Rapporteur's Report

Mining Sector

Susan B. Bealko Peter G. Kovalchik Rudy J. Matetic

National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)

1. Introduction

Mining provides a large part of the energy and raw materialsthat

feed this Nation's economy. Copper pipe, concrete, and window

glass serve as well known examples of the reliance on minerals in

modern society. Less appreciated, but as important, are the

hundreds of mined commodities that are an integral and necessary

part of everyday products, ranging from medicines and computers

to carpet and paper. Coal is a major portion of the country's energy

mix today, asit will likely continue to be in a future hydrogen-based

economy. The domestic mining industry also provides strategic

minerals that are important for the Nation's security.

The processes to recover these mineral commodities are

among the most demanding and complex in an industrial

society, and this inherently dangerous industry has historically

had the highest risks of fatality and injury.

The mining industry has been undergoing some trying and

challenging times because of the recent mine disastersin the coal

fields. These events have been alarming in light of the strong and

encouraging safety record that has characterized mining in the

United States for most of the past decade. While mining

communities deal with their grief, mine operators, government

regulators, and other safety personnel, set about trying to

determine why these fatalities occurred. Subsequently, the

mining industry is currently experiencing changes in legislation

at an unusually rapid pace. The most recent regulatory changes

are the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act

of 2006 (MINER Act) and the temporary emergency standard

for mine seals. The new mine safety laws call on the nation's

mines to adopt certain procedures and safety technologies

immediately, or as soon as they become commercially available.

Putting all the provisionsin place from these new lawsis a major

undertaking, and will necessitate strong collaborations and

partnerships among mine operators, manufacturers, regulatory

and research agencies, labor unions, and community groups. It is

against this background that Prevention through Design (PtD)

components for the Mining Sector are recommended.

The mining sector breakout session workgroup discussed the

mission of the PtD workshop and the role of the four functional

areas: practice, policy, research, and education. The participants

agreed on specific research areas where additional mining

stakeholder collaborations and PtD applications were greatly

needed. They included the following: health standards (in

particular, the newly proposed coal mine dust standard), disaster

prevention, and mine emergency response. These areas of interest

are greatly affected by the new or proposed mining legislation.

2. Most Compelling Idea/Recommendation to Come Out of

the Discussions

The most compelling PtD recommendations for the Mining

Sector include:

• The need to develop and maintain a mechanism for the

sharing of effective PtD practices

• The development of financial incentives to initiate PtD

programs

• Improved injury and illness surveillance by the Mine Safety

and Health Administration (MSHA) and mine operators to

increase the understanding of the nature and root cause of

accidents, injuries, and illnesses

• Many of the current mining textbooks are outdated, sometimes out of print and do not incorporate PtD principlesto any

large extent. Therefore, there is a great need for academia to

develop new text books and coursework to be incorporated

into the class curriculum.

3. Practice (Needs, Challenges, Opportunities)

First, and foremost, is the strategy to create stronger and more

effective collaborations and/or partnerships for data sharing and

research development within the mining industry. The National

Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) National
Occupational Research Agenda Mining sector has been one of the

leaders in this area, but the group agreed that more involvement

and communication is needed. It was also agreed that the sharing

of good practices through partnerships and collaborations will

only be beneficial if there is involvement and guidance from

international mining professionals.

It was agreed that better injury and illness surveillance by the

MSHA and mine operators is needed to increase the understanding of the nature and root cause of accidents, injuries, and

illnesses. Improved surveillance will help better identify problem

areas and determine the needs of the stakeholders. If more specific

injury and illness data become available, mine equipment

manufacturers and mine operators can incorporate these data

into a design and risk management program.

A weakness in marketing research and development successes

to stakeholders arose as a barrier to the PtD initiative. NIOSH

should do more to promote and disseminate research advancements through the health communications functions and the

Research to Practice initiatives. This can also be accomplished by

better utilizing the communication pipelines through collaborations and partnerships. In addition, the mining community (in

particular, mine operators and equipmentmanufacturers), has been

very resourceful and creative in developing many PtD designs and

products. It was voiced that not only should NIOSH investigate

and test these initiatives, but also market and disseminate the PtD

successes of the mining community, NIOSH, and others.

Another barrier to the PtD initiative is the financial disparity

between large and small mines. Initiatives need to be created

where alternative designs and products could be developed that

are more affordable for smaller mines. A final barrier, agreed

upon by the group, is that the mining safety and health culture

needs to change from reactive to a more preventive and risk

management type of safety culture.

4. Policy (Needs, Challenges, Opportunities)

In general, the group agreed that a drawback of the mining

regulatory process is that it often takes a minimum of two years,

if not longer, to change regulatory provisions. But contrary to the

historical law-making process, the current fast-moving legislation and policy changes have created increased demands for all

involved, including regulators, researchers, equipment manufacturers, and mine operators. Some participants expressed a

perception that rule-making has become somewhat guarded and

not performed in open forums, as it had been previously.

It was agreed that financial incentives to develop and

implement PtD designs/products will help stakeholders meet

the requirements of the regulatory changes. Some examples are

the increased use of NIOSH Cooperative Research and Development Agreements and financial incentives by Congress, to

develop and incorporate PtD research successes into the mining

industry. Currently, there are no financial incentivesin the mining

industry for PtD initiatives set forth by the government.

Anothersuggestion wasthat NIOSH become more involved in

the cost/benefit analyses of PtD designs and products. Historically, NIOSH has not been involved in research in this capacity,

but changes to policy can allow NIOSH to get more involved in

the financial end of the PtD initiative. Showing the financial

benefit of PtD implementation will strengthen the marketing of it.

Finally, it was noted that regulatory agencies (state and

federal) have a major influence on PtD initiatives. If these

agencies get involved in the PtD process from the inception,

there is a greater chance that PtD initiatives will get accomplished. Furthermore, collaborations with European and Australian regulatory agencies, which currently have regulatory

standards that focus on equipment design and risk management,

could help guide the United States agencies to develop similar

regulatory standards.

5. Research (Needs, Challenges, Opportunities)

One major area where improvement is needed is in surveillance of injuries and illnesses, as mentioned earlier. There are data

gaps that can be reduced by better data reporting and analyzing.

Along with MSHA, mine operators should be encouraged to

improve their health and safety data reporting, to determine areas

where PtD initiatives could help and serve as a risk management

tool.

Also as mentioned earlier, PtD designs and products

developed by all stakeholders can be tested and assessed by

NIOSH. A potential outcome from this can be the formulation

of a “Good Practices and Recommendations for PtD” handbook

for stakeholders. Again, a driver to further the PtD research

initiative is the formulation of partnerships and collaborations in

the United States and abroad.

6. Education (Needs, Challenges, Opportunities)

The group agreed that students entering into the mining

industry (e.g., engineers, business students, law students, safety

personnel) will benefit greatly from education on the advantages

of PtD. Furthermore, there is also a need to educate all

stakeholders (regulators, mine operators, equipment manufacturers, labor unions, etc.), not only college students.

Additionally, there is a lack of new mining text books. Many

of the current books are outdated and sometimes out of print. In

addition, there are no known mining text books, specialized

class courses, or course curricula that incorporate PtD principles

into their books or lesson plans at any capacity. Therefore, there

is a great need for academia to develop new text books and

coursework to be incorporated into the class curriculum. The

proposed “Good Practices and Recommendations for PtD”

handbook may serve as a good resource.

Finally, it was mentioned that educators and students should

be involved in the stakeholder mining collaborations and

partnerships. By doing this, students can be involved at the

inception of the PtD initiatives, and follow them through until

the end. Summer internships to get involved in these initiatives

should be promoted.

7. Discussion

In conclusion, the general consensus from the members of the

mining sector established the need for several key endeavors.
More and stronger mining collaborations and partnerships need tory agencies need to be involved early in the PtD process. And

to be established among stakeholders, as well asthe international finally, there is a great need to educate mining stakeholders and

mining community. Communication and marketing of PtD students, from the undergraduate level and up, about the benefits

strategies, designs, and products should be improved. Regula- of the PtD initiative.