Skip directly to site content Skip directly to page options Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link Skip directly to A-Z link


Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. CDC twenty four seven. Saving Lives, Protecting People
Search
            ×
                        Mining
                        Mining
                            NIOSH
                            All CDC
                    Submit
                For a full list of topics:A-Z Index
                Advanced Search
            Advanced Search


The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)





Mining Feature: NIOSH Illumination Research Addresses Visual Performance Needs with LED Technology
Keywords: Cap lamps Glare Inadequate illumination Reducing glare Underground mining
Wednesday, April 10, 2013
• OMSHR researcher John Sammarco in the simulated mining environment where he tests the NIOSH LED cap lamp.NIOSH Mining researcher John Sammarco in the simulated mining environment where he tests the NIOSH LED prototype cap lamp.
*The NIOSH LED cap lamp technology described in this article is available for licensing. Interested parties are to contact NIOSH Public Health Analyst Kathleen Goedel, (513) 533-8686, to obtain a licensing application or to have specific questions answered on the commercialization of this technology.*
Improved illumination in underground mines could be a key to reducing the second leading accident class of nonfatal lost-time injuries—slips, trips, and falls. While past research efforts have focused on such factors as cost, battery life, and miner preference, NIOSH’s latest illumination research takes a more modern approach—conducting experiments to assess human visual performance in simulated mining environments and using the experimental results to design improved illumination technologies.
With a recent national survey indicating the average mine worker age is 43.3 years, NIOSH human subject testing is focusing specifically on how the aging eye responds to light color, light distribution, and glare. As a person ages, there is greater sensitivity to glare, and a reduced amount of light reaches the retina because of smaller pupil size and the yellowing of the eye lens. In response, NIOSH has designed human subject experiments examining how differently lit environments and different lighting options can affect safety in relation to the body’s physical and visual performance. These experiments measure variables such as visual performance with respect to detecting mine hazards, glare, head tilt, walking speed, and a person’s ability to maintain balance.
Accident data from the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for the years 2007–2011 indicate that slips, trips, and falls are one of the most significant injury classes in underground mines. NIOSH researchers are targeting this problem by using the results from human subject experiments to develop optimized light-emitting diode (LED) technology, which could revolutionize mine illumination.
LEDs are robust because they have no glass envelope or a filament that can break, and each LED can provide useful light in excess of 50,000 hours of operation. By comparison, the incandescent bulb can provide about 1,000 to 3,000 hours. This substantially longer life for LEDs has a noteworthy impact on safety, in that there is far less potential for mining injuries directly associated with the maintenance and repair necessary when the inevitable lamp failures occur. From 2002 to 2006, an average of 28 accidents involving lighting occurred annually in US mines, with the greatest number of these taking place when employees were repairing or maintaining lighting.
Test results with LED lighting show significant improvements that directly affect mine worker safety, in particular for a NIOSH-developed LED prototype cap lamp designed to improve visual performance. In a comparative study on light color using an incandescent cap lamp, a commercially available LED cap lamp, and the NIOSH prototype, the NIOSH prototype improved the ability of older subjects to detect moving hazards by 15% and trip hazards by 23.7%, and discomfort glare was reduced by 45%. In a light distribution study comparing three commercially available LED cap lamps to the NIOSH prototype, the prototype improved the ability to perceive objects in the visual field by as much as 79.5%, with no increase in discomfort glare.
Applying the above lessons learned to future research, NIOSH is currently exploring improvements to self-escape and rescue lighting, and studying the effectiveness of the LED prototype cap lamp and laser lighting in a smoke-filled environment. Other ongoing or planned human subject experiments include testing the use of short wave lighting to improve cognitive performance for workers who work during night shifts, and determining the best way to provide workers on roof bolter machines with improved lighting that will reduce glare and improve their ability to detect hazards and perform their work tasks.

Lighting provided by a traditional LED cap lamp (left) and the NIOSH LED prototype cap lamp (right).Lighting provided by a traditional LED cap lamp (left)
and the NIOSH LED prototype cap lamp (right).

See Also
Discomfort Glare Comparison for Various LED Cap Lamps
Do Light-Emitting Diode Cap Lamps Enable Improvements in Miner Safety?
Do Light-Emitting Diode Cap Lamps Enable Improvements in Miner Safety?
Evaluation of Glare for Incandescent and LED Miner Cap Lamps in Mesopic Conditions
Illumination
Improved LED Mine Lamp Designs
Mine Illumination: A Historical and Technological Perspective
NIOSH Jupiter II Wide Area Light
Technological Aspects of Solid-State and Incandescent Sources for Miner Cap Lamps
Technological Aspects of Solid-State and Incandescent Sources for Miner Cap Lamps
Technology News 556 - The NIOSH LED Cap Lamp Provides Improved Illumination for Greater Safety in Underground Mines
Underground Coal, Metal, and Nonmetal Mine Illumination Systems for Improving Miner Visual Performance
Page last reviewed: October 24, 2017
Page last updated: April 9, 2013
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
Facebook
        Twitter
        LinkedIn
        Syndicate Mining
        Site BrowserSafety and Health TopicsData & StatisticsMethodologyMine DisastersMSHA Data FilesMine & Mineworker ChartsTools & PublicationsTools You Can UsePublicationsNews & ArticlesResearch ProgramNORA Mining CouncilStrategic PlanMining Program, 2019-2023Miner Health Program, 2020-2030ProjectsContractsFunding OpportunitiesMining LinksAbout UsContact NIOSH MiningEmploymentFacilitiesHistoryVisitor Information Illumination
 NIOSH Homepage
 NIOSH A-Z
Workplace Safety & Health Topics
Publications and Products
Programs


About CDC
					Contact Us
					800-232-4636
 Facebook Twitter Instagram LinkedIn Youtube Pinterest Snapchat
 CONTACT CDC
				Contact Us
							Call 800-232-4636
							Email Us
			ABOUT CDC
				About CDC
							Jobs
							Funding
			POLICIES
				Accessibility
							External Links
							Privacy
							Policies
							No Fear Act
							FOIA
							OIG
							Nondiscrimination
							Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
			CONNECT WITH US
				Facebook
								Twitter
								Instagram
								LinkedIn
							Youtube
								Pinterest
								Snapchat
								Email
			LANGUAGES
				Español
							繁體中文
							Tiếng Việt
							한국어
							Tagalog
							Русский
							العربية
							Kreyòl Ayisyen
							Français
							Polski
							Português
							Italiano
							Deutsch
							日本語
							فارسی
							English


U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
			Accessibility
			External Links
			Privacy
			Policies
			No Fear Act
			FOIA
			Nondiscrimination
			OIG
			Vulnerability Disclosure Policy
			USA.gov


Exit Notification / Disclaimer Policy Close
 Links with this icon  indicate that you are leaving the CDC website. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) cannot attest to the accuracy of a non-federal website.
				Linking to a non-federal website does not constitute an endorsement by CDC or any of its employees of the sponsors or the information and products presented on the website.
				You will be subject to the destination website's privacy policy when you follow the link.
				CDC is not responsible for Section 508 compliance (accessibility) on other federal or private website. Website Disclaimers
 Cancel Continue