2001 expressed the need 

for practical training techniques for adult learners in professional fields. To 

communicate risk effectively, there is a need for finding the most 

appropriate medium that will motivate workers who work in an innately 

dangerous environment to pay attention to the risks. 

This is a new project for FY02. 

24 
TOXIC FUMES FROM BLASTING 

RESEARCHER: James H. Rowland III 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Blasting agent fumes studies are done in NIOSH’s explosion sphere. The fumes produced by 1-pound explosive 

charges are confined in the sphere pending sampling and 

analysis. 

KEYWORDS: Explosive,

blasting agents, fumes, blasting 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

NIOSH [2001]. Technology 

news 488: Migration of blasting

fumes into a western 

Pennsylvania home. Pittsburgh,

PA: U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services, Public 

Health Service, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health. 

Rowland JH III, Mainiero RJ 

[2000]. Factors affecting

ANFO fumes production. In: 

Proceedings of the 26th Annual

Conference on Explosives and 

Blasting Technique. Vol. I. 

Cleveland, OH: International 

Society of Explosives

Engineers, pp. 163-174. 

Rowland JH III, Mainiero RJ, 

Hurd DA Jr. [2001]. Factors 

affecting fumes production of 

an emulsion and 

ANFO/emulsion blends. In: 

Proceedings of the 27th Annual

Conference on Explosives and 

Blasting Technique. Vol. II. 

Cleveland, OH: International 

Society of Explosives

Engineers, pp. 133-141. 

PURPOSE: Reduce worker exposure to blasting fumes 

by determining the causes of excessive blasting fumes and 

the toxic fumes generation of various blasting agents under 

different blasting conditions. Develop strategies to 

minimize exposure to these fumes. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: All explosives generate toxic fumes when 

detonated. The composition of these fumes is typical of what might be 

expected from any combustion process and includes carbon monoxide 

(CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ammonia (NH3). Care 

must be taken to ensure that workers are protected from these fumes. As 

mines have switched from high explosives to ammonium nitrate/fuel oil 

(ANFO) over the past 30 years and blasts have increased in size, the 

problem of toxic fumes generation in blasting has increased. 

To address the hazards of toxic fumes, a chamber has been constructed 

in which up to 10 pounds of blasting agent may be detonated and the toxic 

fumes confined. Following detonation of the blasting agent, the fumes are 

sampled to determine the quantities of CO, NO, NO2, NH3, and other toxic 

gases generated. Blasting agent formulations typical of those used in 

industry are evaluated to determine their relative fumes generation. 

Research has previously looked at the effects of confinement, water 

exposure, and contaminants on blasting agent fumes. In all cases, the tests 

were carried out in air. The next step is to observe the fumes production of 

blasting agents under conditions closer to those experienced in the field. 

This would involve evaluating the blasting agents in a low oxygen 

environment (similar to a borehole) and subjecting the blasting agent to the 

pressure pulses generated by earlier detonating boreholes. Field studies will 

be done to determine how the lab studies relate to the performance of 

blasting agents in commercial blasting. 

This research is carried out in partnership with the Institute of Makers 

of Explosives, its member companies, and the members of the Wyoming 

Mining Association, all of which are aware of the blasting fumes hazard 

and are working to find solutions. Information generated by this research, 

combined with the experience of industry, will allow blasters to design 

blasts that minimize toxic fumes generation. 

25 
INVESTIGATING AIR QUALITY ISSUES IN 

METAL/NONMETAL MINES 

RESEARCHER: Roy H. Grau III 

AFFILIATION: Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Large-diameter propeller fan for underground stone mining. 

KEYWORDS: Underground 

mining, ventilation, diesel 

PURPOSE: Improve the air quality in metal/nonmetal 

mines to reduce the risk of adverse health effects from 

worker exposure to airborne contaminants such as diesel

 emissions, toxic fumes from blasting, and silica dust. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Nearly all underground stone mines and many 

of the other metal/nonmetal mines have large openings that create 

ventilation with low air velocities. Underground metal/nonmetal miners are 

exposed to a variety of potentially harmful substances through the air they 

breath. Improving ventilation will reduce workers’ exposure to these 

contaminants. 

Project personnel have determined some practical methods to improve 

ventilation in large, low-velocity mines. They are now researching a 

multitude of techniques to enhance the air quality of underground stone 

mines with large entries and low air velocities. Three important ventilation 

techniques have been identified and include mechanical fan selection and 

application, air coursing, and mine layout incorporating ventilation 

concepts. 

Research is being done to determine the proper fan type selection and 

application to create the most efficient method for moving the air quantities 

that are required in these large-opening mines. The fan’s positioning and 

auxiliary fan application are also very important. In addition, with the best 

fan selection, the air must be directed where it is needed the most. Project 

personnel are addressing the task of selecting the appropriate materials and 

methods for constructing air walls to direct the air. Included in this research 

is the application of rock stoppings. 

Project personnel have found three different methods for mine layouts 

incorporating ventilation concepts to ventilate large-opening mines: 

(1) perimeter ventilation (ventilating the outside perimeter of the mine, 

which are the active faces), (2) unit ventilation (developing stone barriers 

between mining sections), and (3) split-mine ventilation (dividing the mine 

into one-half intake and one-half return with the separations (stone barriers) 

changing with mining). Most underground stone mines can incorporate at 

least one of these methods into their mine to improve air quality. 

26 
HAZARD DETECTION AND 

WARNING DEVICES 

SAFETY ENHANCEMENTS FOR OFFHIGHWAY DUMP TRUCKS 

RESEARCHER: Todd Ruff 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Tests of a GPS-based collision warning system for dump 

trucks and light vehicles (inlay: truck operation interface). 

KEYWORDS: Collision 

warning, backup alarm, 

proximity alarm, mining 

equipment, dump truck 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Ruff T [2001]. Test results of 

collision warning systems on 

off-highway dump trucks: phase 

2. Spokane, WA: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 2001-100, RI 9654. 

Ruff T [2001]. Application of 

radar to detect pedestrian 

workers near mining equipment. 

App Occup Env Hyg 16(8):798­

808. 

PURPOSE: Develop interventions that will decrease accidents involving 

off-highway dump trucks in surface mining operations. Specific goals 

include reducing fatalities and injuries caused from (1) accidents caused 

when a truck operator cannot see all areas around the equipment from the 

cab and (2) those caused from a lack of operator training or experience in 

adverse conditions. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: An average of 675 accidents and 21 fatalities 

involving powered haulage equipment occur each year in metal/nonmetal 

and coal surface mining operations. Twenty percent of these accidents 

involve off-highway dump trucks. Researchers will investigate methods of 

reducing common types of accidents involving dump trucks, specifically 

(1) accidents caused because of a truck driver’s inability to see adequately 

around and in back of the equipment and (2) those caused when the truck 

driver loses control of the truck because of adverse conditions. 

Technology will be investigated that can be applied to monitoring the 

blind areas around dump trucks to prevent collisions and backing over an 

edge. Research to date has shown that off-the-shelf collision warning 

systems developed for delivery vans and automobiles lack an adequate 

detection range and width to be effective on large dump trucks. New 

systems based on radar and radio signal detection have been developed 

recently using input from this project. An agreement with the Phelps 

Dodge Morenci mine in Arizona allows project personnel to test these new 

systems under actual operating conditions. Also, a prototype global 

positioning system (GPS)-based collision warning system has been 

developed under a contract with Trimble Navigation. This system uses 

standard GPS equipment, radios, and a Windows CE computer interface to 

allow an equipment operator to monitor the location of all equipment, small 

vehicles, and stationary structures nearby. Development and testing of this 

new system will continue this year. 

27 
MOBILE MINING EQUIPMENT WARNING 

SYSTEMS 

RESEARCHERS: John Owens, Wayne Howie,

and Gregory Miller 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Poor lift-truck operating practices, such as high-speed 

turns, can lead to serious accidents. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, 

warning system, rollover, 

control technology, lift trucks 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Maleki H, Owens J [2001]. 

Application of computational
 

and statistical techniques to an
 

evaluation of mobile roof
 

supports. In: Desai SS, Kundu
 

T, Hatpalani S, Contractor D,
 

Kemeny J, eds. Proceedings of
 

the 10th International
 

Conference on Computer
 

Methods and Advances in
 

Geomechanics. Vol. 2,
 

pp. 1705-1711.
 

Howie W, Owens J [1999]. 

Mobile roof support load rate
 

monitoring system. In:
 

Proceedings of the IEEE
 

Industry Applications Society
 

(Phoenix, AZ, Oct. 3-7). 

Vol. 1, pp. 234-239.
 

Maleki H, Owens J, Endicott M
 

[2001]. Evaluation of mobile
 

roof support technologies. In:
 

Peng SS, Mark C, Khair AW,
 

eds. Proceedings of the 20th
 

International Conference on
 

Ground Control in Mining. 

Morgantown, WV: West
 

Virginia University, pp. 67-77.
 

PURPOSE: Develop monitoring and warning systems 

for mobile mining equipment that reduce accidents

 resulting from dangerous operating conditions and 

practices. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Unstable configurations and poor operating 

practices during the operation of lift trucks, front-end loaders, skid-steer 

loaders, highway trucks, and dozers result in numerous accidents. A 

common danger in the mining industry occurs when mobile mining 

equipment is unknowingly operated in an unstable configuration or in 

dangerous conditions. Such instabilities can be initiated through both 

operator error and changing terrain and can result in equipment rollovers 

and the deaths of workers. 

Despite improvements in the equipment, lift trucks are involved in 

68,000 (serious and nonserious) injuries annually in the United States. 

More than 600 accidents involving lift trucks have been recorded at mining 

operations during the last 5 years. A monitoring system is being developed 

that will monitor the critical operating parameters of lift trucks. By 

monitoring a lift truck’s operation, it may be possible to determine why 

accidents continue to occur. The role of driver error as contributing to 

accidents will be evaluated. If driver error is determined to be a significant 

contributor to lift truck accidents, then a warning system will be developed. 

The research is being performed in five phases. The first phase involves 

developing a lift truck testbed. The second phase will develop an electronic 

monitoring system to monitor the testbed. The third phase will involve data 

collection from a lift truck in operation. The fourth phase will be to 

evaluate the data to identify critical operating parameters that signify unsafe 

lift truck operating practices. The fifth phase will involve designing a 

system to monitor these critical operating parameters and trigger an alarm 

whenever a critical combination of these factors occurs. 

28 
EVALUATING COLLISION WARNING 

SYSTEMS FOR CONSTRUCTION 

EQUIPMENT 

RESEARCHER: Todd Ruff 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

WSDOT dump truck used to evaluate collision warning 

systems. 

KEYWORDS: Collision 

warning, backup alarm, 

proximity alarm, construction 

PURPOSE: Evaluate existing collision warning systems 

on equipment used on roadway construction projects and

 make recommendations to industry on their use. A 

selection of one or more systems will be made for long-term tests to be 

conducted under the project “Evaluating Roadway Construction Work Zone 

Interventions” at the NIOSH Division of Safety Research (DSR). 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Highway and street construction workers are 

at risk of fatal and serious injury when working near passing motorists and 

construction equipment. During 1992-98, 841 highway and street construction workers were fatally injured. In 55% of these cases, the death was 

either vehicle- or equipment-related and occurred in the work zone. In 68% 

of the vehicle- and equipment-related fatalities within work zones, a worker 

on foot was struck by a vehicle. Victims were as likely to be struck by a 

construction vehicle as by a passing traffic vehicle. 

This project is a collaborative effort with two other projects, one at 

DSR and one at the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL). The sponsoring 

project, “Evaluating Roadway Construction Work Zone Interventions,” 

calls for three tasks. The first task at DSR involves evaluation and design 

of traffic control interventions and methods to reduce worker exposure to 

moving equipment. The second task at PRL involves the development of a 

new device called HASARD that will prevent collisions between pedestrian 

workers and equipment. The third task at SRL will evaluate existing 

technologies that can be used to prevent collisions between pedestrian 

workers and equipment used at roadway construction sites. An agreement 

with the Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) has 

been established that allows NIOSH to test collision warning systems on 

WSDOT equipment. The equipment will be selected by WSDOT and 

NIOSH based on exposure risk and past accident rates. Tests consist of 

3-month evaluations of each technology to evaluate their effectiveness in 

preventing collisions. To date, radar, cameras, and ultrasonic systems have 

been tested on dump trucks and sanding trucks. These evaluations will 

allow one or more systems to be selected for longer term tests at a highway 

construction site. 

29 
EVALUATING ROADWAY 

CONSTRUCTION WORK ZONE 

INTERVENTIONS 

RESEARCHER: Gary L. Mowrey, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

Haul trucks at a limestone quarry. 

KEYWORDS: Traumatic 

injuries, work zone, mining, 

proximity warning, collision 

avoidance, HASARD, heavy 

equipment 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Pratt SG, Fosbroke DF, 

Marsh SM [2001]. Building 

safer highway work zones: 

measures to prevent workers 

injuries from vehicles and 

equipment. Cincinnati, OH: 

U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 2001-128. 

Schiffbauer WH [1999]. A 

workplace safety device for 

operators of remote-controlled 

continuous mining machines. 

Amer J Ind Med 36(Suppl 1): 

69-71. 

PURPOSE: Develop, evaluate, and demonstrate

interventions aimed at reducing worker exposure to moving vehicles and

equipment at surface mine sites and inside the boundaries of work zones. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Statistics from the Mine Safety and Health

Administration (MSHA) for 1995-98 show that an average of 13 miners are

killed each year by being run over or pinned by mobile mining equipment. 

At surface mines, these accidents often involve large dump trucks that drive

over a smaller vehicle or a worker that is in a blind spot of the truck. Over 

one-half of these accidents could have been avoided if the equipment

operator had been adequately warned of the impending collision. MSHA is 

considering regulations that would require the use of some type of blindspot sensor, such as a proximity- or collision-warning system (30 CFR 56,

57, 77). 

Highway and street construction workers are also at risk of fatal and

serious nonfatal injury when working near construction vehicles and

equipment. During 1992-98, 841 highway and street construction workers

were fatally injured. In 465 (55%) of these cases, the death was vehicle- or

equipment-related and either clearly or probably occurred in the work zone. 

In 318 of the 465 vehicle- and equipment-related fatalities within work

zones, a worker on foot was struck by a vehicle. 

Protocols are being written and a work zone analysis system (WZAS) is

being developed for accurately measuring and objectively monitoring

workers interacting with mobile equipment at work sites. In FY02, the 

WZAS is to be tested and evaluated for doing time and motion studies. 

This project supports the National Occupational Research Agenda

traumatic injuries research area. It is a collaboration between researchers at 

the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory (PRL), the Division of Safety Research

(DSR), and the Spokane Research Laboratory (SRL) who have

multidisciplinary expertise in mining and roadway work zone interventions. 

Specific aims include modification of the Hazardous Area Signaling and

Ranging Device (HASARD), which is a NIOSH-developed proximity

sensing and alarming device for use on heavy mobile equipment (PRL);

design and development of a WZAS (PRL); assessment of internal traffic

control plans (DSR); and evaluation of off-the-shelf proximity sensors

(SRL). The combined efforts of the three labs/divisions are expected to

hasten the development of new intervention techniques (innovative safety

warning devices) to help protect workers on foot in areas where mobile

equipment is present. 

30 
LOCKOUT/TAGOUT, JAMMED AND

MOVING MACHINERY CONTROLS 

RESEARCHER: Gary L. Mowrey, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

Workers around a highwall mining conveyor system. 

KEYWORDS: Lockout, 

tagout, jammed, machinery, 

proximity warning, object 

detection, conveyor, baler, 

maintenance, HASARD, 

traumatic injury 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Schiffbauer WH [1999]. A 

workplace safety device for 

operators of remote-controlled 

continuous mining machines. 

Amer J Ind Med 36(Suppl 1): 

69-71. 

PURPOSE: Develop an electromagnetic-based

proximity-warning system to provide warning and/or

shutdown for workers operating or performing

maintenance on moving machinery. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Lockout/tagout (LOTO), Occupational Safety

and Health Administration (OSHA) Standard 29 CFR 1910.147, is a

protective procedure that workers must do to remove hazardous energy

from machinery before performing maintenance tasks. All energy sources

for equipment must be deenergized, and the disconnecting means must be

locked and labeled with a tag warning not to energize the machinery. Each 

year about 150 workers die and nearly 7,000 are seriously injured from

being caught in machinery. About one-half of these workers were 

performing service- or maintenance-related tasks at the time of the incident. 

LOTO violations rank fourth on OSHA’s list of the top 10 most frequently

cited standards. Moreover, both the Mine Safety and Health Administration

and the National Stone Association have found that concern about LOTO is 

one of the most important safety issues facing the mining and aggregate

industries. 

A patented active proximity-warning device called the Hazardous Area

Signaling and Ranging Device (HASARD), originally developed for use on

underground continuous mining machines, is currently being redesigned for

various types of industrial machinery, with initial emphasis on conveyortype equipment. HASARD warns workers who approach a previously

defined hazard zone (or zones) around a machine in normal operation

and/or during maintenance-related tasks. This system has the potential to

be modified to disable the power in the event of the employee’s failure to

lockout and tagout the machine. Protocols have been completed, and

equipment has been acquired for testing and evaluating HASARD and for

making accurate distance measurements between a worker and a piece of

equipment, such as a conveyor belt. A computer-controlled X-Y-Z

positioning table (for recording HASARD receiver outputs in three

dimensions) and a two-dimensional scanning laser measurement system (for

accurately determining distances between a worker and moving machinery)

will be used in lab testing and evaluation. 

This project supports the National Occupational Research Agenda

traumatic injuries research area. It is a collaboration between researchers at 

the Pittsburgh Research Laboratory and the Division of Safety Research

(DSR) who have expertise in machine safeguarding innovation. DSR is 

concurrently developing a low-cost, strain-gauge-based interlock for

detecting the formation of jams in dangerous machinery. The combined 

efforts of the two entities are expected to help reduce the frequency of

fatalities and injuries associated with workers being caught in various types

of moving machinery. 

31 
ADVANCE WARNING OF GROUND STABILITY HAZARDS 

RESEARCHERS: Steve Signer, Lewis Martin, and Jeff Johnson 

AFFILIATION: Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

KEYWORDS: Remote 

monitoring, strain, ground 

stability 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Signer S, Rains R [2001]. A 

case study of bolt loads in a 

trona mine retreat section. In: 

Roofbolting in Mining, Aachen 

International Mining Symposia 

(Aachen, Germany, June 6-7). 

Aachen, Germany: Institut für 

Bergbaukunde I, pp. 481-494. 

Signer SP and Rains R [2001]. 

Effects of bolt spacing, bolt 

length, and roof span on bolt 

loading in a trona mine. In: 

Peng SS, Mark C, Khair AW, 

eds. Proceedings of the 20th 

International Conference on 

Ground Control in Mining. 

Morgantown, WV: West 

Virginia University, pp. 302­

308. 

PURPOSE: Investigate ongoing developments in electronics, 

communications, and computer technologies; identify appropriate safety 

applications for these advances; and adapt and apply these improved 

technologies to monitoring ground stability hazards in underground mines. 

In conjunction with this research, develop practical warning devices to alert 

underground workers of hazardous locations and impending ground control 

failures. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Mine Safety and Health Administration 

statistics indicate that there is a dire need to warn underground miners of 

unexpected ground stability hazards. Although research studies conducted 

by the former U.S. Bureau of Mines and NIOSH have demonstrated that 

geotechnical instruments can be used effectively to identify and monitor 

ground control hazards, modern rock mechanics instruments are rarely used 

by the mining industry. Most mines, especially smaller operations, do not 

have the expertise or resources available to design an effective 

instrumentation plan, properly install and monitor a variety of instruments, 

and analyze and interpret the electronic readings obtained from the 

instruments. As a result, ground control hazards are primarily monitored 

through visual observations, and injuries and fatalities continue to occur 

due to unexpected roof and rib falls. 

To obtain ground stability information from locations that have 

traditionally been difficult to monitor, such as mined-out areas, active 

mining stopes, retreat mining faces, and tailgate entries, cableless 

techniques will be developed to monitor instruments remotely. A prototype 

miniaturized data acquisition system has been developed that can measure 

and record strain readings on 16 strain gauges for more than a year without 

long lead wires. This system will be used in conjunction with a new strain 

sensor and previously developed instrumented roof bolts. 

Lab tests of the miniature data acquisition system and strain sensor are 

80% complete. Next year the instruments will be tested in the field. 

Hazardous levels of horizontal, vertical, and shear strain that can lead to 

rock failure will be detected using this technology so that a warning signal 

can be given and corrective action taken. 

32 
WIDE AREA ROOF FALL DETECTION 

AND WARNING SYSTEM 

RESEARCHERS: Eric Zahl, John Dunford, and 

Mark Larson 

AFFILIATION: Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Anomalous deformation of the roof might indicate an 

impending roof rall. 

KEYWORDS: Underground 

mining, ground control, 

monitoring systems, sensor 

technology 

PURPOSE: Document and assess technologies to detect 

rock block movements in the most active underground 

workplaces so that miners can be warned of conditions that 

might lead to a roof fall. Assess deformation mechanisms 

so rock movement can be interpreted correctly. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Statistics from the Mine Safety and Health 

Administration show that 80% of roof fall fatalities occurred within 100 

feet of the working face and 56% happened within 25 feet of the face. In 

addition, 42% of the falls occurred within 1 hour of a roof examination. 

Most of the falls (61%) occurred in supported ground that was supposedly 

safe. Relatively small falls are not readily predictable by off-the-shelf 

geotechnical sensors. Rapid face advance rates and rapidly changing 

ground conditions only complicate the detection problem. 

Specific tasks within the project include surveillance, a review of 

sensing technology, a review of data acquisition and processing 

technology, and assessment of the characteristics of various time-dependent 

failure mechanisms. Sensing technologies to be evaluated will include 

stress-, strain-, and displacement-monitoring sensors, seismic and 

tomographic techniques, and acoustic and electromagnetic devices, as well 

as photogrammetric and image analysis methods. The project will 

determine the feasibility of a monitoring system that would operate in nearreal time, cover a wide area within 100 feet of the working face, and assess 

the condition of the immediate roof. Low cost and ease of installation in 

the work place are critical evaluation criteria. The goal is to provide 

information about the condition of the entire roof in the immediate working 

area. 

33 
OVERHEAD POWER LINE CONTACT 

ALARM FOR MOBILE EQUIPMENT 

RESEARCHER: James C. Cawley 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

A 22-ton rough-terrain construction crane energized at 

4,000 V ac for current measurement tests on a concrete test 

surface. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, 

electrocution, power line, alarm, 

crane, truck 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Hinze J [1996]. Analysis of 

fatalities and injuries due to 

power line contacts. J Constr 

Eng Mgt 22(2):177-182. 

NIOSH [1995]. NIOSH alert: 

preventing electrocutions of 

crane operators and crew 

members working near 

overhead power lines. 

Cincinnati, OH: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 95-108. 

PURPOSE: Determine the electrical characteristics of 

mobile equipment that accidentally contacts an overhead 

power line. Design and test an effective alarm device to 

warn vehicle operators and nearby support personnel of 

vehicles energized due to accidental power line contact. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Overhead electric power lines are a serious 

electrocution hazard to crane, truck, and drill rig operators. They cause 

about one-fifth of all fatal electrocutions in the mining industry. Detailed 

analysis of past accidents has shown that in over 50% of the cases, workers 

were not aware of the overhead line contact until one or more workers 

subsequently dismounted or touched the energized equipment and were 

injured. The widespread use of a reliable overhead power line contact 

alarm on mobile equipment could reduce the number of injuries and 

fatalities from equipment-line contacts. A practical contact alarm could be 

applied in construction, agriculture, and public utilities where overhead 

power lines are also a hazard. 

Early research showed that electrical currents flowing through a vehicle 

in contact with a high-voltage power line were of sufficient magnitude to be 

practically detected and trigger an alarm. An alarm device would warn 

equipment operators and nearby coworkers that the vehicle is an 

electrocution hazard and should not be approached (or dismounted by the 

operator). 

Recent work measured the current flow through a 22-ton rough-terrain 

construction crane and a 23-ton dump-bed truck on 30- by 50-ft test 

surfaces of concrete, asphalt, gravel, bare earth, and grass. Experiments 

confirmed that for rubber-tired vehicles sufficient, current flow exists on all 

surfaces except clean, dry asphalt, which is highly resistant to the flow of 

electrical current. In addition, when the crane's outriggers are blocked up 

on oak planks, current flow is insufficient to trigger an alarm device. While 

this does not reduce the electrocution hazard for workers, it negates the use 

of current detection as a universal mechanism to actuate an alarm device. 

The experimental focus has shifted to investigate other detection 

mechanisms in the final year of the project. 

34 
INVESTIGATION OF ELECTROMAGNETIC 

PRECURSORS TO ROCK BURSTING 

RESEARCHERS: Doug Scott and Theodore

Williams 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Data acquisition at the Galena Mine, Wallace, ID. 

KEYWORDS: Underground 

mining, electromagnetic 

emissions, monitoring 

instruments 

PURPOSE: Develop a method to measure and monitor 

electromagnetic emissions during the mining cycle in order 

to develop a method that will alert miners to the possibility 

of imminent ground failure. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Highly stressed rock in stopes continues to be 

a primary risk to the safety of miners in underground mines, and failure of 

the rock results in both injuries and death. Acoustic and electromagnetic 

radiation emissions coincide when rock breaks. Acoustic monitoring of a 

rock mass to detect ground movement in deep underground mines has been 

done successfully for several years. Electromagnetic emissions associated 

with rock failure have been shown to occur in controlled laboratory 

situations; however, such emissions have not been used to detect imminent 

ground failure in deep underground mines. Monitoring electromagnetic 

emissions in a rock mass during the mining cycle could provide one method 

of warning miners of imminent ground failure. 

Two data acquisition systems that monitor both acoustic and 

electromagnetic emissions in the rock have been in operation intermittently 

at the Galena Mine, Wallace, ID, for several months. The systems are 

configured to run from either ac or dc power, and one of the systems is 

capable of collecting up to 1 million samples per second. Currently, both 

systems are located in a “quiet” (aseismic) area of the mine. However, two 

350-ft antennas and a geophone have been installed on the 5500 level 

(which is seismically active) to monitor both electromagnetic and acoustic 

emissions in a nearby stope. If an association exists between the frequency 

of electromagnetic emissions and seismic activity, additional stopes will be 

monitored. 

35 
SMART FIRE SENSORS 

RESEARCHER: John C. Edwards, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Mine fire sensor array in the Safety Research Coal Mine. 

KEYWORDS: Fires, mining, 

detection 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Edwards JC, Franks RA, Friel 

GF, Lazzara CP, Opferman JJ 

[2001]. Discriminatory mine fire 

source detection. In: 

Proceedings of the Seventh 

International Mine Ventilation 

Congress (Krakow, Poland): pp. 

291-298. 

Edwards JC, Franks RA, Friel 

GF, Lazzara CP, Opferman JJ 

[2001]. Underground fire 

detection and nuisance alarm 

discrimination. Coal Age 

106(7):70-72. 

Hwang CC, Edwards JC [2001]. 

CFD modeling of smoke 

reversal. In: Proceedings of the 

International Conference on 

Engineered Fire Protection 

Design. Bethesda, MD: Society 

of Fire Protection Engineers, 

Inc., pp. 376-387. 

PURPOSE: Examine new and improved mine fire

detection technologies for the protection of mine workers. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: The early and reliable

detection of underground mine fires is important for the

safety of miners in the workplace. Existing products of combustion (POC)

mine fire sensors, as well as reliable POC sensors, are being developed as

smart sensor technology with the capability to detect the fire, discriminate

the fire combustible source in a gaseous and particulate background, and

provide a mine fire location strategy in an underground mine. Diesel 

engines, welding, and cutting operations create the gaseous and particulate

emissions background against which the sensors must discriminate. Gas 

sensor cross-interference effects from battery-charging operations and

natural-occurring sources are being accounted for in the sensor selection 

strategy. 

The two methods that are being used to develop smart fire sensor

technology are (1) grouping fire sensors that are POC-specific and using a

neural network to provide this decision capability and (2) developing or

improving fire detector technology that will provide early-warning

detection while functioning reliably in atmospheres containing diesel

exhaust or welding and cutting emissions. In-mine fire experiments are

being conducted to evaluate the sensors and deployment strategy. The 

large-scale experiments are being conducted in the Safety Research Coal

Mine. This in-mine research examines sensor response to signatures from

smoldering and flaming coal, electrical cable, conveyor belt fires, and

flaming diesel fuel fires with and without nuisance background diesel

emissions. The most efficient arrays of multiple fire sensors, which include

chemical cell and metal oxide semiconductor gas sensors and ionization and

optical smoke sensors, are being evaluated for mine fire combustible source

identification, discrimination of mine fire POC from diesel emissions as a 

supplement to chemical cell CO sensors that are cross-sensitive to H2 at a 

battery-charging operation, and for early detection of very low CO-emitting

smoldering combustibles that produce visually obscuring smoke. An inmine experiment is being conducted at a battery-charging station in a

western Pennsylvania mine to validate the use of multiple discriminatory

mine fire sensors to eliminate false alarms due to H2 cross-interference on a 

CO sensor. 

This research is being supported by modeling applications of a

computational fluid dynamics computer program and a mine fire ventilation 

computer program. Predictive modeling can provide guidelines to the fire

signature, its rate of change at a smart fire sensor location, and smoke

reversal from a fire in a ventilated airway. This research is to be done in 

cooperation with the Mine Safety and Health Administration, sensor

manufacturers, and mine operators. 

36 
INJURY PREVENTION AND 

EQUIPMENT DESIGN 

MATERIALS HANDLING ACCIDENT 

REDUCTION IN UNDERGROUND MINES 

RESEARCHERS: Bill Stewart, Michael Beus,

Curtis Clark, and Phil Patton 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Underground Coal Material 

Handling Injuries, 1989-1999 

0

1000

2000

3000

4000

1988 1990 1992 1994 1996 1998 2000

Year 

No. of Injuries 

KEYWORDS: Underground 

mining, materials handling, 

overexertion, mine hoisting 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Patton PW, Stewart B, Clark CC 

[2001]. Reducing materials 

handling injuries in 

underground mines. 

Presentation at the 32nd 

Institute on Mining Health, 

Safety and Research, Salt Lake 

City, UT, Aug. 5-7. 

PURPOSE: Improve methods and procedures to reduce or prevent

injuries associated with materials handling in underground mines. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Number of injuries, activity at the time of

injury, and the source of the injury are specific types of information needed

to identify the causes of injuries from the manual handling of materials in

underground mines. Emphasis will be placed on how to mechanize these

tasks, change the way manual tasks are done, or eliminate the tasks. 

Injuries caused by lifting objects that are too heavy, twisting while lifting,

lifting in awkward positions, and handling the same supplies numerous

times result in numerous injuries each year. Examples include lifting

supplies while loading and unloading; moving power cables; lifting

machine parts during maintenance and repair; handling coal, rock, or waste;

and lifting timbers. Types of interventions include the use of assisted lifting

devices, adding lifting attachments to existing equipment, studying ways to

increase working space in areas where a lot of material is handled, and

investigating methods to reduce materials rehandling. Work has also begun

on a materials-handling best-practices document. This document will

include innovative materials-handling methods currently in use, new

materials-handling ideas and practices, and detailed analyses (using faulttree analysis) of materials-handling system failures and back injuries. 

A conveyance monitoring system has been developed to provide hoist

operators and inspection and enforcement personnel with a real-time

indicator of the operational status of a mine shaft conveyance. The system

ensures that mine conveyances are operating within the load and speed

regulations required by law (30 CFR 57.19021). Data on conveyance

payload, wire rope end loads and safety factors, position, speed,

acceleration, guide displacement, battery voltage, and temperature are

displayed in real time. Current work is focused on measuring end loads

while moving heavy equipment, ore, and supplies in and out of

underground mines. Results are being analyzed using particle flow code 

(PFC). Dynamic rope loads resulting from impact of ore on an empty skip

during the loading phase and acceleration changes during hoisting are

significant components that need to be incorporated into calculations of

rope safety factors. Shaft hoist rope will be modeled the model will be

subjected to static and dynamic end loads, and the calculated tension

compared to field measurements of load. This work should ensure that 

mine hoisting activities operate within the limits set by safety regulations. 

37 
REDUCING INJURY RISK FROM JOLTING 

AND JARRING ON MOBILE EQUIPMENT 

RESEARCHERS: Fred Biggs and Kumar

Kittusamy 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Operating construction equipment at a training site in 

California. 

KEYWORDS: Vibration, 

shocks, heavy equipment, 

jolting, jarring 

PURPOSE: Identify sources of jolting and jarring on 

mining, agricultural, and construction equipment. 

Demonstrate the most promising interventions and transfer research results 

and technologies to industry for implementation and subsequent reduction 

of jolting- and jarring-related injuries. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Data from the Construction Chart Book and 

the U. S. Bureau of Labor Statistics show that, in 1994, 24.5% of the 

nonfatal injuries in the construction industry were back injuries. In 1993, 

estimates of lost-time injuries by body part indicate that, nationally, 15% of 

the injuries to farm workers were back injuries. Back injuries are also the 

most costly nonfatal injury. Data from the Washington State Department 

of Labor and Industries for 1992-97 showed an average annual cost for back 

injuries as $175,720,000, about twice as high as for any other category. 

During 1986-95, truck drivers at surface mines accounted for about 63% 

(76 of 120) of the fatalities and 60% (3,551 of 5,569) of the lost-time 

injuries at surface mines. 

While a great deal of research has been done on whole body vibration 

and its effect on the human body, particularly the musculoskeletal system, 

very little has been done on the effects of single or multiple jolts and jars. 

It is important to understand the mechanism whereby an injury may be 

caused by a single jolt, as well as what magnitude of jolt may result in an 

injury. 

The investigative approach will include these major steps or tasks. 

•	 Selecting field sites at which to collect data on jolting and jarring. 

•	 Analyzing the ergonomics of the various field site operations. 

•	 Identifying interventions needed for reducing injury risk to workers. 

•	 Testing or demonstrating selected interventions. 

•	 Documenting and transferring research results to all relevant 

stakeholders. 

•	 Publicizing findings through technical conferences and meetings, peerreviewed journals, and NIOSH publications. 

Collaborators: The project involves the collaboration of NIOSH’s 

Pittsburgh Research Laboratory and the Division of Applied Research and 

Technology. 

38 
BIOMECHANICAL MODELING OF 

JARRING AND JOLTING 

RESEARCHER: Thomas R. Waters, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Division of Applied Research

and Technology

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(513) 533-8147 

A biomechanical model of a heavy equipment 

operator. 

KEYWORDS: Shocks, jolting, 

jarring, low back pain, 

biomechanical modeling, heavyduty equipment operators 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Li F, Huston RL, Waters TR 

[2001]. Musculoskeletal 

dynamics of heavy equipment 

operators. In: Das B, 

Karwowski W, Mondelo P, 

Mattila M, eds. Proceedings of 

the International Conference on 

Computer-Aided Ergonomics 

and Safety (Maui, HI, 

July 29-August 1, 2001). 

PURPOSE: Develop, evaluate, and implement a 

biomechanical model of the human operator for estimating 

the potential health impacts of jolting and jarring injuries 

among haulage truck and other heavy equipment operators in mining, 

agriculture, and construction. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Little research has been done related 

specifically to shock trauma injuries (jolting and jarring injuries caused by 

haulage trucks) or to developing engineering controls to reduce such 

injuries. This study is aimed at developing a computer model of the human 

operator that will provide an estimate of loading to the spinal column due 

to exposure to jarring and jolting from operating heavy mobile equipment. 

Tasks include (1) developing a link-segment biomechanical model to 

allow evaluation of the loading associated with exposure to jarring and 

jolting accelerations; (2) evaluating jarring and jolting acceleration 

exposure data from field studies of heavy equipment operators in mining, 

construction, and agriculture; and (3) evaluating the effectiveness of 

interventions to reduce jarring and jolting exposures for heavy equipment 

operators. 

This project is a collaborative effort among the Spokane and Pittsburgh 

Research Laboratories and the Division of Applied Research and 

Technology. 

39 
ERGONOMICS INTERVENTIONS IN 

MINING 

RESEARCHER: Richard L. Unger 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

Logo developed to enhance awareness of the 

ergonomics process established by the team at a 

cooperating mine site. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, 

ergonomics, musculoskeletal 

disorders 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Cornelius KM, Turin FC, 

Wiehagen WJ, Gallagher S 

[2001]. An approach to identify 

jobs for ergonomic analysis. In: 

Proceedings of the IIE Annual 

Conference (Dallas, TX). 

Norcross, GA: Institute of 

Industrial Engineers. 

Winn F, Biersner R, 

Morrissey S [1996]. Exposure 

probabilities to ergonomic 

hazards among miners. Int J Ind 

Ergonomics 18:417-422. 

Zhuang Z, Groce D [1995]. The 

national occupational health 

survey of mining: magnitude of 

potential exposures to 

musculoskeletal overload 

conditions. In: Bittner AC, 

Champney PC, eds. Advances 

in Industrial Ergonomics and 

Safety VII. London, U.K.: 

Taylor and Francis, 

pp. 273-280. 

PURPOSE: Assess ergonomic risk factors in select 

mining environments. Develop, implement, and evaluate 

ergonomics interventions. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: In 1998, the Mine Safety and 

Health Administration (MSHA) submitted a formal 

request to NIOSH to investigate musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) in the 

mining industry. MSHA wanted a better understanding of the extent of 

MSD risk factors and evidence that ergonomics interventions are effective. 

An earlier analysis of National Occupational Health Survey of Mining data 

showed that exposures to ergonomic hazards for mine workers were high 

and that at least 35% of mine workers were potentially exposed to the three 

most common musculoskeletal overload conditions in mining: use of neck 

and/or back, arm and shoulder, and heavy lifting. 

The first phase of this research consisted of MSD risk factor 

assessments at underground coal, surface copper, surface phosphate, and 

underground limestone operations. The results were used to identify 

activities that provide significant risk for injury and to develop general riskreduction strategies. The primary benefit to the cooperating mine sites was 

a better understanding of the types of ergonomic risk factors at their 

operations and how to identify them. Once identified, the mines can 

prioritize the risk factors and develop strategies for reducing them. 

The second, ongoing phase involves development, implementation, and 

evaluation of ergonomics interventions at a cooperating surface coal mine. 

To this end, NIOSH researchers have established an ergonomics process at 

the mine site, where they have collected comprehensive baseline data, 

familiarized themselves with the mines’ characteristics, helped the mine 

upgrade its injury data collection and analysis process, assisted in 

establishing a permanent ergonomics committee, and administered 

ergonomics awareness training to the entire workforce. 

Remaining work includes collecting occupation- and task-specific data 

using customized data collection tools; determining intervention 

approaches for hazard reduction; developing specific plans for 

implementing interventions, including engineering and administrative 

controls; introducing the interventions; and evaluating their effectiveness. 

40 
REDUCING SLIPPING AND FALLING 

INJURIES AT SURFACE MINES 

RESEARCHER: Floyd Varley 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

The distance between the first step and the ground can be 

the most difficult part of equipment access. 

KEYWORDS: Slipping, 

equipment access, falling, 

surface mine safety, accident 

prevention 

PURPOSE: Reduce injuries resulting from slips and 

falls at surface mines. Conditions leading to slips and 

falls will be identified to (1) identify the sources of slips 

and falls, (2) design intervention techniques to prevent slip and fall injuries, 

and (3) demonstrate the most promising interventions, focusing on mine 

equipment design and human factors. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: A significant fraction (27%) of accidents in 

mining are associated with tripping and slipping accidents. The severity of 

these accidents is often greater with older workers because of diminished 

flexibility with age. This is a particular problem in the mining industry 

where the average age of employees is 47 years. Surface metal and 

nonmetal mine accident data show that over 10% of all accidents in mining 

operations occurred while an operator was mounting or dismounting from a 

vehicle using the ladder portion of the steps. An investigation of where 

these accidents occurred found an increasing rate of equipment access 

injuries among (1) the largest metal operations and (2) the smallest stone, 

sand, and gravel operations. 

The investigative approach to reduce slipping and falling injuries will 

focus on mine equipment design and human factors. Equipment design 

research will include improved methods of mounting and dismounting 

equipment. In-mine trials of retractable access systems are planned to 

begin in FY02. Human factor research will include analyses of older 

miners’ risks for slipping and falling injuries using MSHA accident 

database and surveillance data and field investigations to identify risks for 

slipping and falling injuries among mine personnel. Technology will be 

transferred through the development of effective behavioral, organizational, 

and/or educational interventions to address the leading causes of slip and 

fall injuries. 

The reduction of slipping and falling injuries would be of significant 

benefit not only in mining, but in the construction industry as well. Data 

from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics for 1994 show that 22.8 % of the 

lost-time injuries in the construction industry were slip and fall injuries. 

41 
HUMAN FACTORS DESIGN FOR 

MACHINE SAFETY 

RESEARCHER: Dean H. Ambrose 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

Computer simulation is being used in research to determine safe boom speeds for roof bolters. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, 

agriculture equipment, 

ergonomics, modeling, 

vibration, machine design and 

safety 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Ambrose DH [2001]. Random 

motion capture model for 

studying events between a 

machine and its operator. In: 

Proceedings of the Advanced 

Simulation Technologies 

Conference. San Diego, CA: 

Society for Computer 

Simulation International, 

pp. 127-134. 

Bartels JR, Ambrose DH, Wang 

RC [2001]. Verification and 

validation of roof bolter 

simulation models for studying 

events between a machine and 

its operator. Warrendale, PA: 

Society of Automotive 

Engineers, Inc., technical paper 

2001-01-2088. 

Mayton AG, Merkel R, 

Gallagher S [1999]. Improved 

seat reduces jarring/jolting for 

operators of low-coal shuttle 

cars. Min Eng 51(12):52-56. 

PURPOSE: Develop machine design guidelines and 

improved hardware to reduce injuries to personnel 

operating and working near mining equipment. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Operational, functional, or structural design 

weaknesses of machinery are associated with many fatalities and injuries. 

Analysis of accident data for 1993-96 shows that for underground coal 

mining machinery injuries the fatality rate is 0.0374 (incidences per 

200,000 hours); the injury rate is 6.833. In 1997, 32% of all injuries to 

underground coal miners working in the extraction area of the mine were 

attributed to roof bolting activities. Nineteen percent of these injuries were 

from equipment design problems. Jolting/jarring problems and design 

deficiencies in mobile haulage equipment are another leading cause of 

injury. 

The approach is to identify machine hazards through surveillance data 

and stakeholder input and to develop engineered interventions through the 

application of human factors design principles, computer-based design and 

analysis tools, and lab and field experimentation. Specific machine 

problems being investigated are safe roof bolter appendage speed and the 

jarring/jolting of mobile equipment operators. The bolter research involves 

the use of computer models, in addition to lab and field experimentation, to 

study the problem and develop recommendations for safe boom speeds. In 

FY02, research data collection and analysis are to take place after 

validating the bolter model. Specific improvements to seating and 

alternative suspension systems are being evaluated for isolating the 

operator from excessive body vibrations. The mine operator jarring/jolting 

research completed field trials on redesigned shuttle car seats for low- and 

mid-seam underground coal mines. 

In FY2000, jolting/jarring research was extended to agriculture. With 

the cooperation of The Pennsylvania State University’s Farms, researchers 

collected whole-body vibration data on six different farm tractors during 

seasonal baling, mowing, hauling, and spreading operations. Also 

collected were ergonomic data on the tractor’s operator compartment and 

seat using a checklist for evaluating cab design on tractors and other mobile 

farm equipment. This project is producing design guidelines and improved 

hardware related to equipment hazards to improve machine safety in the 

mining and agriculture industries. 

42 
FUNDAMENTAL STUDIES IN ELECTRICAL 

HAZARDS 

RESEARCHER: Michael R. Yenchek 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

Improperly locked and tagged disconnects jeopardize the 

safety of maintenance personnel. 

KEYWORDS: Electrical 

shock, arcing, burns, mining, 

construction, safety, lightning 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Novak T, Fisher TJ [2000]. 

Lightning propagation through 

the earth and its potential for 

methane ignitions in abandoned 

areas of underground coal 

mines. In: Conference Record 

of the 2000 IEEE Industry 

Applications Conference, 

35th IAS Annual Meeting and 

World Conference on Industrial 

Applications of Electrical 

Energy (Rome, Italy), pp. 2674-

2681. 

Yenchek MR, Cawley JC, 

Brautigam AL, Peterson JS 

[2000]. Distinguishing motor 

starts from short circuits 

through phase-angle 

measurements. In: Conference 

Record of the 2000 IEEE 

Industry Applications 

Conference, 35th IAS Annual 

Meeting and World Conference 

on Industrial Applications of 

Electrical Energy (Rome, Italy), 

pp. 2695-2702. 

PURPOSE: Identify, analyze, and classify electrocutions

and electrical injuries across industries and determine

appropriate strategies and technologies to reduce the 

occurrence of these events. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Electrocutions account for 

more than 5% of all occupational fatalities, 14% of all deaths in the 

construction industry, and 5% of all deaths in the mining industry. Many

of the systemic causes of electrocutions also result in flash and burn 

injuries, fires, and explosions. Mitigation of these hazards often involves

similar practices and control technologies regardless of the industry. Some 

industries, such as underground coal, use more advanced technologies than

others to prevent electrocutions. Accordingly, the practices may be 

beneficial to the construction industry, among others. The underground

coal industry may benefit from the technologies of other industries in areas 

such as lightning protection, a topic of concern because of lightninginitiated gas explosions in gob areas of the mine. 

Continuing analysis of electrical incident narratives from the U.S. 

Bureau of Labor Statistics shows that fatal occupational electrical incidents

can be separated into five roughly equal categories. One-fifth of fatal 

occupational electrical incidents occur during the installation or

maintenance of low-voltage light fixtures, circuit breakers, transformers, 

cables, HVAC equipment, and residential/industrial appliances and

equipment. About 20% occur while performing tasks unrelated to 

electrical work activities, such as using power tools with defective cords/

grounds, portable generators, welders, or power washers or doing plumbing 

work. One-fifth occur when a long metallic object, such as a ladder or a

pipe, is hand-carried into an overhead power line. One-fifth occur when 

high-reaching mobile equipment, such as cranes or boom trucks,

accidentally contacts a power line. The remaining incidents occur during 

the construction or maintenance of power lines or result when workers are

struck by lightning. 

The wide variety of work activities, equipment, environmental 

conditions, occupations, and skill ranges of those fatally injured by

electricity on the job suggests that no single intervention strategy can 

eliminate occupational electrical fatalities. Accordingly, in this latter stage

of the project, researchers are holding discussions with entities such as the 

Center for the Protection of Workers Rights and the Construction Safety

Council to devise a coordinated effort to increase electrical safety by 

focusing on engineering controls, organization of work, training, and

personal protective equipment. 

43 
INJURY PREVENTION FOR METAL/

NONMETAL DRILLING AND BOLTING 

OPERATIONS 

RESEARCHER: Robert McKibbin 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Lightweight jackleg drill—30 pounds lighter than a standard 

drill steel. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, low 

back disorders, materials 

handling, jackleg, drilling 

safety, noise reduction, 

ergonomics, hard rock 

PURPOSE: Identify the causes of injuries associated 

with drilling and bolting operations in metal/nonmetal 

mines and develop the technology to reduce or eliminate 

the risk of injury. Current research is focused on reducing 

the weight of jackleg drills. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Statistics from the Mine Safety and Health 

Administration have shown that in an average year there are 2 fatalities and 

more than 200 injuries in drilling and bolting operations in metal/nonmetal 

mines. This accounts for 5% and 4% of all fatalities and injuries in these 

mines, respectively. 

Project staff have highlighted a number of areas in which reductions in 

accidents might be realized. A significant finding was the number of 

injuries related to the weight (about 103 pounds) of jackleg drills. Such 

injuries result in about 35 lost-time injuries per year, or about 17% of all 

drilling and bolting injuries in metal/nonmetal mines. Almost all of these 

are low-back injuries. 

One course of research offering a good probability of short-term 

success was the fabrication and testing of an improved jackleg drill. The 

initial goal was to reduce the weight to 83 pounds without a reduction in 

the specific energy of drilling. A drill was constructed in which several 

components were made of aluminum or titanium, resulting in a machine 

that is 20% lighter than a standard steel drill. Initial tests of this prototype 

in both the lab (in concrete blocks) and in a mine (hard quartzite) has 

shown it is capable of drilling with no loss of penetration rate or increase in 

noise. A second-generation drill is now being fabricated in which some of 

the titanium components will be replaced with nikasil-coated aluminum. 

The aluminum is lower in cost and easier to machine and weld than 

titanium. The resultant savings should enhance industry willingness to try 

the new drill. 

In addition to the weight reduction already achieved, several alternative 

jackleg handles were designed and are in the process of being fabricated. 

These designs address concerns about vibration and fatigue experienced by 

miners and include both vibration-dampening and improved ergonomic 

shapes. 

It remains to test these various improvements under actual mining 

conditions. Experienced hard-rock miners will serve as the final authority 

as to the efficacy of this research. 

44 
SAFETY ISSUES OF STORAGE AND 

TRANSPORT OF BULK SOLIDS 

RESEARCHERS: Stephen Iverson and Michael

Beus 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Testing dynamic loads at SRL’s scaled ore 

pass test facility. 

KEYWORDS: Bulk materials 

handling, transport, storage, 

particle flow, hangups, ore pass 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Beus MJ, Iverson S [2000]. 

New design approaches for 

mine ore passes based on 

reduced scale laboratory testing, 

field experiments, and computer 

modeling. In: Panagiotou GN, 

Michalakopoulos TN, eds. 

Proceedings of the Ninth 

International Symposium on 

Mine Planning and Equipment 

Selection. Rotterdam: Balkema, 

pp. 15-20. 

Beus MJ, Pariseau WG, Stewart 

M, Iverson SR [2001]. Design 

of ore passes. Ch. 71 in: 

Underground Mining Methods -

Engineering Fundamentals and 

International Case Studies. 

Hustrulid W, Bullock R, eds. 

Littleton, CO: Society for 

Mining, Metallurgy, and 

Exploration, Inc., pp. 627-634. 

PURPOSE: Reduce the frequency of injuries and

fatalities related to the storage and transport of bulk 

materials in mining. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Accidents and safety issues

related to storage and transport of bulk solids are 

numerous. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data on fatal occupational 

injuries for 1992-98 indicated that 229 work-related fatalities relating to

bulk storage occurred in the United States. In structures such as bins and 

silos, the impact of falling particles may cause damage and failure to walls

and gate assemblies. Material bridging and structural failures in bins, silos, 

hoppers, and pipeline trenches cause accidents in the construction and

agricultural industries. 

Handling and storing of bulk materials is common throughout the 

mining industry. The FY99 Strategic Planning Report for the Office for

Mine Safety and Health Research has identified “bulk materials” as a 

problem area not sufficiently addressed by NIOSH in ongoing mining

research programs. It was identified as a research gap in all segments of 

mining, from underground and surface mining operations to prep plants. 

Computer modeling using distinct elements is an emerging method for

improving the understanding of bulk solids flow problems. Modeling of 

flow problems in mine ore passes or for surface storage piles will provide

insights into problems with current designs. Significant effects have been 

seen in ore passes because of particle size distribution, particle geometry,

physical properties of ore and waste material (particularly cohesion), and 

geometry of the ore pass itself. Computer modeling is largely restricted to

geotechnical research professionals who have considerable resources 

available for developing realistic input variables and interpreting and

applying the results. These highly sophisticated computer modeling 

routines need to be adapted as a practical design tool by engineers at 

mining operations. 

Generally, this project proposes (1) identification of the root causes of 

accidents during storage and transport of bulk materials, (2) identification

and design of intervention techniques to prevent bulk materials storage and 

transport injuries and fatalities, (3) demonstration of the most promising

interventions, and (4) transfer of research results and technologies to 

industry for implementation and subsequent reduction of bulk materials

storage and transport injuries and fatalities. 

45 
EVALUATION OF HEAT STRESS AND 

INTERVENTIONS IN SURFACE AND 

UNDERGROUND MINES 

RESEARCHERS: Floyd Varley and Patrick Hintz 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Underground mines have unique heat sources and limited 

self-cooling capabilities. 

KEYWORDS: Heat stress, 

stress-related injuries, mining, 

heat illness, intervention 

effectiveness, ergonomics, 

exposure assessment, prevention 

PURPOSE: Identify and quantify the sources and levels 

of exposure of heat in mine environments. Measure the 

response of workers and evaluate the most promising 

interventions to reduce effects of heat on miners, focusing 

on mine equipment design and human factors. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Previous research by the Mine Safety and 

Health Administration in 1976 and 1986 identified mine work 

environments as presenting a significant potential for exposures to heat in 

excess of the guidelines established in the NIOSH criteria document for 

this stressor. Since those studies were done, the use of diesel equipment in 

underground mines has increased, which may have resulted in greater 

exposure to machine-generated heat. Despite the potential for overexposure, the incidence of acute heat-related illness is low. 

Mine operators recognize high heat as an impediment to performance. 

A corollary assumption is that diminished strength, judgment skills, and 

safety awareness are related to high heat exposures and would be 

manifested as increased incident rates. In the NIOSH surveillance report 

on the mining industry for 1986-95, heat-related illness comprised 12% of 

all occupational illnesses for sand and gravel operations, peaking in excess 

of 20% in 1990. The incidence of heat illness at sand and gravel mines has 

been cyclic, indicating both a relationship to variations in weather 

conditions and poor adjustment to these changing conditions in the 

workplace. 

The focus of the investigation will be to measure exposure levels 

concurrently with monitoring miners’ responses to their environment in 

terms of heart rate and core body temperature. Incidence rates of accidents 

and injuries will be compared to heat exposure measurements to determine 

if a relationship exists between exposure and risk of injury. Interventions 

will be selected through a review of current military and industrial 

practices that might be adaptable to the mining industry in general. 

Intervention effectiveness will be evaluated by comparing the physiological 

responses of miners to their work conditions with and without the 

interventions introduced through this research. 

46 
NEW TECHNOLOGY TO INCREASE ROPS 

USE ON TRACTORS 

RESEARCHER: Timothy J. Lutz 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

Rear upset test with mannequin. 

KEYWORDS: Injury 

prevention, ROPS, tractors, 

rollovers 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Lutz TJ, Homce GT [2000]. 

Remote controls on an 

agricultural tractor for 

performing ASAE/SAE field 

upset tests. In: Proceedings of 

the American Society of 

Agricultural Engineers Annual 

Meeting. St. Joseph, MI: 

American Society of 

Agricultural Engineers, paper 

No. 007004. 

Myers JR, Snyder KA [1995]. 

Roll-over protective structures 

use and the cost of retrofitting 

tractors in the United States, 

1993. J Agr Saf Health 1(3): 

185-197. 

PURPOSE: Design, develop, and evaluate rollover 

protection systems (ROPS) technology to equip 

significantly more tractors with ROPS. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Data show that over 60% of tractors in use in 

1993 did not have ROPS installed; most were older tractors. ROPS have 

been proven to be an effective safety device to prevent deaths due to tractor 

rollovers. On average, 119 people died each year because of tractor 

rollovers during 1992-95. The use of ROPS is almost universally 

recommended as the key factor in reducing the fatality rate due to tractor 

rollovers. This project addresses the Healthy People 2010 goal to increase 

the proportion of agricultural production tractors fitted with ROPS 

to 100%. Cost-effective alternatives to original equipment manufacturer 

rollbars are needed for farmers to consider installing rollbars on older 

tractors. This project also supports the National Occupational Research 

Agenda traumatic injuries research area. Information is to be shared with 

groups establishing ROPS certification standards, such as the American 

Society of Agricultural Engineers and the Society of Automotive 

Engineers. 

This is a joint Pittsburgh Research Laboratory/Division of Safety 

Research safety engineering project that is working on a common 

problem—too many tractors still do not have ROPS. Innovative ROPS are 

being designed, developed, and evaluated. During 2000-01, 27 rollover 

tests were done using a remote-control Ford 4600 agricultural tractor 

outfitted with various ROPS. The tractor control system had no failures 

during the testing. 

Ten to twenty rollover tests are planned during 2002. The roll sensors 

and different rollbar configurations are to be tested for reliability, integrity, 

and shock resistance. 

47 
TRAINING AND EDUCATION
 

INTERACTIVE TRAINING AND 

EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT 

RESEARCHER: Elaine Cullen 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

A new NIOSH video will demonstrate 

proper techniques for bolting roof rock 

safely. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, safety

training, videos, underground 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Cullen ET, Peppin C [2000]. 

Miner Mike saves the day—or

ground support—it’s important. 

Spokane, WA: U.S. Department

of Health and Human Services, 

Public Health Service, Centers 

for Disease Control and 

Prevention, National Institute 

for Occupational Safety and

Health. Videocassette. 

Cullen ET [2001]. Hidden 

scars. Spokane, WA: U.S.

Department of Health and

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 

Videocassette. 

Cullen ET [2001]. Hazards in 

motion. Spokane, WA: U.S.

Department of Health and

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. 

Videocassette. 

PURPOSE: Develop safety training tools to teach safe 

mining practices to a changing mining workforce, particularly new miners who may not have had the opportunity 

to learn these practices from experienced older miners. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: A NIOSH study on 

occupational deaths during 1990-99 indicated that, in the 

mining industry, the average fatality rate was 26 per 100,000 workers. 

Mining continues to be one of the highest risk industries in the country in 

spite of significant reductions in fatalities and serious injuries over the past 

century. With a mining population that is nearing retirement age, it is 

imperative to develop effective tools to train replacement workers, who 

may not have the benefit of learning from the experts currently working in 

the industry. 

Video can be used to fulfill several requirements of effective training 

for miners. SRL has successfully developed a series of training videos that 

use miners themselves to tell the story. With input from mine safety 

professionals, topics have been selected to fill gaps in existing training 

materials. These experts are also used to expand upon topics to include all 

relevant issues and to ensure that story boards and scripts are technically 

correct and relevant to trainees. Mine safety professionals and managers 

have provided access to mine sites, equipment, and miners to tape training 

segments that are realistic and credible. 

Another benefit of using video as a training medium is to capture the 

wisdom of expert miners before they leave the industry. SRL has taped a 

series of interviews with experienced miners and has begun the process of 

gleaning focused safety messages from them. The recently released 

“Hidden Scars” is an example. This video allows a 34-year veteran to tell 

his story of the rock burst that killed his partner and left him buried for over 

2 hours. 

48 
EVALUATION OF INTERACTIVE MINE 

SAFETY AND HEALTH TRAINING 

METHODS 

RESEARCHER: Michael J. Brnich, Jr. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

Screen from the SCSR maintenance and inspection CBT 

module. 

KEYWORDS: Mining,

intervention, training

effectiveness 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

NIOSH [1999]. A model for 

research on training

effectiveness (TIER).

Cincinnati, OH: U.S. 

Department of Health and

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health,

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication

No. 99-142. 

Rethi LL, Barrett EA [2000]. 

Development and evaluation of

a training exercise for

construction, maintenance, and 

repair work activities. In: 

Bockosh GR, Karmis M, 

Langton J, McCarter MK, Rowe

B, eds. Proceedings of the 31st

Annual Institute of Mining

Health, Safety and Research. 

Blacksburg, VA: Virginia

Polytechnic Institute and State

University, Department of

Mining and Minerals

Engineering, pp. 93-102. 

PURPOSE: Determine the real-world effectiveness of a 

variety of low- and high-technology safety and health

training approaches for miners. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Mining occurs in unpredictable and dynamic

environments where miners play an important role in preventing illnesses

and injuries. Their skills at identifying and correcting or avoiding hazards

are a critical supplement to engineering control approaches. Because these 

skills are unlikely to arise spontaneously, they must be imparted through

effective training. Unfortunately, the effectiveness of the training delivered

to the mining community is rarely measured. Interactive instructional 

technologies provide an opportunity for providing training content in a form

that can be more readily measured. Also, the anticipated increased

efficiencies available through these technologies offer better results from

the scarce resources available. 

Prototype interactive training systems have been developed and

evaluated for mine safety and health training. These systems are based on a

range of technologies, from low-cost latent-image methods to computerized

authoring systems. The prototypes are being evaluated through field testing

with miners, trainers, and safety personnel. 

The beta version of a computer-based training (CBT) exercise for

mining called the “Raggs and Curly Machine Guarding Exercise” has been

completed. The exercise, which is designed to teach proper machine

guarding, is being sent to mine safety trainers for evaluation. Data from 

mine trainers regarding their use of the CBT module in the classroom are to

be collected and summarized. Project staff are preparing two training

interventions for field testing that address the NIOSH-identified safety

concern of miners who may not be properly maintaining their self-contained

self-rescuers (SCSRs). A video training module and CBT exercise were

developed for the CSE SR-100. Both modules are being prepared for 

authentication and field testing. These activities are being coordinated with

the NIOSH SCSR initiative. 

Another goal is to improve the availability of high-quality training

materials. Refinement of the training material distribution system 

continues. Additional existing training exercises are being converted for

Web distribution. A Web-based database is being developed to track the 

materials. This system has already distributed more than 40,000 training

items since January 1999. Currently, 36 training products are posted on the

NIOSH Web site for more convenient access. 

49 
EVALUATING TOOLBOX TRAINING FOR 

CONSTRUCTION AND MINING 

RESEARCHERS: C.M.K. Boldt and Floyd Varley 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Toolbox training can provide safety reminders to workers 

throughout the year as they work around processing plants, 

pits, and shop areas. This method of training is being 

evaluated for effectiveness for sand and gravel miners. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, sand 

and gravel, training 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Boldt CMK, Varley F [2000]. 

Toolbox training for sand and 

gravel miners. Presentation at 

Arizona State Inspector’s 10th 

Annual Mine Safety and Health 

Seminar, Oct. 3-5, Flagstaff, 

AZ. 

Boldt CMK [2000]. Toolbox 

safety training for sand and 

gravel miners. Presentation at 

NIOSH Open Industry Briefing, 

Northwest Mining Association 

annual meeting, Dec. 5, 

Spokane, WA. 

Boldt CMK [2001]. Toolbox 

training. Presentation at 

National Holmes Safety and the 

National Association of State 

Mine Inspectors Conference, 

June 5-7, San Antonio, TX. 

Varley F [2001]. Toolbox 

training for sand and gravel 

miners. Presentation at Western 

Training Needs seminar, July 

25-26, Golden, CO. 

PURPOSE: Develop toolbox training materials and 

evaluate their effectiveness for sand and gravel miners. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: “Toolbox” or “tailgate”

 training is a primary mode of occupational safety and

 health training for workers employed in small construction 

companies. This type of training consists of short (usually 10 to 15 

minutes) weekly sessions conducted on-site prior to work shifts. 

Toolbox/tailgate training is also used in other sectors of industry, including 

mining and agriculture. However, the toolbox/tailgate training approach 

has not been adequately evaluated. In this project, researchers seek to (1) 

identify and review existing toolbox talks for the construction, mining, and 

agricultural industries, (2) identify salient characteristics and different types 

of toolbox training materials, (3) prepare toolbox talks for one high-risk 

sector in mining (i.e., sand and gravel mining) and one high-risk sector in 

construction (i.e., residential building), and (4) evaluate the effectiveness of 

representative existing toolbox talks. Each toolbox talk in the NIOSH 

series contains a narrative “story” about one or more serious or fatal 

accidents. This story is based on available injury and fatality investigative 

reports from NIOSH, the Mine Safety and Health Administration, the 

Occupational Safety and Health Administration, and other sources. The 

project, which is being done in collaboration with NIOSH’s Division of 

Safety Research and the Education and Information Division, will 

investigate whether this narrative material produces the desired results, such 

as increased knowledge, appropriate changes in attitude, and positive 

changes in behavior and/or work practices, and how effective the material 

is. 

50 
VIRTUAL REALITY FOR MINE SAFETY 

TRAINING 

RESEARCHERS: Timothy Orr and Floyd Varley 

AFFILIATION: Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

The editing program allows the user to customize quickly 

the virtual environment to achieve specific training goals. 

KEYWORDS: Virtual reality, 

computer-based training, mine 

safety training 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Filigenzi MT, Orr TJ, Ruff TM 

[1999]. Computerized accident 

reconstruction and training for 

metal/nonmetal mines. Amer J 

Ind Med (Suppl 1):116-118. 

Filigenzi MT, Orr TJ, Ruff TM 

[2000]. Virtual reality for mine 

safety training. Appl Occup 

Env Hyg 15(6):465-469. 

Orr TJ, Filigenzi MT, Ruff TM 

[2001]. Hazard recognition: 

computer-based simulation. In: 

Jenkins FM, Langton J, 

McCarter MK, Rowe B, eds. 

Proceedings of the 13th Annual 

Institute on Mining Health, 

Safety and Research. Salt Lake 

City, UT: University of Utah, 

pp. 21-28. 

Orr TJ, Filigenzi MT, Ruff TM 

[In press]. Desktop virtual 

reality miner training simulator. 

Int J Sur Min Reclam Env. 

PURPOSE: Take the Virtual Reality Mine Safety 

Training (VRMST) software developed at SRL and 

incorporate it into the 8-hour refresher training programs at 

some operating mines. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Inadequate or insufficient training is often 

considered as a root cause for many fatalities in the mining industry. By 

receiving the proposed virtual reality (VR) training, mine workers will be 

better prepared to identify and manage hazardous operating conditions. The 

simulations developed during this project will enhance current training 

techniques by providing hands-on, accurate interactive training in simulated 

environments. These simulated training environments will increase worker 

safety by allowing workers to practice basic job skills involving many 

hazardous conditions, such as low visibility, unstable ground, or working 

near mobile equipment. In addition, the results of bad choices and incorrect 

decisions can be illustrated graphically without actually exposing trainees to 

danger. The VRMST software also provides network capabilities, which 

will allow trainees located at different computers to work as a team in 

hazard recognition and evacuation exercises. 

The software can be installed on a mid-range personal computer. The 

development of the VR scenarios will rely on computer graphics engines 

developed for the personal computer game industry. These graphics 

engines are very affordable, widely distributed, and provide rich, complex, 

and flexible virtual environments that can be tailored to meet the training 

needs of the mining industry as well as the construction and agricultural 

industries. The inherent flexibility of this type of simulator will allow easy 

and rapid updating and modification of the training material. The software 

will ultimately be distributed via the Internet, which will allow end-users to 

receive frequent software updates, share user-created scenarios, and 

participate in on-line, multiuser training. 

51 
MINE RESCUE AND RESPONSE 

RESEARCHER: Ronald S. Conti 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Mine rescue training exercise in low coal. 

KEYWORDS: Fires, mining, 

preparedness, emergency 

responders, mine rescue training 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Conti RS [2001]. Responders to 

underground mine fires. In: 

Proceedings of the 32st Annual 

Institute of Mining Health, 

Safety and Research. Salt Lake 

City, UT: University of Utah, 

p. 12. 

Conti RS, Chasko LL [2000]. 

Technologies for today’s mine 

emergency responders. In: 

Proceedings of the Seventh 

Annual Conference of The 

International Emergency 

Management Society (TIEMS), 

pp. 105-121. 

Conti RS, Chasko LL, Lazzara 

CP, Braselton G [2000]. An 

underground coal mine fire 

preparedness and response 

checklist: the instrument. 

Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 2000-144, IC 9452. 

PURPOSE: Develop realistic training simulations for

responders to mine emergencies and evaluate technology

that can be used during exploration and firefighting. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Fires are still too common an 

occurrence in the mining industry. During 1991-2000, 137

reported fires occurred in underground coal and

metal/nonmetal mines in the United States. These resulted 

in 2 fatalities and 34 injuries (these statistics include the Willow Creek

Mine fire and explosion). A significantly higher number of unreportable

fires are believed to have also occurred. 

Preparedness is an essential element of any underground mine’s

strategic plan in dealing with an unexpected event such as a fire. It is 

important that the fire be detected in the incipient stage and that

well-trained and fully equipped miners respond during that crucial period. 

Any delay can mean serious injuries and the loss of the mine. A fully

implemented fire preparedness and response plan is essential in reducing

the probability and seriousness of a mine fire. 

A study by the Mines Safety and Health Administration indicated that

there are 247 State and company mine rescue teams in the United States

(127 coal and 120 metal/nonmetal mine teams) composed of 2,000 rescue

team members. These statistics show a drastic decline in the number of 

teams over the last decade as the number of mines decrease. Very often,

rescue teams receive hands-on training during actual emergencies or in

simulated mine environments with placards to identify objects and hazards. 

This dedicated group of miners often place their lives in jeopardy to save

others. 

Partnerships were established with two coal mines and a State agency to

evaluate their mine rescue teams. Data have been collected from six mines 

in Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Pennsylvania, South Dakota, and Utah to

determine their fire preparedness and response capabilities. Interviews with 

mine rescue teams, fire brigade members, and the general workforce at

Lake Lynn Laboratory and at operating mines were done to determine

current strengths and needs. These data were used to develop mine rescue

training simulations and technologies for firefighting, exploration, and 

escape. 

A lighted lifeline for emergency responders was developed. The 

lifeline alleviates tripping and falling problems. The different colored light

wires allow the team members to easily find their usual position along the

lifeline when exploring in darkness and smoke-filled passageways. An 

underground coal mine fire preparedness and response checklist was

completed and is intended to enhance the safety of mine workers by

improving the state of fire preparedness at underground mines. A similar 

checklist is being developed for metal/nonmetal mines. 

52 
EDUCATION AND TRAINING FOR AN 

EVOLVING MINING WORKFORCE 

RESEARCHER: Charles Vaught, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

Miners of different ages participate in computer-based 

training. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, 

training, effectiveness research 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Kowalski KM, Vaught C, 

Brnich MJ, Mallett LG, Reinke 

DC, Rethi LL, et al. [2001]. 

The evolving mining workforce: 

training issues. In: Proceedings 

of the 32st Annual Institute of 

Mining Health, Safety and 

Research. Salt Lake City, UT: 

University of Utah. 

PURPOSE: NIOSH stakeholders anticipate the 

retirement of large numbers of miners from the current 

workforce. Replacement of those employees will require 

 an influx of new miners. The goal of this project is to

 institutionalize the use of performance-based training and 

assessment approaches in the programs developed by mining companies to 

train their changing workforce. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: The initial step of this research plan was to 

assess injury profiles for workers at both ends of the age spectrum. 

Assessment involved conducting a review of available surveillance data, 

gathering input on injury experiences from various mining personnel, and 

making on-site observations to determine patterns of desirable and 

undesirable performances. The next step is to assess age- and experiencerelated differences in acceptance of various training technologies by 

collecting information from the workforces at three operations. The third 

step involves developing and authenticating training materials using those 

technologies determined to be appropriate based on the study described 

above. In the fourth step, materials that have been developed are to be pilot 

tested with mine workforces to determine if they function as intended. 

Following this pilot test, a field test will be done at several training sites. 

Evaluation instruments will be used to gather information about four key 

areas of research interest: (1) demographics, (2) trainer and trainee 

assessments of the instructional packages, (3) psychometric data, and 

(4) pre- and post-tests to determine the extent of instructional gain. 

Conclusions will be based on both quantitative and qualitative analyses and 

will focus on the impact of program materials and strategies, factors that 

were critical to their success or failure, and recommendations for future 

training directions. 

53 
INTERVENTION THROUGH EDUCATION 

AND TRAINING TO PREVENT HEARING 

LOSS AMONG MINERS 

RESEARCHER: Patricia L. Moisan 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

A miner is tested in the mobile audiometric test 

unit. 

KEYWORDS: Noise, hearing 

loss, prevention, intervention, 

training, education 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Franks JR, Stephenson MR, 

Merry CJ [1996]. Preventing 

occupational hearing loss: 

a practical guide. Cincinnati, 

OH: U.S. Department of Health 

and Human Services, Public 

Health Service, Centers for 

Disease Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 96-110. 

PURPOSE: Educate miners regarding hearing 

conservation measures and train them to recognize ways 

that they may assist in the reduction of occupational 

hearing loss. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Noise is one of the most pervasive health 

hazards in mining. Exposure to high-intensity sound levels results in 

hearing loss. One consequence of noise-induced hearing loss (NIHL) is a 

reduced quality of life due to the inability to communicate with family, 

friends, and the general public. However, this normally occurs after the 

hearing loss has progressed too far and the damage is irreversible. 

Although too much noise exposure can cause a permanent disability, NIHL 

is nearly always preventable. 

The goal of this project is to educate miners regarding hearing 

conservation procedures and train them to recognize ways that they may 

assist with the hearing loss prevention process. Site visits are conducted 

nationwide with a state-of-the-art mobile audiometric test unit. Hearing 

tests and individual fit-testing of personal hearing protection (i.e., earplugs) 

are performed on about 2,800 noise-exposed workers. By explaining the 

results to each individual, the problem becomes a personal one in which the 

miner has a vested interest. Results of the earplug fit-testing are analyzed 

and compared to the amount of hearing loss observed to determine whether 

individuals with a hearing loss are more inclined to achieve a better fit with 

their earplugs. Additionally, the mobile unit has the capability to show a 

hearing loss training video or computerized hearing loss demonstration to 

each participant. 

This intervention project is intended to educate and empower miners by 

encouraging each miner to become more proactive in efforts to preserve his 

or her hearing. The best use of available educational activities will be 

assessed as the project progresses. Successful intervention methods will be 

further tested and disseminated more widely among the different mining 

sectors. This has recently become even more important since a more 

stringent noise regulation was promulgated for the mining community. 

Therefore, compliance with regulations and increased awareness on the part 

of all miners are likely to provide the needed incentives for future 

prevention of NIHL. 

54 
GROUND CONTROL 

IDENTIFICATION AND CONTROL OF 

ROCK BURST HAZARDS 

RESEARCHERS: Theodore Williams, Jeffrey

 Whyatt, and Brian White 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 Solar-powered repeater station transmitting seismic data 

from the Stillwater Mine. 

KEYWORDS: Rock bursts, 

seismicity, mine safety 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Whyatt JK, Williams TJ, and

White BJ [2000]. Ground 

conditions and the May 13,

1994, rock burst, Coeur d’Alene 

Mining District, northern Idaho.

In: Girard J, Leibman M, Breeds 

C, Doe T, eds. Proceedings of

the Fourth North American 

Rock Mechanics Symposium.

Rotterdam: Balkema, pp. 313-

318. 

Whyatt JK [2001]. A method 

for modeling variation of in situ

stress related to lithology. In: 

Elsworth D, Tinnucci JP, 

Heasley KA, eds. Proceedings

of the 38th U.S. Rock 

Mechanics Symposium. Vol. 2. 

Rotterdam: Balkema, pp. 1067-

1094. 

Williams T, Denton D, Seymour

JB, Tesarik D, Peppin C, Bayer

D [2001]. Interaction between

wall rock closure, cemented 

backfill load and reinforcement 

bolt load in an underhand stope

at the Lucky Friday mine. In: 

Seventh International 

Symposium on Mining With

Backfill. Littleton, CO: Society

for Mining, Metallurgy, and

Exploration, Inc. 

PURPOSE: Increase miner safety by monitoring seismic hazards 

associated with deep underground mines and identifying geologic features 

that contribute to increased risks of rock bursts. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Rock bursts pose a serious hazard to miners 

throughout the world even after a century of research. In places where rock 

bursts of a similar type occur, countermeasures have been developed that 

improve miner safety. However, to be effective, these countermeasures 

must be appropriate to local geologic conditions and rock burst 

mechanisms. 

The geologic environment of many ore deposits is very complex. An 

unexpected change in geology can trigger a rock burst where it would not 

be expected and result in injuries or fatalities. Researchers are seeking to 

identify those few features most likely to contribute to rock bursting and 

link them to specific rock burst mechanisms and relative levels of rock 

burst risk. Silicification, which is the alteration of rock by silica-bearing 

faults emanating from quartz veins, seems to be a marker for significantly 

increased levels of rock strength, rock brittleness, and in situ stress levels. 

Appropriate protective measures are also being studied. 

Currently, project studies are focused on mines in the Coeur d’Alene 

Mining District of northern Idaho and the Stillwater complex of Montana. 

Seismicity from the Stillwater Mine and the East Boulder Mine is being 

monitored so that early evaluation of the potential for rock burst problems 

can be made and measures instituted to reduce miners’ risks to rock burst 

injuries. 

55 
GROUND STABILITY ASSESSMENT WITH 

SEISMIC MONITORING 

RESEARCHER: Peter Swanson 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Wireless network connectivity between 

remote stations of distributed seismic 

monitoring system. 

KEYWORDS: Rock bursts, 

coal bumps, mine collapse, 

mining-induced seismicity, rock 

mechanics 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Swanson P [2000]. Automated 

PC-networked-based seismic 

monitoring systems applied to 

mining hazards research. 

Seismol Res Let 71(1):234. 

Ellenberger J, Heasley K, 

Swanson P, Mercer J [2001]. 

Three-dimensional monitoring 

of a Utah longwall. In: 

Elsworth D, Tinnucci JP, 

Heasley KA, eds. Proceedings 

of the 38th U.S. Rock 

Mechanics Symposium. 

Rotterdam: Balkema, pp. 1321-

1326. 

PURPOSE: Develop and apply seismic monitoring tools 

to aid in estimating and forecasting ground control hazards 

resulting from uncontrolled or unplanned deformation of 

the local ground surrounding underground openings. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Rock bursts, coal bumps, and 

massive pillar failures represent serious ground control 

problems facing miners in certain industry sectors. These 

low-probability/high-consequence events often result in 

severe injuries or death and have the potential to affect an 

entire underground workforce. An inability to address these problems 

effectively can result in resource abandonment and/or mine closure and a 

significant economic impact on entire communities. 

Project objectives are to (1) develop inexpensive automated seismic 

monitoring technology for use in reducing mine worker exposure to 

catastrophic ground hazards and emergency response time, (2) transfer the 

technology to mine operators, mining organizations, and consultancy 

groups, and (3) apply this technology in NIOSH studies seeking to reduce 

or eliminate these hazards. 

A user-friendly, PC-based, automated seismicity monitoring system has 

been developed and tested. Various versions of the system have been 

deployed in both temporary and permanent arrays in hard-rock, coal, 

limestone, and trona mines in joint efforts with the mining industry. 

Project research is currently focused on processing and analyzing data 

collected in these field experiments. These studies include analyses of the 

locations and failure mechanisms of ground failure events occurring in a 

deep western longwall coal mine that experienced one of the largest 

mining-induced seismic events (magnitude 4.2) ever recorded in North 

America. Seismicity data from this mine will also be used with passive 

tomographic techniques to examine spatial and temporal changes in the 

seismic velocity structure. The ability to monitor trends in data reflecting 

deformation processes from a remote location may allow visualization of 

stress transfer in the vicinity of work areas and thus provide an additional 

tool to reduce worker exposure to hazardous ground conditions. 

56 
DEVELOPMENT AND EVALUATION OF 

INNOVATIVE ROOF SUPPORT 

TECHNOLOGIES 

RESEARCHER: Thomas M. Barczak 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

The Support Technology Optimization Program was introduced at a series of open industry briefings held throughout the country. 

KEYWORDS: Coal mining,

roof support, underground

mining, emerging technologies 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Barczak TM [2000]. 

Optimizing secondary roof

support with the NIOSH

Support Technology

Optimization Program (STOP). 

In: Peng SS, Mark C, eds.

Proceedings of the 19th

International Conference on 

Ground Control in Mining.

Morgantown, WV: West

Virginia University, pp. 74-83. 

Barczak TM [2001]. Updating

the NIOSH Support Technology

Optimization Program (STOP)

with new support technologies

and additional design features.

In: Proceedings of the 20th

International Conference on 

Ground Control in Mining.

Morgantown, WV: West

Virginia University, pp. 337-

347. 

Barczak TM, Mucho TP, 

Dolinar D, Bower J, Bryja J

[1999]. Longwall tailgate

support: consideration, design,

and experience. In: Proceedings

of Longwall USA International

Exhibition & Conference, 

pp. 79-104. 

PURPOSE: Facilitate the development of new roof 

support technologies through industry partnerships with 

various support manufacturers. Ensure that these new 

support technologies meet basic safety standards before 

they are commercialized for use in underground mines. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Ground control is a fundamental aspect of all 

underground mining. Historically, 30% to 40% of the fatalities in 

underground mines are caused by the unstable roof rock falling in on the 

miner. This percentage has been increasing in recent years. Roof support 

systems are routinely installed in all mines in an effort to prevent these 

catastrophic roof falls from occurring. While these supports are necessary 

to prevent roof falls, the material handling requirements to construct these 

supports is another major source of injury to mine workers. Surveillance 

data show that there are about 4,500 lost workdays per year in coal mines 

alone due to material handling injuries associated with roof support 

construction. Roof support manufacturers continually strive to develop 

new roof support technologies that provide superior ground control at less 

cost. 

The goal is to ensure that new support technologies are properly 

designed to safeguard the safety of mine workers. Through a cooperative 

program with the various support manufacturers, each new support 

technology is rigorously tested in NIOSH's unique mine roof simulator. 

During the development of a new support system, this testing identifies 

design deficiencies so that they can be corrected. Once the support system 

satisfactorily passes this testing protocol, the performance characteristics 

and its limitations are determined in order to optimize the safe use of this 

support in the mine. 

Seven new roof support systems were tested during the past year. The 

Support Technology Optimization Program (STOP) was upgraded with 

several new features. These include (1) use of uncontrolled convergence in 

the design requirements, (2) addition of new standing support technologies, 

(3) design procedure for cable bolts, (4) additional performance warnings, 

and (5) more graphics capabilities. 

This project began in FY2000 and is expected to continue for at least 

4 more years as new support technologies are developed to improve ground 

control in underground mines. 

57 
PREVENTING INJURIES FROM FALLING 

ROCK IN UNDERGROUND COAL MINES 

RESEARCHERS: Dennis R. Dolinar and 

 Gregory M. Molinda 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

Minor rock fall that occurred between roof bolts and surface control. Here, the surface control provided protection 

to the mine workers. 

KEYWORDS: Underground

mining, roof support systems,

ground control 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bauer ER, Dolinar DR [2000]. 

Skin failure of roof and rib and 

support techniques in underground coal mines. In: Mark C, 

Dolinar DR, Tuchman RJ, 

Barczak TM, Signer SP, Wopat

PF, eds. Proceedings: new

technology for coal mine roof 

support. Pittsburgh, PA: U.S.

Department of Health and

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational

Safety and Health, DHHS

(NIOSH) Publication No. 2000-

151, IC 9453, pp. 99-109. 

Tadolini SC, Dolinar DR 

[2001]. Enhanced surface 

control for roof and rib. In: 

Proceedings of the 20th

International Conference on 

Ground Control in Mining.

Morgantown, WV: West

Virginia University, pp. 173-

179. 

PURPOSE: To reduce the risk of injury from minor rock 

and rib falls by removing the barriers that limit the use of 

surface control technology. These barriers include a lack 

of understanding of the geologic conditions that lead to 

small rock falls, a lack of knowledge about successful surface control 

techniques, inadequate installation procedures and equipment, lack of 

engineering design guidelines, impact on production, and costs. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Each year, about 800 reported injuries, 

including 3 to 4 fatalities, result from relatively minor falls of rock from the 

roof or in coal mines. These injuries occur in areas that have been 

supported and should be safe. Rock fall injuries are quite severe, resulting 

in an average of 50 lost days for each occurrence. Existing roof supports 

(roof bolts and automated temporary roof support systems) protect the 

workers from major collapses, but are not entirely effective in preventing 

small rock falls. 

Various surface control techniques are used in mines to control minor 

rock falls of the roof and rib. However, current technologies are often 

ineffective, and they can be expensive and time-consuming to install. As a 

result, mine operators (particularly small mine operators) are often 

reluctant to use these technologies. This project is designed to reduce 

obstacles to the use of surface control and improve the effectiveness of the 

surface control systems. 

The two main tasks at present are the identification of mines and 

geologic environments that have a high risk of rock and rib falls and the 

identification of current best practices used for surface control. Ultimately, 

engineering guidelines for the design and use of surface control systems 

will be developed. To determine the conditions that may require the use of 

surface control, a roof rating system has been developed. This rating 

system can be used to determine if the roof conditions are severe enough to 

warrant the use of surface control. To evaluate the impact of the 

installation of surface control on productivity, a time study on roof support 

installation that included wire mesh was recently completed. Results show 

that the extra time required to install the mesh was less than the time to 

install one additional roof bolt per row. 

58 
REDUCING GROUND FALLS IN UNDERGROUND STONE AND NONMETAL MINES 

RESEARCHERS: L. J. Prosser, Jr., and

 Roy H. Grau III
 

AFFILIATION: Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Microsesmic system at mine site trailer. 

KEYWORDS: Coal mining, 

mine safety, methane 

explosions, control technology, 

methane drainage 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Iannacchione AT, Marshall TE, 

Prosser LJ Jr. [2001]. Failure 

characteristics of roof falls at an 

underground stone mine in 

southwestern Pennsylvania. In: 

Proceedings of the 20th 

International Conference on 

Ground Control in Mining. 

Morgantown, WV: West 

Virginia University, pp. 119-

125. 

NIOSH [2000]. Technology 

news 481: Update—roof 

monitoring safety system for 

underground stone mines. 

Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health. 

PURPOSE: Improve safety and health conditions for

mine workers in underground stone and nonmetal mines 

by developing safety research engineering tools and

through communication and surveillance techniques. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Mine workers in underground stone and

nonmetal mines continue to be hurt or killed at rates disproportionate to the

population compared to the surface segments of these mining industries. 

The fatality rate for underground stone mines was the highest for all mining

both above and below ground, according to the NIOSH Worker Health 

Chartbook, 2000. 

This project includes a unique experiment aimed at developing a

scientific understanding of stress fields in relation to the direction of

mining development. Elevated horizontal stresses can affect large spans of

mine roof rock and often result in large roof falls. To determine if a change

in mining direction will impact the stability of the roof rock, microseismic

monitoring is continuing at a mine in southwestern Pennsylvania. The 

microseismic system deploys 14 instruments to record “noise” levels of

breaking and fracturing rock as mining proceeds in two different directions. 

It is presumed that collection and analysis of these data will provide

scientific evidence to support observational information that changing the

direction of mining can result in more stable roof conditions and thus a

safer work environment. This experiment is being enhanced by the 

addition of 8 to 10 more instruments provided by the operator. A large roof

fall in July 2001 temporarily delayed installation of the new instruments

and required emergency replacement of portions of the system. 

Another instrument to determine roof behavior or ground control

parameters is the NIOSH-developed Roof Monitoring Safety System

(RMSS). The RMSS provides the capability to measure roof movements

through insertion into a borehole into the mine roof rock. Two outcomes 

are the objective of this work. The first is to measure roof movement on a 

regular basis to track changes in stability and optimally to develop a

“signature” of hazardous conditions. The second outcome is qualitative 

and is based on the assumption that increasing the interest on the part of

mine operators and mine workers in roof conditions through use of

monitors will lead to a better understanding and awareness of conditions at

the mine site. 

Another facet of this project includes a study on slope stability at Lake

Lynn Laboratory. A large and expanding sinkhole exists at this site. 

A monitoring system was designed and installed to determine factors

causing these ground movements. This information will provide insights

into the mechanisms of slope stability and failure and should be applicable

to similar problems in the mining industry. 

59 
SLOPE STABILITY HAZARD RECOGNITION FOR METAL/ NONMETAL MINES 

RESEARCHERS: Ed McHugh, Jami Girard, and

 Jeff Whyatt 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Loose rock, Daisy Mine, Nevada. 

KEYWORDS: Slope stability,

slope monitoring, surface

mining, bench design, rockfall,

ground control 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Girard JM [2001]. Assessing

and monitoring open pit mine

highwalls. Presentation at the 

32nd Annual Institute on 

Mining Health, Safety and

Research, Salt Lake City, UT,

Aug. 5-7. 

Girard JM, McHugh EL [2001]. 

Emerging technologies and the

future of geotechnical

instrumentation in rock 

mechanics in the national 

interest. In: Elsworth D, 

Tinnucci JP, Heasley KA, eds. 

Proceedings of the 36th U.S.

Rock Mechanics Symposium.

Vol. 1. Rotterdam: Balkema, 

pp. 445-450. 

McHugh EL, Girard JM, Denes

LJ [2001]. Simplified

hyperspectral imaging for

improved geologic mapping of

mine slopes. In: Meech JA, 

Viega SM, Viega MM, LeClair

SR, Maquire JM, eds.

Proceedings of the Third

International Conference on 

Intelligent Processing and

Manufacturing of Materials

(Vancouver, British Columbia,

Canada). 

PURPOSE: Minimize hazards associated with unstable 

mine slopes through research in advanced monitoring

methods, geotechnical design, engineering controls, and computer models. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Surface mines are deeper and steeper than

ever before as a result of both economic pressures and land use restraints. 

Unstable slopes are hazardous for miners who work on or beneath them,

and large-scale failures have the potential to cause catastrophic loss of life.

Since 1995, 34 miners died in slope failure accidents at surface mines in 

the United States. These fatalities ranged from individual rocks falling and

striking exposed workers to massive highwall failures that buried largescale mining equipment. Some instability can be expected at any surface

mining operation, but it is the unexpected movement of ground that

endangers lives and destroys property. 

Approaches to reducing the hazards associated with slope failures

include— 

(1) Compiling information on and evaluating current practices in slope

monitoring and warning systems. A handbook is being developed for

mining personnel and will include information on the appropriate application and placement of available instruments, as well as the limitations

of warning devices. 

(2) Using advanced technology for detecting or predicting slope

hazards. Such technology includes remote sensing techniques such as

hyperspectral imaging, interferometric radar, and photographic change

detection. One element of the project is to test the application of imaging

spectrometers to help recognize the presence and geometry of mechanically

incompetent, clay-rich, altered rock in pit walls. In cooperation with

Carnegie Mellon Research Institute, a portable, ground-based imager was

tested that proved the concept of simplified hyperspectral imaging for slope

characterization. Interferometric radar can be used to detect very small

displacements on ground surfaces, including mine slopes. Cooperative

work with Brigham Young University will test the application of radar

interferometry to mine-slope monitoring and motion alarms. A third 

technology under study involves the use of digital and video photography

for long-term slope monitoring and change detection. 

(3) Developing computer programs to assess the performance of catch

benches on mine slopes using site-specific data. Benches are designed into

mine slopes to catch sliding or rolling slope material and therefore protect

miners working downslope. Additional program modules will be

developed, and the package will be presented to the mining industry as a

tool to aid in safe slope design. 

60 
REDUCING GROUND FALL HAZARDS IN 

NEVADA UNDERGROUND GOLD MINES 

RESEARCHERS: Brian White, Lewis Martin, 

Brad Seymour, Doug Tesarik,

Steve Signer, and Ed McHugh 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Project personnel install a 40-foot-long vertical 

borehole extensometer in cemented backfill to 

monitor displacement during mining beneath 

the backfill. 

KEYWORDS: Ground fall 

hazard, Nevada underground 

gold mines, mining in weak 

rock 

PURPOSE: Identify, describe, and quantify ground and 

backfill response to mining, conditions that contribute to 

ground falls and investigate practices that reduce ground 

fall risks. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: The discovery of extensive 

high-grade gold deposits at depth in Nevada and nearby 

areas has led to an increase in new underground operations that is likely to 

continue for decades to come. The large size and irregular shapes of ore 

zones and the pervasive argillitic alteration and extensive fracturing that 

characterize these gold deposits make the ground weak and vulnerable to 

unplanned collapses. Ground failures on all scales are major hazards, with 

at least one mine reporting five major caves within ore zones and another 

indicating numerous falls of ground involving failures beyond rock bolt 

anchorages. From 1990 to 2000, during which employment in underground 

mines increased tenfold, injuries from falls of ground exceeded those in all 

other categories in all years except one. Eight fatalities occurred during 

this period, seven of them since 1995. Nevertheless, Nevada mining 

companies have substantially adapted to these difficult conditions and have 

greatly reduced injuries from ground falls. The current project is analyzing 

the reasons for this success and identifying areas where additional 

improvement is warranted. 

This project is an interdisciplinary investigation involving experts in 

the fields of geology, backfill, load and strain measurement, physical 

property investigations, and modeling. Field measurements are being 

analyzed within a geologic perspective, incorporating local lithology, 

structure, and rock alteration. Final modeling of stress and strain in host 

rock, ore, and backfill will incorporate localized and large-scale geologic 

and physical property data obtained in the lab and field. 

Interaction between filled and unfilled mine openings and ore and wall 

rock will be investigated on various scales. Such studies will include 

elastic, brittle, and time-dependent displacements; their effects on mine 

openings; and the response of backfill and other ground support to loading. 

61 
CONTROL AND SUPPRESSION OF MINE 

FIRES 

RESEARCHERS: Alex C. Smith and 

Charles P. Lazzara, Ph.D.
 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Fire test of noise control materials in a mining vehicle cab. 

KEYWORDS: Mine fires, 

suppression, extinguishment, 

flammability, water mist 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Smith AC, Lazzara CP [1998]. 

Water mist suppression of fires 

in underground diesel fuel 

storage areas [Abstract]. In: 

Beall KA, ed. Annual 

Conference on Fire 

Research—Book of Abstracts. 

Gaithersburg, MD: U.S. 

Department of Commerce, 

Technology Administration, 

National Institute of Standards 

and Technology, pp. 111-112. 

PURPOSE: Enhance the safety of mine workers by 

increasing the mining industry’s ability to control and

 extinguish fires by developing new and improved fire 

suppression systems. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Although the number of fires and fire injuries 

is relatively low for underground mining, fires that occur in confined spaces 

can have catastrophic consequences. Federal regulations require mine 

operators to take measures to prevent fires in underground mines. 

However, fires still occur because of the misuse of materials, spontaneous 

combustion, conveyor belt equipment malfunction, electrical arcing, 

overheating of equipment, and other causes. Fires on large surface vehicles 

can erupt rapidly via ignition of fuel, lubricating fluids, or hydraulic fluids. 

The fires can spread rapidly to other parts of the vehicle, such as the large 

rubber tires, endangering the lives of the operators. Getting out of such 

vehicles is often awkward and time-consuming, which makes fire protection 

systems necessary. 

The first task of this project evaluates the application of new and 

improved fire suppression systems to protect underground mine 

haulageways and stationary equipment. Full-scale experiments are being 

done in the fire suppression facility at Lake Lynn Laboratory to determine 

the effectiveness of water mist systems for extinguishing air compressor 

fires and examine the interaction of the ventilation flow with the dispersion 

of the extinguishing agent. The second task assesses the flammability 

hazards of selected noise control materials that are being introduced into the 

mining environment under realistic, end-use conditions. The results may be 

applicable to the development of new or modified laboratory-scale fire tests 

for fire-resistant noise control materials used at mines. The third task 

determines the intrinsic causes of large surface vehicle and surface 

equipment fires. The results are used to recommend new or improved types 

of fire detection and/or suppression systems for these vehicles and 

equipment. These tasks are being done in collaboration with the Mine 

Safety and Health Administration and the mining industry. 

62 
EXPLOSION HAZARDS REDUCTION
 

RESEARCHERS: Kenneth L. Cashdollar, Eric S. 

Weiss, and Isaac A. Zlochower, 

Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Optical dust probes used to study dust 

dispersion in the Lake Lynn Experimental 

Mine. 

KEYWORDS: Explosions, 

prevention, mining 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Cashdollar KL [2000]. 

Overview of dust explosibility 

characteristics. J Loss Prev 

Process Ind 13:183-199. 

Cashdollar KL, Zlochower IA, 

Green GM, Thomas RA, 

Hertzberg M [2000]. 

Flammability of methane, 

propane, and hydrogen gases. J 

Loss Prev Process Ind 13:327-

340. 

Sapko MJ, Weiss ES, 

Cashdollar KL, Zlochower IA 

[2000]. Experimental mine and 

laboratory dust explosion 

research at NIOSH. J Loss Prev 

Process Ind 13:229-242. 

PURPOSE: Reduce explosion hazards in mining through 

basic and applied research on the prevention and 

suppression of gas and/or dust explosions. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Explosions in coal mines are 

due to accumulations of methane gas and/or coal dust. The 

ignition of such flammable materials can develop into a 

disaster. For example, an explosion at a Utah mine in 

July 2000 resulted in 2 deaths, and an explosion at an 

Alabama mine in September 2001 claimed 13 lives. Explosions can be 

prevented or mitigated by minimizing methane concentrations through 

ventilation and drainage, adding sufficient rock dust to inert the coal dust, 

eliminating ignition sources, using passive and active barriers to suppress 

propagating explosions, and using high-strength seals to prevent gob 

explosions from propagating into working areas of the mine. Research into 

the causes and mechanisms of gas and dust explosions is needed to develop 

techniques and strategies for explosion prevention and suppression in 

underground mines and in aboveground processing plants. Assistance is 

also provided to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in the 

forensic investigation of mine accidents. 

Current research includes large-scale coal dust explosion studies at the 

Lake Lynn Experimental Mine and lab explosion studies in the 20-liter 

explosibility chamber. As part of these tests, gas and dust samples are 

collected during and after the explosions. These samples are analyzed to 

better understand the combustion and inhibition mechanisms. This basic 

explosion research is done in conjunction with research at university and 

private labs. Research on frictional ignitions includes experimental studies 

and surveillance in commercial mines. Experimental research on frictional 

ignitions includes measurement of the hot-spot temperature and surface area 

necessary to ignite flammable gases, vapors from oil, and dust mixtures 

with air. 

63 
INVESTIGATION OF METHANE CONTROL 

ISSUES IN UNDERGROUND MINES 

RESEARCHERS: William P. Diamond and 

Steven J. Schatzel 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

A researcher checks a continuous recording methanometer 

installed on longwall shields at critical locations on the 

active face during long-term emission studies. 

KEYWORDS: Coal mining,

mine safety, methane

explosions, control technology,

methane drainage 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Diamond WP, Garcia F [1999]. 

Prediction of longwall methane

emissions: an evaluation of the 

influence of mining practices on

gas emissions and methane

control systems. Pittsburgh,

PA: U.S. Department of Health

and Human Services, Public

Health Service, Centers for

Disease Control and Prevention,

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health,

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication

No. 99-150, RI 9649. 

Diamond WP, Schatzel SJ,

Garcia F, Ulery JP [2001]. The 

modified direct method: a 

solution for obtaining accurate

coal desorption measurements. 

In: Proceedings of the International Coalbed Methane 

Symposium. Tuscaloosa, AL:

University of Alabama, pp. 331-

342. 

Mucho TP, Diamond WP,

Garcia F, Byars JD, Cario SL

[2000]. Implications of recent

NIOSH tracer gas studies on

bleeder and gob gas ventilation

design. SME preprint 00-8.

Littleton, CO: Society for

Mining, Metallurgy, and

Exploration, Inc. 

PURPOSE: Investigate existing and evolving methane

control issues in coal mines and develop effective control

strategies to reduce the risk of catastrophic explosions and 

fires in the underground workplace. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: The mining industry’s continual

implementation of advanced mining technologies sometimes has 

unexpected consequences. These include increased methane emissions and 

the associated risk of an explosion or fire in the underground workplace. 

Methane emission rates are often unpredictable because the interactions

between geology, mining, ventilation, and methane control systems vary 

considerably owing to site-specific conditions and mining practices. The 

focus of the first phase of this research has been the increase in methane 

emissions from longwall gobs resulting from emerging technologies that

facilitate the mining of increasingly larger dimension longwall panels. 

Recently completed research resulted in the development of a Longwall

Subsided Strata Methane Control Conceptual Model that is the basis for a 

set of best practices to optimize longwall gob methane control systems. 

These best practices include optimized placement and operational 

efficiencies for gob gas ventholes, including a state-of-the-art monitoring

and data transmission system based on cellular telephone technology to 

provide real-time performance data from remote gob gas venthole locations. 

The second phase of this continuing research effort, which began in the

final year of the predecessor to the current project, focuses on understanding and developing effective control measures for methane emissions

originating on extended longwall faces of larger dimension panels and 

associated continuous miner development sections. These control 

measures/systems will be integrated with those developed for longwall gob 

gas control to complete a Comprehensive Longwall Methane Control

System/Model and best practices. To reach this goal, current research 

includes conducting detailed longwall face emission studies at mines

operating in the Pittsburgh Coalbed to characterize the geologic and mine 

design factors influencing methane emissions on the face and in the

associated bleeder system. Two such studies have been completed in a 

mine with relatively low gas emissions. Additional studies will be done at 

this mine as mining conditions change, as well as at other mines with higher 

levels of methane emissions. These studies are being done in cooperation

with RAG American Coal Co. in close coordination with the United Mine 

Workers of America, the Pennsylvania Bureau of Deep Mine Safety, and

the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 

64 
EXTENDED-CUT AIR DELIVERY SYSTEMS 

RESEARCHER: Charles D. Taylor 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Sonic anemometer used for measuring airflow 

direction and velocity. 

KEYWORDS: Hazard 

identification, prevention, 

exposure assessment, 

underground mining, methane 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Taylor CD, Zimmer JA [2001]. 

Effects of water sprays used 

with a machine-mounted 

scrubber on face methane 

concentrations. SME preprint 

01-114. Littleton, CO: Society 

for Mining, Metallurgy, and 

Exploration, Inc. 

Taylor CD, Thimons ED, 

Zimmer JA [2001]. Factors 

affecting the location of 

methanometers on mining 

equipment. In: Proceedings of 

the Seventh International Mine 

Ventilation Congress (Krakow, 

Poland), pp. 683-688. 

PURPOSE: Develop better ventilation techniques for 

delivering air to the mining face and improved methane 

sampling strategies for estimating face concentrations 

during extended-cut mining. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: A full-scale test gallery is 

used to evaluate the effects of engineering controls on the 

ventilation of extended-cut mining entries. A sonic 

anemometer is used to provide airflow velocity and 

direction information in the entry. With this information, airflow patterns 

are drawn and compared to determine how engineering controls direct 

intake air toward the face to dilute and remove the methane gas. Attached 

to a structure that allows the anemometer to be moved left and right across 

the entry, toward and away from the entry face, and up and down within the 

entry, the instrument can be precisely positioned at the desired monitoring 

locations. 

Machine-mounted water sprays and scrubbers are two valuable 

techniques for improving intake airflow to the face during extended-cut 

mining. Gallery studies showed that, with blowing ventilation, the 

combined use of the scrubber and sprays can further reduce methane levels 

if the sprays are directed to move air from the intake to the return side of the 

face. The direction of the scrubber exhaust also had a large effect on intake 

flow to the face. Directing the exhaust flow straight back toward the return 

increased intake flow to the face. When the blowing curtain was outby the 

rear of the mining machine, directing the scrubber exhaust toward the intake 

side of the entry reduced the amount of intake air reaching the face. 

The effectiveness of engineering controls for controlling methane levels 

and compliance with Federal regulations can be ensured only if methane 

levels are accurately monitored. Studies have been conducted to determine 

how methanometer sampling location and sensor head design affect the 

accuracy of face methane readings. Recent studies were done to provide 

guidelines for locating instruments on the mining machine. Studies are now 

being conducted to determine how instrument design affects the time 

required for a methanometer to respond to changes in gas concentrations. 

Criteria for measuring response times, as well as procedures for making 

these measurements underground, are being evaluated. 

65 
VENTILATION OF LARGE-OPENING 

MINES 

RESEARCHER: Robert J. Timko 

AFFILIATION: Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6683 

Handheld ultrasonic anemometer 

capable of measuring very low air 

velocities. 

KEYWORDS: Mine 

ventilation, metal/nonmetal 

mines, large openings, 

anemometry, ultrasonic, air 

velocity 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Hartman HL, Mutmansky JM, 

Ramani RV, Wang YJ [1997]. 

Mine ventilation and air 

conditioning. 3rd ed. New 

York, NY: John Wiley & Sons, 

Inc. 

Kohler JL, Thimons ED [1987]. 

An analysis of air volumeflowrate determinations for 

mines. Min Sci Technol 

6(1):17-29. 

Thimons ED, Brechtel CE, 

Adam ME, Agapito JFT [1986]. 

Performance characteristics of 

large-capacity face ventilation 

systems for oil shale mining. 

Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. 

Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Mines, RI 9006. 

PURPOSE: Extend the body of knowledge on airflow

measurement within large underground mine workings. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Hundreds of metal/nonmetal

underground mines, which extract commercial ores from

deposits such as limestone, salt, and gypsum, operate

throughout the United States. The mining process

generates a wide variety of pollutants, such as silica, diesel

exhaust, radon, blasting byproducts, and perhaps even

methane. These airborne substances can adversely affect

the health and safety of individuals working underground. Many metal/ 

nonmetal mines have large cross-sectional airways. The largest feature

areas over 60 times greater than an average underground coal mine entry.

These airways require adequate volumes of fresh air to dilute, make

harmless, and exhaust the toxic and, at times, explosive byproducts.

 For mines with enlarged airways, it becomes a challenge to provide an

adequate quantity of fresh air. Often this air must travel a great distance to 

reach the working area. The quantity of air entering a typical enlarged

airway is such that the resulting air velocity is usually quite low. Low air 

velocity can make large entries prone to air stagnation and recirculation. In 

some entries, the air flow may be in opposite directions at different

elevations. The adverse health and safety impacts of inadequate fresh air

delivery in these mines can be serious. Mine operators, Mine Safety and

Health Administration (MSHA) inspectors, and Pennsylvania Bureau of

Deep Mine Safety officials have expressed concerns about this problem. 

This project is evaluating methods to measure very low air flows in

large-opening mines. The traditional tool for measuring air movement is 

the vane anemometer. Because of the large cross-sectional entry area, it is

impossible to measure the air velocity using a vane anemometer and simply

performing a moving traverse of the entry. To overcome this, researchers 

are determining how the entry area can be divided most effectively to

provide a more accurate estimate of actual entry air volume. Ultrasonic 

anemometry, a technique that seems to be able to measure very low air

velocities, is being used to measure the entry air flow. 

A current problem is that, even when low air velocities are measured,

there is no method available to ensure that the devices measuring the air are

properly calibrated. MSHA measures air velocities down to 100 feet per 

minute. Minimum velocities measured at the National Institute of 

Standards and Technology approach 30 feet per minute. NIOSH results 

often are less than 10 feet per minute. NIOSH researchers are building a

device that can calibrate instruments that measure very low air flows. This 

device uses a novel technology that will enhance the ability to accurately

measure low velocities. 

66 
LIFE SUPPORT FOR SURVIVAL AND 

RESCUE 

RESEARCHER: John G. Kovac 

AFFILIATION: National Personal Protective 

Technology Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6544 

Collecting SCSRs for a long-term field evaluation study. 

KEYWORDS: Self-contained 

self-rescuer, respiratory 

protection, mine emergency 

escape 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Kyriazi N, Shubilla JP [1999]. 

Self-contained self-rescuer field 

evaluation: sixth-phase results. 

Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 2000-128, IC 9451. 

PURPOSE: Ensure that deployed self-contained selfrescuers (SCSRs) that pass their inspection criteria 

function properly. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: On June 21, 1981, coal mine operators in the 

United States were required to make available to each underground coal 

miner an SCSR as an aid to escape in the event of a mine emergency. 

Federal regulations require that each person in an underground coal mine 

wear, carry, or have immediate access to a device that provides respiratory 

protection with an oxygen source for at least 1 hour, as rated by the 

certifying agencies—NIOSH and the Mine Safety and Health 

Administration (MSHA). 

NIOSH is conducting a long-term evaluation of SCSRs deployed in 

underground coal mines. Mine operators are located that are willing to 

participate in the study, deployed SCSRs are exchanged for new ones, and 

then the deployed SCSRs are tested. The goal of this program is to evaluate 

the in-mine, operational durability of deployed SCSRs. Of utmost concern 

is the successful performance of any SCSR that passes its manufacturer’s 

approved periodic inspection criteria. Only apparatus that pass their 

inspection criteria are included in the study. Such apparatus are relied upon 

to function successfully in an emergency. Apparatus that fail inspection 

criteria are expected to be removed from service. 

Seventeen mines were visited in MSHA Districts 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8 

in the most recent phase of this program. One hundred SCSRs were 

collected for testing both on human subjects and on a breathing and 

metabolic simulator. Past findings have resulted in modifications to quality 

assurance procedures and inspection criteria, apparatus design changes, and 

recall and decertification of SCSRs. In the most recent phase, it was found 

that accelerated aging caused the breathing hose in one apparatus to 

deteriorate and fail. This resulted in an industry-wide recall and inspection 

of nearly 40,000 apparatus. Another apparatus was discovered to have 

leaked chemical from the canister into the breathing circuit, which was 

undetectable by visual inspection criteria. To detect this internal damage, 

an additional inspection criterion (a noise test) was added. This resulted in 

an industry-wide field inspection of nearly 2,500 apparatus and replacement 

of damaged units. 

67 
LASER SAFETY IN POTENTIALLY 

FLAMMABLE ENVIRONMENTS 

RESEARCHER: Thomas H. Dubaniewicz, Jr. 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-6648 

A researcher measures laser beam parameters with a beamprofiling camera system. 

KEYWORDS: Injury 

prevention, explosions, dust 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Dubaniewicz TH Jr., Cashdollar 

KL, Green GM, Chaiken RF 

[2000]. Ignition of methane-air 

mixtures by laser-heated small 

particles. J Loss Prev Process 

Ind 13:349-359. 

Welzel MM, Schenk S, Hau M, 

Cammenga HK, Bothe H 

[2000]. Ignition of combustible/ 

air mixtures by small radiatively 

heated surfaces. J Hazard Mater 

A72:1-9. 

PURPOSE: Determine powers, diameters, and durations 

required for optical beams to be considered a potential 

ignition source in flammable environments found in 

mining and other industries. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: This project supports the National 

Occupational Research Agenda traumatic injuries research area. Emerging 

laser technologies are quickly gaining acceptance in industrial applications. 

Laser-based instruments monitor levels of coal and grain processed in the 

mining and agriculture industries, respectively. Fiber-optic communication 

systems are routed through rights of way, such as sewer systems and 

pipelines containing natural gas. Chemical plants are using powerful laserbased Raman-backscatter instruments to monitor flammable material 

processes. The conditions under which a laser beam may be considered a 

potential ignition source in many of these environments are not well known. 

Experimental research is being done using a 20-liter test chamber in 

which flammable dusts and gases are studied. These include Powder River 

Basin coal dust, Pittsburgh coal dust, grain dust, lycopodium, methane, and 

several other hydrocarbon gases. Igniting power thresholds for each 

flammable material are recorded as a function of laser beam diameter and 

concentration of the flammable material in air. The time needed to ignite a 

material after initial laser exposure, or ignition delay time, is also recorded. 

The knowledge gained will help to develop explosion prevention 

engineering controls. For example, fiber-optic system designers can use the 

ignition time delay information to build automatic shutoffs that initiate 

quickly enough to prevent ignitions in case of accidental fiber breakage or 

disconnect. 

A means to prevent incidental ignitions of hazardous gassy atmospheres 

by lasers is being investigated through infrared thermography. The 

temperatures of surfaces absorbing optical energy from a laser are 

monitored. When such temperatures exceed predefined safe levels, the 

laser power source is deenergized to prevent incidental ignitions. 

Recommendations from this work are expected to impact consensus and 

statutory safety standards, such as the American National Standards 

Institute (ANSI) Z136 series laser standards; Instrumentation, Systems, and 

Automation Society hazardous location standards; and International 

Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) standards. 

68 
SURFACE BLASTING SAFETY AND 

HEALTH 

RESEARCHER: Marcia L. Harris 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Gas samples are taken from a borehole near a blasting site. 

KEYWORDS: Blasting, 

explosives, flyrock, mining 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Rehak TR, Bajpayee TS, 

Mowrey GL, Ingram DK 

[2001]. Flyrock issues in 

blasting. In: Proceedings of the 

27th Annual Conference on 

Explosives and Blasting 

Technique. Vol. I. Cleveland, 

OH: International Society of 

Explosives Engineers, pp. 165-

175. 

Rowland JH III, Mainiero RJ, 

Hurd DA Jr. [2001]. Factors 

affecting fumes production of 

an emulsion and 

ANFO/emulsion blends. In: 

Proceedings of the 27th Annual 

Conference on Explosives and 

Blasting Technique. Vol. II. 

Cleveland, OH: International 

Society of Explosives 

Engineers, pp. 133-141. 

PURPOSE: Protect miners from hazards associated with 

blasting at surface operations involving coal, metal, and 

nonmetal mining. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: The use of explosives near housing 

developments has increased in recent years. To prevent flyrock that can 

damage homes or nearby businesses, the blaster ensures that the blast is 

well confined, i.e., the ground barely moves as it is blasted. However, this 

provides no way to release the blasting fumes. Thus, the fumes stay in the 

ground and may travel underground to nearby homes and other confined 

spaces. The composition of these fumes typically includes carbon 

monoxide (CO), nitric oxide (NO), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), and ammonia 

(NH3). Over the past 10 years, there have been at least six known incidents 

of toxic fumes migration into homes and other confined spaces. These 

resulted in several hospitalizations and one fatality. Research will be done 

on the migration of CO and other toxic fumes from blast sites to provide 

blasters with guidelines for protecting workers and nearby residents from 

fumes poisoning. 

Flyrock and lack of blast area security accounts for most blastingrelated injuries and fatalities in surface mining. During FY01, flyrock and 

blast area security issues in the mining industry were reviewed and 

reported. During FY02, this review will be extended to the construction 

industry. A training video detailing the hazards due to flyrock and lack of 

blast area security is to be prepared in cooperation with industry. 

Partners/collaborators in this project are the Mine Safety and Health 

Administration, the Institute of Makers of Explosives, and the United Mine 

Workers of America. 

This project is an extension and expansion of research that was 

formerly carried out under two projects: “Investigation of Flyrock Injuries 

and Fatalities” and “Toxic Fumes From Blasting.” 

69 
EXPLOSIVES HAZARD SURVEILLANCE 

AND EVALUATION FOR THE MINE 

SAFETY AND HEALTH ADMINISTRATION 

RESEARCHER: Cynthia A. Mytrysak 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

X-rays of explosive boosters are used to identify internal 

components. 

KEYWORDS: Permissible, 

explosive, blasting 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

30 CFR 15, Requirements for 

Approval of Explosives and 

Sheathed Explosive Units. 

PURPOSE: Provide technical assistance to the Mine 

Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in ensuring the 

safety of explosives in mining. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: The tasks of this project are to assist MSHA in 

explosives accident investigations, including the testing of explosives 

involved in accidents, and conduct research on explosive hazards revealed 

during the course of accident investigations. The goal is to develop 

engineering solutions to help prevent future injuries and fatalities from the 

use of explosives in mining. 

Based on an MSHA request, a permissible explosive was submitted for 

testing. This explosive was previously tested and approved for use. 

However, the manufacturer was proposing modification of the 

packaging—from waxed paper to plastic wrapping. Physical examinations 

and detonation velocity tests were done on the explosive cartridges, and the 

results were reported to MSHA. 

Research was completed on a detonator/booster assembly that was 

involved in a recent fatal incident and reported to MSHA. Indications were 

that the detonator/booster assembly fell into a borehole and exploded 

prematurely when it hit another booster already in the hole. This same 

detonator/booster assembly had been involved in two other incidents, one of 

which was fatal. Cooperative research is continuing to find reliable, 

practical ways to prevent future accidents. 

Another request by MSHA was to examine boosters involved in an 

incident that created an unusual situation. The shot blast was fired, but not 

all of the holes in the blast pattern fired at the same time. In fact, one hole 

fired about 45 minutes after it should have. A visual inspection of a broken 

booster that was received from the incident site revealed black specks of an 

unknown material and what seemed to be an air pocket. The booster was 

analyzed to verify the chemical composition and identify the black material. 

The analysis verified the chemical composition, but the black specks were 

not identifiable because of the minute quantity. The x-rays of the boosters 

revealed air pockets. Consultation with an expert on commercial boosters 

revealed that air pockets are not unusual and do not indicate a hazardous 

product. In summary, the study identified no obvious hazards associated 

with the boosters. 

70 
IMPROVING CFR SAFETY EVALUATIONS 

FOR MINE VENTILATION SEALS AND 

STOPPINGS 

RESEARCHER: Thomas M. Barczak 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Installing load cells in a ventilation stopping in a longwall 

headgate to measure load development. 

KEYWORDS: Coal mining, 

Code of Federal Regulations, 

mine ventilation stoppings, 

mine seals, ASTM E-72 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

ASTM [2001]. Standard test 

methods of conducting strength 

tests of panels for building 

construction. In: E72-98 

Annual Book of ASTM 

Standards: Volume 04.11, 

Building Constructions. West 

Conshohocken, PA: American 

Society for Testing and 

Materials, pp. 1-11. 

Oyler DC, Hasenfus GJ, 

Molinda GM [2001]. Load and 

deflection response of 

ventilation stoppings to 

longwall abutment loading: 

a case study. In: Proceedings of 

the 20th International 

Conference on Ground Control 

in Mining. Morgantown, WV: 

West Virginia University, 

pp. 34-42. 

PURPOSE: Provide a safer environment and reduce 

material handling injuries for mine workers by developing

alternative safety evaluation requirements and design

guidelines for mine ventilation stoppings and seals. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Preparations for lab studies of loading

characteristics of stoppings have been completed, but the studies have been

delayed due to unavailability of the mine roof simulator. These studies, 

including transverse loading testings consistent with current Federal

requirements, are expected to resume next year. 

The major thrust of the project during the past year was an underground case study comparing stoppings constructed from conventional

masonry block and lightweight cellular concrete blocks. The study was 

done in cooperation with CONSOL Energy. Two walls of each construction were instrumented with load cells and displacement transducers to

measure load and deflection of the stoppings. The study was conducted in a

longwall headgate where cutter roof had developed and provided valuable

information on the in situ structural loading mechanisms and how stoppings

interact with ground conditions. The study confirmed that conventional

stoppings can provide substantial resistance to roof movements depending

on the strength of the material used in the stopping construction and raised

questions regarding the use of soft inclusions to reduce the stiffness of the

structure in an effort to prevent premature failure. In some instances, such 

as floor heave, a soft inclusion may increase the longevity of a stopping. 

However, it is possible in other instances that it may allow convergence that

leads to accelerated roof loading, which may cause failure of the stopping

unless additional roof support is used. 

The study also confirmed that preloading can play an important role in

determining the lateral or transverse strength of the stopping, which is

particularly important since criteria for this are specified in the Code of

Federal Regulations (CFR). This issue will be carefully examined in mine 

roof simulator studies. It is also apparent from the field study that loadings

that can cause failure of stoppings can be localized even within the stopping

itself. In this case study, the cutter roof caused most of the damage to the

stoppings, with relatively little damage in areas where the cutter roof did 

not occur. 

It is clear from this study that stopping design must consider ground 

movement. Failure of stoppings are more likely to occur from ground

movement than from air pressure differentials. As seen in this study,

stoppings must be designed to either prevent ground movements or deform

with them in order to maintain the required structural integrity and allow

the stopping to act as a ventilation control structure. 

71 
HYDROSTATIC EVALUATION OF MINE 

SEALS 

RESEARCHERS: Michael J. Sapko and Eric S.

Weiss 

AFFILIATION: Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Remains of a cementitious seal after a methane air 

explosion. 

KEYWORDS: Mine 

ventilation seals, water 

inundation, explosions 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Sapko MJ, Weiss ES, 

Cashdollar KL, Greninger NB 

[1999]. Overview of NIOSH’s 

mine seal research. In: 

Proceedings of the 28th 

International Conference of 

Safety in Mines Research 

Institutes (Sinaia, Romania). 

Vol. I, pp. 71-85. 

Sapko MJ, Weiss ES, Greninger 

NB [1999]. Recent mine seal 

research conducted by NIOSH. 

In: Sealbarr ’99 - Proceedings 

of the Polish-American Seminar 

on Seals and Barriers as a 

Means of Protection Against 

Fires and Explosions in Mines 

(Katowice, Poland, May 27-28, 

1999), pp. 39-53. 

PURPOSE: Develop improved apparatus and 

methodologies to better characterize strength properties of 

mine seals. Evaluate equivalence of hydrostatic, 

pneumatic, and explosion testing of seals. Identify models 

for possible use by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) in 

approval actions regarding seals. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Seals are used extensively in mining to isolate 

worked-out areas of a mine, contain active fire zones, and control water 

inundations, thereby protecting miners from these life-threatening hazards. 

Seals, along with generalized rock dusting, are the last line of defense 

against underground explosions in U.S. coal mines. MSHA has a 

compelling need to evaluate geometric scaling criteria for seals, alternative 

designs for high-convergence conditions, and adverse geologic conditions, 

such as friable adjacent strata. No single seal design is suitable for all 

possible scenarios. Some seals must withstand excessive convergence, 

some require quick curing, some require special anchoring because of the 

adjacent strata conditions, some need to resist attack by acid mine water, 

some are needed for very wide or high roadways, some need to hold back 

water, some need steel reinforcement and high-strength cement, some need 

fire traps, some need a low gas leakage rate, and some must perform for 

years. 

Studies continue to evaluate seals of different cross-sectional areas with 

pressurized water. Cost-sharing continues with important collaboration 

between NIOSH, the mining industry, and seal manufacturers. Results 

from such tests provide valuable information applicable to the on-site 

evaluation of new mine seals, the development of size-scaling relationships, 

and design safety factors. 

72 
REMOTE CONSTRUCTION OF SEALS 

FOR MINE FIRE CONTROL AND 

ABATEMENT 

RESEARCHER: Michael A. Trevits 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Shaft facility and fan house damaged by an underground 

mine explosion, Loveridge Mine, Marion County, WV. 

(Photo courtesy of MSHA.) 

KEYWORDS: Underground 

mining, fires, seals, drilling 

PURPOSE: Improve and/or modify the state of the art 

for building remote mine seals for mine fire control and 

abatement.

 RESEARCH SUMMARY: When a mine fire breaks out, 

all underground mine workers are simultaneously exposed to dangerous 

conditions. A mine fire can be especially perilous because the toxic fire 

products can rapidly spread well beyond the fire zone via the mine 

ventilation system. The most direct firefighting approach involves the 

application of water, foam, chemicals, gases, rock dust, or sand to the fire 

zone. Unfortunately, this approach also places miners close to the fire and 

can quickly expose them to the deadly hazards. 

An indirect control and extinguishment approach is used when access to 

the fire zone cannot be obtained because of a limited supply of available 

firefighting materials, when a fire zone is too large for available 

underground personnel, or when blocked underground access or other 

conditions exist that might lead to a mine explosion. This approach 

involves installing mine seals to limit the inflow of oxygen and enclose the 

fire zone. Mine seals can be built underground using various methods or 

remotely from the surface through vertical boreholes. The process is 

followed by flooding the affected area with inert gas, silt, or other material 

to control and extinguish the fire. Installing seals underground is 

particularly dangerous because miners are exposed to roof falls from heat 

and fire, potential gas explosions, and asphyxiating gases. The most 

effective solution when underground access is impossible or too dangerous 

is to build airtight mine seals in the area of the fire, remotely through 

vertical boreholes. In theory, this method has great merit because seals can 

be positioned close to the fire zone without exposing miners to the hazards. 

However, because this technology is applied blindly through boreholes, it is 

difficult or impossible, given the current state of the art to construct 

effective seals. 

A technology review has been completed. Contract specifications for 

remote construction of a mine seal were developed, and a contract was 

awarded in late FY01. In FY02, at least one mine seal will be built, 

evaluated, and tested at Lake Lynn Laboratory. A field demonstration at an 

underground mine site is also scheduled for late FY02. The Mine Safety 

and Health Administration (MSHA) is a key partner in this research. It is 

supplying engineering expertise and funds for the field demonstration. 

73 
LAKE LYNN LABORATORY 

RESEARCHER: Eric S. Weiss 

AFFILIATION:	 Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-5010 

Aerial view of Lake Lynn Laboratory. 

KEYWORDS: Lake Lynn 

Laboratory, health and safety, 

explosions, fires, explosives 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Mattes RH, Bacho A, Wade LV 

[1983]. Lake Lynn Laboratory: 

construction, physical 

description, and capability. 

Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. 

Department of the Interior, 

Bureau of Mines, IC 8911. 

Triebsch G, Sapko MJ [1990]. 

Lake Lynn Laboratory: a stateof-the-art mining research 

laboratory. In: Proceedings of 

the International Symposium on 

Unique Underground 

Structures. Golden, CO: 

Colorado School of Mines, 

Vol. 2, pp. 75-1 to 75-21. 

PURPOSE: Provide a modern, full-scale realistic 

laboratory for underground and surface research that 

significantly contributes to the enhancement of workplace 

safety and health for miners and other workers. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Lake Lynn Laboratory near Fairchance, PA, 

provides an isolated surface facility and a full-scale underground mine for 

large-scale research in mine disaster prevention and response, as well as 

many other research areas of national interest that require the study of largescale surface and underground safety and health problems. The ability of 

Lake Lynn to simulate virtually any underground coal mine geometry 

provides a practical, realistic research laboratory for mining research under 

various controlled conditions of ventilation, humidity, pressure, and 

temperature. To facilitate the underground research, electrical power, 

compressed air, water, communications, video lines, natural gas lines, and a 

unique high-speed data-gathering instrumentation system have been 

incorporated into the design at the site. The surface facilities provide an 

isolated environment in which large-scale research and testing can be done 

in a realistic, yet environmentally controlled manner. 

Ongoing research at Lake Lynn includes the development and 

evaluation of fire suppression systems and early-warning technologies, 

development and evaluation of mine seals and other ventilation structures, 

evaluation of prototype mining equipment and sensors, noise control 

studies, ventilation studies, roof support technologies, evaluation of 

explosive incendivity and toxic gases, determination of explosion limits for 

combustible dusts and ignitability of mists and vapors, evaluation of mine 

sealant materials, mine rescue team training evaluations in smoke-filled 

entries, and respirable dust deposition and diesel particulate studies. The 

information generated as a result of the research at Lake Lynn is vital to the 

mining industry in the development of improved technology and practices 

to protect mining personnel from the many hazards associated with their 

jobs. Although the main mission of Lake Lynn is in support of mine safety 

and health programs, the unique characteristics of the facility make it 

attractive for research in support of other industrial problems. Cooperative 

research within these areas is often done on a resource availability, costreimbursement basis. This project supports and coordinates all of the Lake 

Lynn research efforts; enhances the research capabilities of Lake Lynn; and 

maintains safety, health, and environmental controls at Lake Lynn. 

74 
SURVEILLANCE 

COAL WORKERS’ HEALTH 

SURVEILLANCE PROGRAM 

RESEARCHER: Edward L. Petsonk, M.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Division of Respiratory Disease

Studies 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(304) 285-5724 

Number of miners examined and disease by State. 

KEYWORDS: Coal Workers’ 

X-ray Surveillance Program, 

CWXSP, pneumoconiosis,

x-ray, coal miners, surveillance, 

B Readers 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Wagner GR, Attfield MD,

Kennedy RD, Parker JE [1992]. 

The NIOSH B reader 

certification program: an update 

report. J Occup Med 34(9):879-

884. 

Wagner GR, Attfield MD,

Parker JE [1993]. Efforts to 

improve consistency and

accuracy in chest radiographic 

classification in the United 

States: the NIOSH B reader 

program. In: Proceedings of the

ILO Eighth International 

Conference on Occupational

Lung Diseases (Prague), 

pp. 827-832. 

Wang ML, Petsonk EL, Wagner

GR [2001]. Pneumoconiosis 

prevalence among working U.S.

coal miners: preliminary results 

based on chest x-ray screening

data, 1995 to 2000 [Abstract]. 

Am J Epidem

153(Suppl):11:S127.

PURPOSE: The Division of Respiratory Disease Studies 

administers the mandates of 42 CFR 37 relating to the 

National Coal Workers’ X-ray Surveillance Program 

(CWXSP) and maintains a national database for coal workers’ 

pneumoconiosis. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: This project administers the underground coal 

miner x-ray surveillance activities as specified in 42 CFR 37 and maintains 

a database that is used by researchers involved in developing strategies to 

prevent or reduce the incidence and progression of coal workers’ 

pneumoconiosis. This program includes the certification of x-ray facilities; 

the training, testing, and certification of physician readers (B Readers); the 

interpretation of films; the communication of results to miners, their 

personal physicians, and the Mine Safety and Health Administration 

(MSHA); the notification of miners of options to transfer to low dust areas; 

and the provision of data to evaluate the respiratory health of underground 

coal miners. It supports the implementation of the U.S. Department of 

Labor Dust Advisory Committee’s recommendations and MSHA regulatory 

activities, as required. 

NIOSH and MSHA have entered into an interagency agreement to 

improve miner participation in this program by targeting surface and 

underground miners at specific mines. Each miner at these specific mines is 

given the opportunity to have a free chest x-ray. For surface miners, 

MSHA pays for the x-ray, as well as the interpretation and related costs. 

NIOSH continues its support of the CWXSP. From October 2000 to 

August 2001, 7,878 miners were x-rayed under these programs. Of these, 

3,686 were surface miners and 1,764 were underground miners 

participating in the Miners’ Choice Health Screening Program. The 

remainder were underground miners participating in the CWXSP. Definite 

evidence of pneumoconiosis was found in 86 (2.3%) of the surface miners 

and 199 (4.8%) of the underground miners. This emphasizes the success of 

the Miners’ Choice Health Screening Program in detecting pneumoconiosis 

in previously unscreened surface miners, as well as in increasing overall 

participation in the CWXSP. 

75 
NATIONAL COAL WORKERS’ AUTOPSY 

STUDY 

RESEARCHER: Edward L. Petsonk, M.D. 

AFFILIATION:	 Division of Respiratory Disease

Studies 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(304) 285-5726 

NIOSH flyer describing the 

NCWAS. 

KEYWORDS: National Coal 

Workers’ Autopsy Study, 

NCWAS, autopsy, coal

workers’ pneumoconiosis, 

silicosis, coal miners 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Green FHY, Althouse R, 

Frost JL, Wheeler RW, 

Shores SK [1986]. Forensic 

investigation of coal mine 

fatalities. Ann Am Conf Gov 

Ind Hyg 14:117-124. 

Green FHY, Althouse R, 

Parker J, Kahn J, Weber K, 

Vallyathan V [1998]. Trends in 

the prevalence of coal workers’ 

pneumoconiosis in US

autopsied coal miners. In: 

Proceedings of the Ninth

International Conference on 

Occupational Respiratory

Diseases (Kyoto, Japan). 

Elsevier, pp. 145-148. 

Green FHY, Althouse R, Weber 

KC [1989]. Prevalence of 

silicosis at death in under-round 

coal miners. Am J Ind Med 

16:605-615. 

PURPOSE: This project responds specifically to the 

mandates in 42 CFR 37 and is responsible for 

administering the National Coal Workers’ Autopsy Study 

(NCWAS). Specimens reviewed as a result of this 

program are used to evaluate effectiveness of dust 

exposure levels in underground coal mines. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: This project administers the 

mandates of 42 CFR 37 through receipt and evaluation of 

autopsy cases submitted by pathologists participating in 

the NCWAS. The NCWAS is a service benefit to survivors of coal miners. 

The results of the autopsy (1) provide medical evidence in support of black 

lung benefit claims, (2) assist in conducting research into the epidemiology, 

pathogenesis, and prevention of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis and 

silicosis, and (3) provide forensic assistance in the investigation of coal 

mine fatalities. This project is conducted in cooperation with the United 

Mine Workers of America and the Mine Safety and Health Administration. 

76 
AIRWAYS DISEASE IN MINERS 

RESEARCHERS: Lu Ann Beeckman-Wagner,

Ph.D., and Edward L. Petsonk, 

M.D. 

AFFILIATION: Division of Respiratory Disease

Studies 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(304) 285-5792 

A miner undergoes lung function testing. 

KEYWORDS: FEV1, 

underground coal miners, lung 

function 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Beeckman LA, Wang ML, 

Petsonk EL, Wagner GR 

[2001]. Accelerated declines in 

FEV1 and subsequent increased 

respiratory symptoms, illnesses, 

and mortality in U.S. coal 

miners. Am J Resp Crit Care 

Med 163:633-639. 

Wang ML, Gunel E, Petsonk 

EL [2000]. Design strategies 

for longitudinal spirometry 

studies: study duration and 

measurement frequency. Am J 

Resp Crit Care Med 162:2134-

2138. 

Wang ML, Petsonk EL, 

Beeckman LA, Wagner GR 

[1999]. Clinically important 

FEV1 declines among coal 

miners: an exploration of 

previously unrecognized 

determinants. Occup Env Med 

56:837-844. 

PURPOSE: A quantitative relationship between coal 

mining exposures and lung function loss has been 

repeatedly demonstrated. However, after accounting for 

the effects of smoking and dust exposure, it is still not 

understood why some miners suffer severe FEV1 declines. 

The goals of this project include (1) describing the health consequences of 

the excessive loss in lung function observed in some miners, (2) identifying 

potential environmental and constitutional risk factors for adverse 

ventilatory responses to dust, (3) defining disease processes and 

mechanisms that lead to an accelerated loss of lung function, and 

(4) evaluating methods for investigating lung function changes in relation to 

occupational exposures to improve future studies. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Researchers determined vital status for 561 

underground coal miners and obtained an extensive novel followup 

questionnaire for 121 miners with severe losses in lung function (cases) and 

143 miners with relatively stable lung function (referents). Miners (or their 

next of kin, if deceased) were contacted by phone and asked extensively 

about specific job activities and working conditions, non-work-related 

exposures, living conditions, and personal smoking and health histories. 

The lung function of all of the study miners had been followed for an 

average of 11 years. Associations were evaluated between various 

candidate risk factors and clinically important FEV1 loss. Several mine 

environment variables, as well as recognized effects of mining tenure and 

region, were found to be associated with excess FEV1 decline. These 

included work in roof bolting, exposure to explosive blasting, and use of 

water for dust control sprays that had been stored in holding tanks. Use of 

respiratory protection seemed to reduce the risk of FEV1 loss. More cases 

than referents (15% versus 4%) left mining prior to retirement because of 

chest illnesses. Case miners showed a higher incidence than referents of 

respiratory symptoms, asthma, and emphysema. They also had twice the 

risk of dying with cardiovascular and nonmalignant respiratory diseases and 

a 3.2-fold risk of dying with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Based 

on a sophisticated analysis of longitudinal lung function tests in coal 

miners, tables have been published that should be useful for future 

occupational studies in ensuring that these studies will obtain acceptable 

values of maximum error and adequate power to detect anticipated 

differences in FEV1 slopes between study groups. 

77 
A COHORT MORTALITY STUDY WITH A 

NESTED CASE CONTROL STUDY OF 

LUNG CANCER AND DIESEL EXHAUST 

AMONG NONMETAL MINERS 

RESEARCHER: Michael D. Attfield, Ph.D. 

AFFILIATION: Division of Respiratory Disease

Studies 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(304) 285-2817 Diesel equipment in a salt mine. 

KEYWORDS: Diesel, mining, 

mortality 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Bhatia R, Lopipero P, Smith AH 

[1998]. Diesel exhaust 

exposure and lung cancer. 

Epidemiology 9:84-91. 

Haney RA, Saseen GP, 

Waytulonis RW [1997]. An 

overview of diesel particulate 

exposures and control 

technology in the U.S. mining 

industry. Appl Occup Env Hyg 

12(12):1013-1018. 

PURPOSE: Evaluate mortality from lung cancer and other diseases

among nonmetal miners in relation to extent of exposure to quantitative

measures of exposure to diesel exhaust using a cohort and nested case

control study. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Diesel exhaust is a commonly occurring 

airborne contaminant. Exposure is frequent, both environmentally and 

occupationally. Occupational exposures can be intense. Although diesel

exhaust has been classified as a probable carcinogen by the International

Agency for Research on Cancer and as a potential carcinogen by NIOSH,

the risk of lung cancer in humans is not well defined. In particular,

although more than 30 studies have examined lung cancer risk and diesel

exhaust exposure, few have used quantitative exposure measurements of

diesel exhaust directly in their analyses. 

To obtain further information on this important question, NIOSH is

undertaking a full-scale mortality study of health outcomes associated with

exposure to diesel exhaust. It consists of a retrospective cohort mortality

study with a nested case control study of lung cancer. An extensive effort is 

being made to characterize current and past levels of surrogates of diesel

exhaust with the aim of developing reliable estimates of cumulative

exposure and associated indices. These exposures will be used to

investigate exposure-response in the two studies. 

The study is being done on nonmetal mine workers. Nonmetal mines 

were chosen because exposures to potential confounders such as radon,

silica, arsenic, and asbestos are few and at low levels. Furthermore, 

exposures in many of the mines have been substantial in the past, and there

exist databases of prior exposure levels, which facilitates development of

past exposure estimates. Lastly, the mines are generally large and involve

workers both underground and on the surface. This provides a wide range

of exposures and thus sufficient power to detect any possible effects of 

exposure. There are 10 mines in the study (4 potash, 3 trona, 2 salt, and

1 low-silica limestone). These were chosen through evaluation following

an extensive pilot trial. 

The work involves five parts: (1) characterization of current exposure

levels by means of a thorough industrial hygiene survey at each operating

mine; (2) development of retrospective exposure estimates using the results

from the first part and using all relevant past data, including measurements

and surrogates; (3) acquisition of personnel records required to define a 

78 
retrospective cohort from date of dieselization to the present at each mine,

followed by vital status followup ascertainment; (4) a cohort mortality

analysis using the results from the current and retrospective exposure

assessment components to examine excesses in mortality compared to

external rates and internal comparisons based on job, tenure, and

quantitative exposure estimates; and (5) a case control study of lung cancer

based on the deaths identified from the cohort study and using the exposure

estimates from the current and retrospective exposure assessment

components enhanced by additional information obtained for the case

control study subjects. 

Data collection for the project began around December 1997. The 

planned schedule for the project outlined in the study protocol calls for

completion in 6 years. Much of the data collection is complete for the

exposure derivation and the cohort mortality followup. Ongoing activities

are largely focused on data analysis and information collection for the case

control study. 

79 
RISK FACTORS FOR ATHEROSCLEROSIS AMONG COAL MINERS 

RESEARCHER: Deborah D. Landen, M.D. 

AFFILIATION: Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-4207 

KEYWORDS: Cardiovascular 

disease, stress, coal mine dust 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Newman AB, Shemanski L,
 

Manolio TA, Cushman M,
 

Mittelmark M, Polak JF, et al.
 

[1999]. Ankle-arm index as a
 

predictor of cardiovascular
 

disease and mortality in the
 

cardiovascular health study. 

Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol
 

19(3):538-545.
 

Nordstrom CK, Dwyer KM,
 

Merz CN, Shircore A,
 

Dwyer JH [2001]. Work-related
 

stress and early atherosclerosis. 

Epidemiology 12(2):180-185.
 

Schnall PL, Belkic K,
 

Landsbergis P, Baker D, eds.
 

[2000]. The workplace and
 

cardiovascular disease. Occup
 

Med: State of the Art Rev 15(1). 

Philadelphia, PA: Hanley and
 

Belfus.
 

PURPOSE: Determine the prevalence of risk factors for atherosclerosis 

among a sample of coal miners and the relationship between risk factors 

and workplace exposures. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Based on death certificate data from NIOSH’s 

National Occupational Mortality Database, coal miners seem to have an 

elevated risk of death from heart attacks (myocardial infarction). Factors 

involved in the risk of atherosclerotic heart disease include genetics and 

lifestyle factors, such as diet and smoking. Heart disease has also been 

shown to be related to work in certain types of jobs, particularly jobs 

involving high demands with low levels of control over work. 

This goal of this study is to determine the prevalence of risk factors for 

atherosclerotic disease among a sample of coal miners. The ratio of blood 

pressure in the arm to blood pressure at the ankle, the ankle-arm index, will 

be obtained as an indicator of atherosclerosis. The association between risk 

factors for coronary heart disease, ankle-arm index, and workplace 

exposures to both work-related stress and coal dust will be examined. 

NIOSH is cooperating with the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) 

on this project, which will be conducted among UMWA miners. 

A stress survey specific to underground coal mining has been 

developed. A pilot study has been designed to assess the use of sequential 

measures of salivary cortisol as an indicator of stress. 

80 
IMPROVING SURVEILLANCE DATA 

UTILIZATION THROUGH GEOGRAPHICAL 

INFORMATION SYSTEMS 

RESEARCHER: Nathan T. Lowe 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

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199 8/28/09 

# 

1980/48/30 

# 

198 9/43/ 19 

# 

1993/39/20 

# 

197 8/50/20 

# 

1980/26/04 

# 

1978/55/ 33 

# 

199 0/33/ 14 

# 

198 6/48/20 

# 

1986/32/03 

# 

1993/21/00 

# 

198 7/50/20 

# 

1983/31/ 08 

# 

198 2/ 23/00 

# 199 3/20/00 # 199 3/52/25 

# 

198 0/ 23/05 

# 

198 2/19/01 

# 

197 8/ 31/ 04 

# 

198 7/24/05 

# 197 9/29/00 

# 1982/25/05 

198 6/31/00 #

199 3/48/12 #

# 

198 5/51/25 

# 199 6/28/08 

# 198 7/30/ 12 

# 

1978/22/00 

151 571 1 HI GH SPLIN T # 1 MINE 

151287 4 NO 1 'B' SE AM MINE 

150 424 1 NO .2 ' A' MI NE 

150 254 0 

NO . 3 5 

1 507 334 

1 51608 4 NO 1 E MI NE

MINE NO 1 A 

15 07 986 DARB Y #1 MI NE 151205 7 CREEC H NO . 1 

1 51 190 6 PREPAR ATI ON PLANT 

15022 63 DARBY FORK NO. 1 

150 935 1 

MIN E # 4 

1 510 198 BREN DA F AYE CO AL T I P PLE 151 659 5 

NO 5 

150841 5 NO D -1 MI NE 

151 298 2 

NO. 1 

151291 7 

NO 11 

1 511 40 4 

# 1 MIN E 

15 128 69 

OXF ORD # 5 

150 5215 NO. 1 PREP PLANT 

1 516450 

MINE NO. 1 

151 081 8 #2 

1513331 WAS H PLANT 

1 51502 5 

SMITH #2 

1 513 380 LU CKY STAR # 3 

150 829 3 

R B # 4 

151 0732 

#1 MINE 

1517648 KENTUC KY-WEST VIR GIN IA ST RI P 

1 508 454 

NO.3 M INE 

150720 2 

#7 UG 

1509704 Y ANC EY N O. 17 

151 650 9 #2 

1510901 

NO 3 M INE 

150934 0 # 2 

151 107 2 

#2 MI NE 

1998/38/15 

199 1/ 44/ 21 

( 2) 

1506778 

#3 

19 82/22/03 

19 82/39/03 

Fall of Roof 

(2) 

15 164 18 

NO . 9 

199 4/38/00 

199 4/37/19 

Ex pl osion 

(2) 15 133 62 

RB#3 MINE 

198 4/34/00 

198 4/26/00

Fall of roof 

( 2) 1514856 

#1 19 85/2 9/07 

19 85/4 1/12 

Fall of roof 

1506702 

M-2 

(3) 

1 505184 MILL CREEK NO. 5 

19 81/ 30 /1 1 

19 81/ 23 /0 5 

19 81/ 25 /0 4 

Inudation 

(3) 

150 06 00 

NO. 1 MINE 

1 980 /19/01 

Powe red ha ulage 1 979 /21/03 

1 979 /32/05 

Fall of roof 

(2) 1514552 

BAILEYS CREEK 1 992 /38/00 

1 992 /33/00 

Powered haulage 

( 2) 1500590 

NO. 1 19 83/2 9/04 

19 83/2 4/07 

Fall of roof 

(2) 1504670 

NO. 37 MINE 

1 997/47/25 

1 978/29/07 

Fall of face, etc 

(3) 

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C-2 1 996 /35/ 14 

1 996 /26/ 06

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1 978 /36/ 01 

Powe red ha ulage 

( 4)

1513202 

NO. 1 19 84 /1 9/00 

19 84 /2 4/00 

19 84 /2 7/00 

19 84 /3 4/00 

Fall of roof 

(3) 1504338 

#4 MINE 

19 80/25/00

Electrical 

19 79/41/22

Electrical 

19 78/21/04 

Fall of roof 

(3) 1505423 

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1 985/30/05

Fall of fa ce, etc 

1 984/29/11 

Fall of roof 

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H-2 MI NE 

1980 /2 6/03 

Fall of roof 

(2) 

1513103 

C-3 M IN E 

1 997/26/07 

Explosives

1 990/38/20 

Fall of r oof 

151 7781 

MINE # 15 

1 998 /35/ 18 

Powered haulage 

15 122 56 

NO. 4 

198 1/23/02 

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Powe red ha ulage 

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Fa ll of roof Electrical 

Fa ll of roof 

Fall of roof 

Powered haulage 

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or sliding rock 

Falling, rolling,

o r sl id ing rock 

Fa ll of face, etc 

Machi ne ry 

Electrical 

Powered haulage 

Fall of roof 

Fa ll of roof 

Machi nery 

Machine ry 

Powe red ha ulage 

1984/24/03 

Powered haulage 

Electrical 

Fall of roof 

Fa ll of roof 

Powered haulage 

Electrical 

Fall of roof 

Machine ry 

Fall of roof 

Powered haulage 

Powe red ha ul age 198 7/ 43/ 15 

Electrical 

Electrical 

Electrical 

Fa ll of roof 

Fall of roof 

Powered haulage 197 9/23/00 

198 2/47/15 

199 0/ 37/15 

ZERO MINE 

23 Fatalities 

1932 

Explo sio n 

THREE POIN T 

12 Fatalities 

1943 

Explosion 

NO. 30 M IN E 

8 Fatalities 

19 28 

Explosion 

# 

$T 8 

$T 9 - 12 

13 - 23 

# 1-4 Fatalities, 1978-1999 

Historic Disasters 

Populations Ceters 

LEGEND 

$T 

Using GIS as a surveillance tool. 

KEYWORDS: Mining, 

surveillance, geographical 

information systems 

PURPOSE: Develop and demonstrate geographical 

information system (GIS) methodologies for spatially 

mapping and analyzing accident and occupational disease 

information. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: This research began by producing basic GIS 

maps that show locations associated with selected mining health and injury 

information by topic (e.g., accident classification by State or commodity). 

Combinations of those mapping and analytical techniques that offer the 

greatest potential for discovering regional differences in the occurrence of 

accidents and health risks will be determined. 

Using recently available GIS technology, the project will then explore 

the usefulness of producing and publishing interactive maps on the Intranet/ 

Internet. Such maps could allow users to perform specialized queries by 

selecting different combinations of themes from available options. Other 

GIS products will be investigated, such as linking GIS and Document 

Management System technology that would allow users to access health 

and safety data simply by clicking on specific features of a map of the U.S. 

mining industry. 

These technologies will allow surveillance data to be examined in 

relation to geographic locations associated with accidents or exposure sites. 

This information will enhance our surveillance efforts by allowing spatial 

analyses that are likely to reveal causal relationships between injury 

variables not heretofore seen or realized. A secondary objective is to 

demonstrate and use GIS technology to disseminate mining industry disease 

and injury data through the Intranet and Internet. 

81 
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL 

CONSEQUENCES OF INJURY AT SAND 

AND GRAVEL OPERATIONS 

RESEARCHERS: T.W. Camm, C.M.K. Boldt, and 

S.R. Ferch 

AFFILIATION:	 Spokane Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(509) 354-8000 

Sand and gravel mines are being studied to evaluate the 

economic and social consequences of an occupational 

injury. 

KEYWORDS: Economics, 

cost of injury, social 

consequences, systems theory 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Camm TW [2000]. Economics 

of safety at surface mine spoil

piles. Spokane, WA: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health,

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 2001-129, RI 9653. 

Camm TW, Ferch S, and Boldt 

CMK [2000]. The economic 

and social consequences of

injury at sand and gravel 

operations [Abstract]. In: 

NOIRS 2000 Abstracts -

National Occupational Injury

Research Symposium 

(Pittsburgh, PA, October 17-19,

2000). Pittsburgh, PA: U.S. 

Department of Health and

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

p. 46. 

PURPOSE: Determine the economic and social costs of 

workplace injuries at sand and gravel operations using a

 case study methodology. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: The financial and social consequences of

workplace injuries and related hazards are poorly understood. Research is 

needed to increase employer and public recognition and assessment of these

costs and their relationship to workplace safety and health investment and

performance. This cost information will be useful on many levels:

employers, workers’ compensation insurers, safety and health consultants. 

A workplace injury has direct medical, employment, and earnings

consequences for a worker, and these consequences are the focus of a

growing body of literature. However, the injury and its attendant medical

and labor market consequences are an incomplete description of the effects

on the worker and his or her family. In particular, the changed economic

circumstances of the family and possible increased care required for the

injured worker may affect economic and social outcomes and behaviors for

other family members, including children. While fatalities are the most 

dramatic and tragic, nonfatal injuries may still have devastating impact on

families, who often have fewer organized sources of support. 

Project researchers will investigate the economic and social

consequences of a workplace injury at a small sand and gravel mine through

a case study of a recent workplace injury. Investigating the costs of an

individual case will enhance understanding of the assumptions used in

general cost models. In addition to monetary costs, the project will

determine the sociological consequences of the injury in the workplace and

in the home. Because of the small number of employees typically found at

sand and gravel mine sites, it is anticipated that personal, social, and work

bonds and perceptions will be strong and interwoven. 

The economic impact will measure both direct costs (i.e., medical

expenses, property damage, administration expenses) and indirect costs

(i.e., lost earnings, lost fringe benefits, employer costs of retraining). The 

social consequences model uses three standardized psychological health

measures: BDI-II to test for depression, STAXI-2 (state-trait anger

expression inventory), and STAIP (state-trait anxiety inventory). A systems

theory approach integrating the disciplines of engineering, psychology,

economics, and sociology will be used to provide a comprehensive,

multifaceted approach to measuring the consequences of occupational

injuries. 

82 
HEALTH EFFECT STUDIES OF URANIUM MILLERS 

RESEARCHER: Lynne Pinkerton, M.D.
 

AFFILIATION: Division of Surveillance, Hazard Evaluations, and Field Studies
 

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health

(513) 841-4344
 

KEYWORDS: Uranium, 

milling, cancer, lung disease, 

renal disease 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Archer VE, Brinton HP, 

Wagoner JK [1973]. Pulmonary 

function of uranium miners. 

J Occup Med 10:1183-1194. 

Waxweiler RJ, Archer VE, 

Roscoe RJ, Watanabe A, 

Thum MJ [1983]. Mortality 

patterns in a retrospective 

cohort of uranium mill workers. 

In: Proceedings of the 16th 

Midyear Topical Meeting of the 

Health Physics Society 

(Albuquerque, NM). McLean, 

VA: Health Physics Society, 

pp. 428-435. 

PURPOSE: To conduct studies of uranium millers to determine if they 

experience increased mortality or disease as a result of their employment. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: Uranium millers are potentially exposed to 

uranium ore dust, silica, radon daughters, and acid mists and fumes. 

Although there are currently no uranium mills operating in the United 

States, there are public and legislative concerns about potential health 

effects of uranium milling and whether former millers as well as miners 

should be covered under the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act, a law 

that provides compensation to uranium miners. NIOSH (or its predecessor 

agencies) have previously done two cohort mortality studies on uranium 

mill workers. Both are limited by small cohort size, absence of exposure 

data, and inclusion of only white workers. NIOSH’s findings that uranium 

miners have an excess risk of lung cancer and pneumoconioses were 

considered in drafting the Radiation Exposure Compensation Act. In 1993, 

the U.S. Army asked NIOSH for help in conducting studies of individuals 

employed in uranium mills in the Southwestern United States during the 

period January 1, 1947, to December 31, 1971. This study will provide 

data of great concern not only to the many surviving uranium millers 

(especially in light of the known health effects of exposure), but also to 

workers currently exposed to uranium dust during operations associated 

with unconventional milling processes. 

The goals of this project are to conduct two studies of health effects 

associated with uranium milling. Researchers proceeded with a cohort 

update of the previous mortality study by Waxweiler et al. that included 

seven of these mills and a cross-sectional study of renal and pulmonary 

effects, which is being done under a cooperative agreement. Analyses of 

the cross-sectional and cohort mortality studies are now being done. 

Cohort mortality studies of uranium mill workers have been limited by 

insufficient power to detect true differences, as well as a lack of exposure 

data. These studies will provide important epidemiologic information on 

the long-term health effects associated with employment in the uranium 

milling industry. Health effects of concern include lung cancer, lymphatic 

and hematopoietic malignancies, and lung and kidney diseases. The results 

of these studies will improve assessment of the association between 

uranium mill exposures and cancer and other health effects. 

83 
NEUROTOXIC CHEMICAL HAZARDS IN 

COAL PREPARATION PLANTS 

RESEARCHER: Gail L. McConnell, V.M.D. 

AFFILIATION: Pittsburgh Research Laboratory

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health

(412) 386-4207 

A coal prep plant. 

KEYWORDS: Hazard 

surveillance, neurotoxicity, 

mining 

BIBLIOGRAPHY 

Boiano JM, Hull RD [2001]. 

Development of a national 

occupational exposure survey 

and database associated with 

NIOSH hazard surveillance 

initiatives. Appl Occup Env 

Hyg 16(2):128-134. 

Mulloy K [1996]. Two case 

reports of neurological diseases 

in coal mine preparation plant 

workers. Am J Ind Med 30:56-

61. 

NIOSH [1996]. Results from 

the national occupational health 

survey of mining (NOHSM). 

Morgantown, WV: U.S. 

Department of Health and 

Human Services, Public Health 

Service, Centers for Disease 

Control and Prevention, 

National Institute for 

Occupational Safety and Health, 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication 

No. 96-136. 

PURPOSE: Describe and estimate potential exposures to 

neurotoxic chemical hazards in coal prep plant workers. 

Obtain exposure assessments to several known neurotoxic 

agents used in coal prep plants. 

RESEARCH SUMMARY: NIOSH is proposing to conduct, on a periodic 

or ongoing basis, a nationally representative survey(s) to evaluate the 

prevalence and distribution of potentially hazardous working conditions 

among the U.S. workforce. Additionally, targeted hazard surveys will be 

conducted in specific industries or occupations as part of this initiative. 

Targeted hazard surveillance in mines will obtain data descriptive of the 

health and safety conditions in selected mining commodities, occupations, 

or workplaces and will determine the extent of workers’ exposure to 

chemical, physical, biological, ergonomic, or safety hazards or select work 

organization factors. This project is the first scheduled targeted survey in 

mining. Coal prep plant workers are potentially exposed to several toxic 

substances, such as acrylamide, solvents, and manganese. The potential 

neurotoxic effects of polyacrylamide flocculent in coal prep plant workers 

and neurological disorders due to overexpose to manganese in welders have 

been reported in the literature. 

NIOSH researchers have created a database of neurotoxic chemicals 

used in coal prep plants based mainly on the National Occupational Health 

Survey of Mining, which was completed in 1989. A contract has been 

awarded to update this database in FY02. More information on neurotoxic 

chemicals now and previously in use in coal prep plants will be obtained by 

the contractor by conducting focus group discussions in various sectors of 

the coal prep plant industry (chemical suppliers, mine operators, union and 

nonunion workers). Information on the use of neurotoxic chemicals not 

obtained through the focus groups will be obtained through direct inquiries 

to the three to five major chemical suppliers to the prep plant industry. 

A comprehensive review will also be done in the English and foreign 

language literatures. Once the database is complete, work will begin on 

identifying candidate neurotoxic chemicals for exposure assessments. 

84 
Delivering on the Nation’s Promise: 

Safety and health at work for all people
 

Through research and prevention
 

For information about occupational safety and health topics contact NIOSH at: 

1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674) 

Fax: 513-533-8573 

E-mail: pubstaft@cdc.gov 

www.cdc.gov/niosh 

DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2002-110