This case study focuses on the lessons learned managing research IH surveys in underground mines where more than 600 measurements were generated during each survey. Quantitative exposure assessments for epidemiology studies often require both personal sampling by occupation and area sampling. Often, it also is necessary, for estimating cumulative exposures, to derive statistical relationships between current and historic surrogate measures of exposure. Compliance sampling suggests specific types of exposure sampling strategies. A different strategy is needed when deciding which occupations and workers should be sampled during a research, epidemiology oriented IH survey.
Special problems are created when the occupational environment selected is underground mining.
The data management issues associated with collecting a large number of samples will also be discussed. Individual sampling strategies were developed for each mine in the study. Each mine was visited prior to the main survey. Work schedules and crew lists were essential when selecting the occupations and miners to be sampled during the survey. Selection was based upon the total number of occupations seen at the mine, the number employed in each occupation and a priori estimation of exposure for each occupation.