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Coal Contractor Mining Facts - 2008 (HTML)
Keywords: Fatality rates Injury rates Non-fatal days lost rates
This page is archived for historical purposes and is no longer being maintained or updated.
On This Page
Mining Operations
Companies
Employees
Fatalities
Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries
Mining operations, 2008
Contracting companies, 2008
Employment characteristics, 2008
Mining Occupational Fatalities (per 100,000 FTE employees), 2008
Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries (per 100 FTE employees), 2008
DHHS (NIOSH) Publication No. 2011–168

Mining Operations
An independent contractor is defined by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) as "any person, partnership, corporation, subsidiary of a corporation, firm, association or other organization that contracts to perform services or construction at a mine.   Contractors that perform specific types of work are required to report the number of employees who work at coal mines and noncoal mines.

Companies
In 2008, a total of 3,467 independent contracting companies reported employment at coal mines, or 36.1% of all independent contracting companies.

Employees
A total of 43,772 employees, [1] corresponding to 26,321 full-time equivalent (FTE) [2] employees, were reported by coal contractors.
Within the mining sectors, [3] coal contractor employees comprised 7.7% of all employee hours reported to MSHA.
Coal contractor employee hours were reported for both underground (15.6%) and surface (84.4%) work locations. [4]
Click on the image to enlarge.
Data for the previous chart showing the number of employee hours (in millions) by commodity and year
Commodity and Type
of Employer
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008Coal Operator
170.3
157.3
168.4
163.8
157.1
166.5
181.3
189.0
186.5
200.4Metal Operator
83.4
77.4
68.8
58.5
55.5
59.5
63.4
67.9
75.5
81.4Nonmetal Operator
54.7
53.1
50.6
47.5
46.9
46.9
46.2
46.4
46.5
46.5Stone Operator
167.8
168.5
166.1
161.7
160.0
163.5
168.6
170.8
166.5
153.5Sand and Gravel Operator
78.9
78.1
77.0
75.3
74.8
76.6
78.4
79.6
76.7
66.7Coal Contractor
35.4
36.2
40.3
36.5
35.0
38.5
43.0
46.2
45.5
52.6Noncoal Contractor
47.8
54.2
49.8
39.2
39.9
46.8
54.1
62.6
76.3
80.2

Fatalities
Twelve occupational fatalities occurred among coal contractor employee in 2008. These coal fatalities accounted for 70.6% of all contractor fatalities.
The coal contractor fatality rate was 48.3 [95% confidence interval (CI): 25.0, 84.4] fatalities per 100,000 FTE employees. The underground rate was not calculated because the number of fatalities was less than 5 (n=3). The surface work location rate was 43.4 [CI: 19.9, 82.5] (n=9).
Click on the image to enlarge.
Data for the previous chart showing the number of fatalities for underground and surface work locations by year
Fatalities
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008Underground number
2
2
1
3
4
1
0
1
3
3Surface number
4
8
5
4
4
4
5
4
3
9

Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries
There were 481 nonfatal lost-time injuries among coal contractor employees (168 at underground and 313 at surface work locations) with an overall rate of 1.9 [CI: 1.8, 2.1] injuries per 100 FTE employees.  These injuries resulted in 24,099 days lost from work. [5]
The underground nonfatal lost-time injury rate was greater than the surface injury rate (4.1 [CI: 3.5, 4.7] vs. 1.5 [CI: 1.3, 1.7] per 100 FTE workers).
The most frequent classification of nonfatal lost-time injuries for coal contractor employees involved slip or fall of person (n=147; 30.6%), followed by handling materials (n=131; 27.2%).
Sprains and strains were the most frequently reported nature of injury (n=160; 33.3%).
The back was the most frequently reported body part injured (n=73; 15.2%) and accounted for 3,265 days lost from work.
Click on the image to enlarge.
Data for the previous chart showing the distribution of nonfatal lost-time injuries by accident class among coal contractor employees in 2008
Accident Class
PercentSlip or fall of person
30.6Handling materials
27.2Powered haulage
12.7Machinery
9.8Hand tools
8.1Fall of ground
5.0All other
6.7

Mining operations, 2008
Commodity and Type of Employer
Underground Mining Operations
Surface Mining Operations
Total Mining OperationsCoal
665
1,464
2,129Metal
105
188
293Nonmetal
44
676
720Stone
111
4,522
4,633Sand & Gravel
Not applicable
7,132
7,132Total
925
13,982
14,907



Contracting companies, 2008
Commodity and Type of Employer
Number of CompaniesCoal
3,467Noncoal
6,128Total
9,595



Employment characteristics, 2008
Commodity and Type of Employer
Underground Employees [1]
Surface Employees [1]
Total Employees [1]
Underground FTE Employees [2]
Surface FTE Employees [2]
Total FTE Employees [2]Coal Operator
40,370
49,685
90,055
45,866
54,312
100,178Metal Operator
5,844
33,282
39,126
5,842
34,840
40,682Nonmetal Operator
2,579
20,454
23,033
2,725
20,534
23,260Stone Operator
1,875
77,100
78,975
2,029
74,720
76,749Sand & Gravel Operator
Not applicable
42,307
42,307
Not applicable
33,343
33,343Operator Total
50,668
222,828
273,496
56,462
217,750
274,212Coal Contractor
6,262
37,510
43,772
4,105
22,216
26,321Noncoal Contractor
2,992
74,459
75,451
1,998
38,088
40,086Contractor Total
9,254
109,969
119,223
6,103
60,304
66,407Total
59,922
332,797
392,719
62,565
278,054
340,620



Mining Occupational Fatalities (per 100,000 FTE employees), 2008
Commodity and Type of Employer
Underground Fatalities
Underground Fatality Rate
Surface Fatalities
Surface Fatality Rate
Fatalities
Fatality RateCoal Operator
12
26.2
6
11.9
18
18.7Metal Operator
3
Not calculated
2
Not calculated
5
13.8Nonmetal Operator
1
Not calculated
1
Not calculated
2
Not calculatedStone Operator
1
Not calculated
6
9.4
7
10.6Sand & Gravel Operator
Not applicable
Not applicable
3
Not calculated
3
Not calculatedOperator Total
17
30.1
18
9.4
35
14.2Coal Contractor
3
Not calculated
9
43.4
12
48.3Noncoal Contractor
0
Not calculated
5
13.9
5
13.2Contractor Total
3
Not calculated
14
24.7
17
27.1Total
20
32.0
32
12.9
52
16.8



Nonfatal Lost-time Injuries (per 100 FTE employees), 2008
Commodity and Type of Employer
Underground Injuries
Underground Injury Rate
Surface Injuries
Surface Injury Rate
Injuries
Injury RateCoal Operator
2,103
4.6
768
1.5
2,871
3.0Metal Operator
163
2.8
649
2.1
812
2.2Nonmetal Operator
95
3.5
412
2.4
507
2.5Stone Operator
33
1.6
1,593
2.5
1,626
2.5Sand & Gravel Operator
Not applicable
Not applicable
550
1.9
550
1.9Operator Total
2,972
4.2
3,972
2.1
6,366
2.6Coal Contractor
168
4.1
313
1.5
481
1.9Noncoal Contractor
38
1.9
463
1.3
501
1.3Contractor Total
206
3.4
776
1.4
982
1.6Total
2,600
4.2
4,748
1.9
7,348
2.4Not calculated when N is less than 5.    95% CI for rates reported above.    Totals may not sum due to independent rounding.
Data source: Publicly released employment and accident/injury/illness data collected by MSHA under 30 CFR 50.
Notes: All analyses of accident data exclude office employees. Occupational fatalities exclude all cases under 17 years of age. Further statistical methodology is available on the NIOSH Internet. Caution should be used when interpreting rates based on a small number of events.
Average number of employees working at individual mines during calendar quarters of active operations (includes office workers).
Full-time equivalent employees computed using reported employee hours (2,000 hours = 1 FTE).
Mining sectors include coal operators, metal operators, nonmetal operators, stone operators, sand and gravel operators, coal contractors, and noncoal contractors.
Surface work location include surface operations at underground mines, surface operations (strip or open pit), auger, culm banks, dredge. independent shops and yards, and mills or preparation plants.
Includes actual days away from work and/or days of restricted work activity. For permanently disabling injuries only, statutory days charged by MSHA were used if they exceeded the total lost workdays.To receive NIOSH documents or more information about occupational safety and health topics, contact NIOSH at **1-800-CDC-INFO** (1-800-232-4636), TTY: 1-888-232-6348, or visit NIOSH's Ask an Occupational Safety and Health Question page.
See Also
Coal and metal/nonmetal mining facts - 2008
Coal and Metal/Nonmetal Mining Facts - 2008 (HTML)
Coal Contractor Mining Facts - 2001
Coal Contractor Mining Facts - 2002
Coal Contractor Mining Facts - 2003
Coal Contractor Mining Facts - 2004
Coal Contractor Mining Facts - 2005
Coal Contractor Mining Facts - 2006
Mining Fact Sheets
Rib Falls: A Major Ground Control Issue
Page last reviewed: April 6, 2022
Page last updated: April 6, 2022
Content source: National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Mining Program
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