No. 491 June 2001 

NIOSH Releases Two New Safety Training Videos
 

Objective 

To develop safety training tools for mine health and safety 

trainers that fill gaps in currently available materials and help 

capture the wisdom and knowledge of Aexpert miners.@

Background 

NIOSH began a series of stakeholder meetings in 1998 to 

determine what research was needed to improve miner health and 

safety. One of the more common concerns among stakeholders was 

a critical lack of appropriate training materials applicable to 

metal/nonmetal mining. Participants provided many insights into 

what effective training materials should include and how materials 

could best reach both new and experienced miners. The most 

important factors were that any materials be realistic and interesting 

and that some way must be found to capture the wisdom of expert 

miners before they retired. 

Approach 

NIOSH researchers chose videos as the best means of achieving 

these training goals. Over the past 3 years, NIOSH has produced 

three training videos that present information on safe work practices 

in underground mines: handling explosives, recognizing roof 

hazards and using proper scaling techniques, and installing ground 

supports. The last two videos, ARock FallsBPreventing Rock Fall 

Injuries in Underground Mines@ and AMiner Mike Saves the DayB

orBGround SupportYIt=s Important,@ have won Alice Hamilton 

awards, NIOSH=s highest recognition of Excellence in Occupational 

Safety and Health, in the Educational Materials category. 

Two new videos are now being released. Both of these videos 

were shot completely in operating underground hard-rock mines and 

used expert miners to tell the story. 

Hazards In Motion 

The first, AHazards in Motion,@ deals with the dangers of working 

around mobile equipment in an underground mine. Ben, a new 

trainee, refuses to pay attention in his 40-hour New Miner Training 

class, and when the class takes its first trip underground, he wanders 

off and finds himself in many dangerous situations. He encounters 

many experienced miners who both chew him out for his unsafe 

attitude and give him advice and information on how to survive 

around mobile equipment. Many common pieces of equipment are 

shown, including haulage trucks, LHD=s, tracks and trains, slushers, 

skips and hoists, and air doors. The dangers of ignoring signals and 

of horseplay are also included. 

After nearly losing his life numerous times, Ben learns his lesson 

with the help of the Safety Angel, an experienced miner who looks 

suspiciously like his safety trainer. Ben=s Safety Angel saves his life 

repeatedly, teaches him how to work safely around these common 

conveyances, and introduces him to experts who have specific safety 

tips. Ben learns the error of his ways and vows to be the safest miner 

in the mine. AHazards in Motion@ is approximately 30 minutes long. 

Hidden Scars 

The second video is the first in the NIOSH AExpert Miner@ series. 

AHidden Scars@ is a narrative interview with Don Capparelli, a miner 

and supervisor at the Sunshine Mine in north Idaho. This video 

captures the story of a fatal rock burst in May 1994, when Don was 

seriously injured and his long-time partner, Jimmy Findley, was 

killed. 

AHidden Scars@ is a very powerful story. Don Capparelli shares 

the physical and emotional pain he lives with daily as he relates 

the events leading up to the rock burst that took the life of his 

best friend and partner. This video is an excellent reminder of 

the human cost of uncontrolled accidents and the hidden scars that 

survivors must deal with for the rest of their lives. It runs approximately 25 minutes. 
Figure 1.—Hazards In Motion. Figure 2.—Don Capparelli–Hidden Scars. 

For More Information 

Additional information can be obtained by contacting Elaine 

Cullen (509) 354-8057, e-mail ecullen@cdc.gov. Spokane Research 

Laboratory, E. 315 Montgomery, Spokane WA 99207. 

To receive additional information about occupational safety 

and health problems, call 1-800-35-NIOSH (1-800-356-4674), 

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

Mention of any company name or product does not constitute 

endorsement by the National Institute for Occupational Safety 

and Health.