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- Introduction
- Recent tragic
events have once again brought the nation’s attention to the hazards of
employment in the mining industry. This article includes data from
several government Internet sites and information found in a number of
recent newspaper articles. The reader is introduced to the importance
of coal and a few facts about the industry, the most common hazards
associated with mining, particularly underground, as well as the most
common types of injuries. We then briefly cover some of the attributes
often found in coal miner populations and factors that should be
considered when planning services for injured coal miners. Finally,
strategies to promote successful vocational rehabilitation outcomes are
discussed. The authors recognize we are speaking based on our own
experiences and certain issues raised here may or may not apply outside
the Appalachian coal fields and West Virginia specifically. It is worth
noting the authors include a CRC who is married to a coal miner and a
CRRN who worked in the mines for 15 years before becoming a nurse.
-
- Statistics
- If you are familiar with terms such as
“shooting coal,” “gob pile,” “rock dusting,” “shoveling belt,” “pinning
top” and “running a miner,” you probably have experience working with
coal miners. That should not be too surprising since coal is mined in 26
States with Wyoming and West Virginia leading the way in tonnage. Coal
is critical to the national economy as over 50% of electricity produced
in the United States is coal-generated. (Petrauskis, C. &Pierce,
2003)
According to the US Department of Energy
(n.d.),
72,000 coal miners were employed by surface and underground mines in
2004 and of that total, nearly 42,000 worked at underground mines. Just
21,000 worked at union operations )United States Department of Energy,
n.d.). According to the WV Department of
Miners’ Safety and Health (2004, Employment), approximately 40,000 jobs in West Virginia
arise out of the mining industry (miners, preparation plant workers,
coal truck drivers, construction workers, service and supply firm
employees and so forth). In 1978, nearly 63,000 miners were employed in
West Virginia and 85 million tons of coal were extracted (West Virginia
Office of Miners' Health, Safety and Training, n.d., 1863 - 2003). In 2004, only about
14,000 miners were employed, yet 152 million tons were extracted (West
Virginia Department of Miners' Safety and health, 2004, Employment). This
reflects the increased mechanization of the industry.
- Orientation and Training for Coal
Miners
- The first step to becoming a coal miner is to
complete an 80-hour mine safety class to secure a miner’s card. The
class ensures that the new miner is aware of the dangers that may be
encountered while working in the mine. All miners must also attend an
8-hour training class annually to review mine safety, first aid,
escape routes, methane exposure and ventilation standards as well as to discuss any
new laws that may have been enacted. The miner is also taught how to
use new safety equipment.
- A miner with a new miner’s card works under
the designation of “Red Hat” for 6 months. The “Red Hat” is not allowed
to run machinery or work in the mine without an experienced worker
monitoring him/her at all times. Some mines will not hire inexperienced
miners. A miner might be hired by a contractor to work in the mine. The
contractor is responsible for the new miner, not the coal company. Once
the miner becomes experienced he can then apply for employment with the
coal company.
-
- Safety Measures in Place
- By law, all miners are required to wear
metatarsal boots and gloves, safety glasses, reflective safety vests,
leg bands and hard hats. The mine company must also provide hearing
protection and respirators to miners exposed to dust and noise. A
certified person, usually a mine foreman often called a Fire Boss, must
conduct an initial measurement 8 hours prior to the first shift and at 8
hour intervals during the week.
- The fire boss monitors the quantity
and quality of air entering and leaving the mine and determines the
concentrations of methane and oxygen. The fire boss must document all
readings in a book which is kept on the surface to be monitored by the
inspectors and supervisors.
- Union mines have a safety committee, a
liaison between the company and the union. The committee will approach
the company with safety concerns. They also conduct a monthly safety
run and report violations and concerns to the company.
- Each mine foreman
conducts a weekly safety class at the start of each shift to discuss
recent accidents, prevention of accidents, general safety procedures,
handling hazardous materials and self rescuer review. Each miner is
reminded to be alert and aware of constant danger. Many mine companies
emphasize safety and provide awards to miners who have worked over a
period of time without a lost-time injury. Those companies always
stress, Safety First.
- For all practical intents and purposes, all
jobs in underground mines are Heavy. One must carefully consider what
the Dictionary of Occupational Titles (1991) states regarding the
physical demands of underground coal mining occupations. For
instance, Continuous Miner Operator is classified as Medium and that may
have been accurate when and if the worker simply “ran the miner.” In
today’s reality, at union and non-union mines alike, when the Continuous
Miner Operator is not actually operating his equipment he will be
performing general labor (Heavy). Also, you might encounter two workers
classified as Continuous Miner Operators working as a team and they
trade off being the operator (Medium) and the helper (Heavy). Another
example is Roof Bolter (classified as Medium). In low coal, the Roof
Bolter job is Heavy because each and every bolt must be manually bent
and straightened as it is placed.
- Machinery used in underground
mining can be divided into different categories, each with different
hazards. Machinery is used to mine the coal and to transport coal,
supplies and miners. Machines are used in the working “face” of the
section where the coal is mined and transported to a beltline to be
sent out of the mine. With a few battery-powered exceptions,
equipment is powered by AC power cables. Power cables are heavy and
usually hung from the mine roof to prevent damage if run over by equipment. Power cables must be
frequently moved by hand as the equipment is repositioned.
- Materials to
be used in working sections of an underground coal mine are transported
from the surface into the mine by underground rail or rubber-tired
haulage machines. The supply cars are driven to the sections where
workers unload the supplies, usually by hand, into the scoop, a car
which transports the supplies to the working areas of the section. These
materials are handled in adverse conditions – low ceiling height/ tight
spaces, uneven terrain, muddy areas and poor lighting. These materials
are usually heavy and miners are frequently unable to use proper body
mechanics when handling materials and equipment. Materials used in
mining include:
- - Wooden timbers and
wedges
- Concrete block
- - Steel Bolts (4 to 8 feet
long)
- Steel Plates
- - Bolting
Resin
- Hydraulic Oil
(5 gal. cans)
- - Rock Dust (50 pound
bags)
- Ventilation Supplies
- - Conveyor Belt
- Belt Structure/Belt
Rollers
- - Electrical
Cables
- Machinery Parts
- - Rail &
Ties
- Tools & Roof
Jacks
-
- Risks
- Hazards and environmental risk factors associated
with coal mining include:
- - Lifting requirements
(often with no opportunity for “good body mechanics”);
- - Difficult terrain
(uneven, steep, rocky, muddy or wet surfaces);
- - Seam height (crawling
and/or duck-walking required in low coal)
- - Roof falls/wall slips
(highest risk in summer months);
- - Moving equipment;
- - Limited lighting;
- - Explosions and fires
(highest methane explosion risk in winter months)
- - Electrocution (power
cables);
- - Noise (from equipment and
blasting; hinders verbal communication); and
- - Dust.
- Increased demand for coal has led to rapid
price increases, from $31 per ton in 2003 to $58 per ton at present
(United States Department of Energy, n.d.).
Some extraction sites are now potentially profitable when they were not
just 3 years ago. Production expectations may distract attention to
safety.
- Increased demand for coal has led to the first
increase in hiring for many years. A typical experienced coal miner is
approximately 50 years old and has been employed in the mines for over
30 years. Some of those now hired are inexperienced; others may have
not worked in the mines for a number of years following a layoff.
Inexperience in a dangerous job increases risk for injury.
- An Internet search for “dangerous jobs”
led to articles not listing coal miner as among the most dangerous based on
percentage of fatalities of those employed in that occupation. That
is likely to change for 2006. However, fatalities are just the
beginning when addressing occupational injuries. Though injury numbers
have declined and the 22 fatalities in 2005 (Miner Safety and Health
Administration, 2006) were an all-time low for the nation, coal mining is still dangerous work. According to the
National Institute of Occupational Safety & Health (NIOSH) branch of
the Centers for Disease Control (n.d.), there were
6896 non-fatal, lost-time coal miner injuries in 1995 and 3132
non-fatal, lost-time coal miner injuries in 2004.
- For the period of 2000 through 2004, NIOSH
(Centers for Disease Control, n.d.)
broke down the accident classes for lost time underground mining
injures:
- Handling materials....................33.3%
- Slip & fall of person.................16.5%
- Fall of ground from
place..........15.9%
- Powered
haulage......................11.6%
- Machinery................................10.8%
- Hand
tools................................06.3%
- Other........................................05.7%
- In 2002 there were over 11,000 mining injuries
according to the National Safety Council (2004). Though this includes all
forms of mining, the percentages they related as shown below are not dissimilar from our own
experience (except we believe we encounter a higher number of neck and
head injuries in coal mining):
- Back..........................................24.0%
- Lower extremity other................09.1%
- Neck.........................................01.6%
- Knee.........................................07.9%
- Trunk
other................................06.5%
- Foot..........................................03.2%
-
Toe...........................................01.0%
-
Finger........................................08.5%
- Multiple
body parts....................09.7%
-
Shoulder....................................05.8%
- Body
systems............................01.4%
- Head.........................................03.3%
- Upper extremity other................05.7%
-
Hand.........................................03.9%
-
Eye............................................02.9%
- From 1986 through 1995, coal mining injuries
were broken down as follows by the United States Department of Health & Human
Services (2000):
- Sprains/Strains.........................40.4%
-
Lacerations.............................16.4%
- Contusions..............................12.2%
- Fractures.................................10.3%
- Other *....................................20.7%
- *(Including hernias, amputations, enucleations, burns, electrical shock, head
- injuries and others)
- Specific data on brain injury and spinal cord
injury due to mining accidents is not readily available. Brain injury
can be the result of toxicity from methane gas or carbon monoxide,
falls, machinery malfunction and anoxia. Although critical spinal cord
injury is diagnosed and treated accordingly, a brain injury which may
accompany the spinal injury might be overlooked. Brain injury itself in
particular often goes undiagnosed entirely. Therefore, the cognitive,
behavioral, emotional and future medical consequences can be ignored
completely. Although the devastation from either of these injuries can
be catastrophic, neither injury is reflected in the National Safety
Council data as it is currently recorded. A miner who experiences a
laceration to the head resulting from a ‘fall of ground from place’ as
categorized by NIOSH (Centers for Disease Control, n.d.), could easily return to work after a few days of
rest or when the laceration is far enough into the healing process and
it is no longer a health concern.
- The United States Department of Labor is responsible for
enforcing the rules and regulations that all deep mines and strip mines
must follow in the United States. The Mine Safety & Health
Administration (MSHA) monitors all retraining and safety in the coal
fields. The Federal and State mine inspectors monitor each
mine to ensure all rules and regulations are enforced.
Inspectors visit the mine on a regular basis and when a complaint has been filed. The mine
inspector will issue citations for violations and request the violations
be corrected within a certain period of time. Mine inspectors have the
authority to close a mine or section of a mine if there is imminent
danger. According to the United States Department of Labor (2005), 13.1% of citations
issued in 2004 were related to accumulation of combustible materials; a
figure over twice the next most frequent violation.
- Allegations of a poor safety enforcement
record by Federal and State officials are longstanding. With a downward
trend in injuries over the past several years, the number of Federal
mine inspectors has recently declined. David G. Dye advised a United States
Senate subcommittee that MSHA has an aggressive enforcement
record and citations at coal mines increased by 18 percent from 2000 to
2005 (Ward K., January 24, 2006).
- Certain amendments to MSHA regulations may be
affecting safety. For instance, according to Ken Ward (Belt that
burned, January 22, 2006), allowing belt entries to be used as fresh air
intakes may have contributed to 2 deaths in West Virginia this year and 13 in
Alabama in 2001.
- Even when a
significant fine is levied, appeal often results in a drastic reduction;
other fines simply go unpaid. As described by Ward (January 24,
2006, Legislation passes), Wes Addington, a lawyer who represents miners claiming
workplace discrimination after complaining about unsafe conditions, just
released his own study of MSHA fines issued to Kentucky coal operators.
He reported more than $4.1 million in unpaid fines for more than 18,000
citations since 1995; 14 mines have paid 10 to 35%, 30 mines have paid
less than 10% and 53 mines have paid nothing.
- West Virginia lawmakers recently created a
rapid response system with a 24-hour emergency hot line. (Ward, K.,
January 28, 2006). They passed new
statutory requirements for immediate emergency notification to
regulatory agencies, extra stores of oxygen throughout the mine and
wireless emergency communication. Also, every individual underground
must wear a State-approved, operator-issued wireless tracking device. It
has been estimated implementation at the Sago Mine would cost about
$100,000. Upon signing this law, Governor Joe Manchin announced a
second round of proposed legislation is coming including a ban on using
belt lines as fresh air intakes (ward, K., January 27, 2006).
These new West Virginia laws focus on saving lives in entrapment
situations. Similar laws are now being promoted at the Federal level and in several other States.
- Personal Emergency Devices that can
penetrate several hundred meters of rock and text-message alerts to
miners have been routinely used in Australian mines since the 1990s
but in only 19 mines in the United States (Ward, K., January
29,2006) However, Bill Caylor
of the Kentucky Coal Association and Don Blankenship of Massey Energy,
assert the
current technology for wireless communication and tracking does not work
in a deep mine (Ward, K., January 28, 2006). Also, Mr. Dye of MSHA
expressed doubts about the reliability of this technology (Ward, K.,
January 24, 2006). In any case, lost-time injuries are still likely to
occur with considerable frequency.
-
- Why do they do it?
- So why do underground coal miners go deep into
the earth each day despite formidable risks? Pay is certainly a major
factor. Coal miners comment they have bills to pay and explain jobs
paying less than $10 per hour simply will not pay those bills. Coal
miners routinely make $50,000 per year and more (West Virginia Office of
Miners' Health, Safety and Training, WV Coal Production, 2004). This is at least twice
what they might find in nearly any other job in the Appalachian coal
fields for which they are likely to qualify. The average annual wage in
West Virginia is $30,383. In addition to holding a job that supports
their families well, coal miners are proud to participate in an
occupation that follows a family tradition and supports the nation’s
economy.
- The coal miner will tell you, “Coal mining is
all I know, it gets into your blood.” Though typically at least a high
school graduate, few have skills that readily transfer to employment
outside the mines. Many possess less than high school level academic
abilities.
- West Virginians are reluctant to relocate to
other areas for employment; those who do relocate return home as often
as not.
- In the coal fields, most jobs that pay well
are either in the mines or mine-related. Those jobs require significant
physical capabilities or a high skill level or both. For an injured
worker displaced from the mining industry by injury residuals, this
lack of diversity might mean a long commute from a rural area to a more
urban area needed to secure employment in another industry.
- An injured miner’s return to work in the
mines, though admirable and consistent with “return-to-work
hierarchies,” means it is very possible that coal miner will sustain
more injuries or occupational disease. That can lead to multiple
physical impairments resulting in several employment handicaps. This
may well include occupational pneumoconiosis (Black Lung) or noise
induced hearing loss. While claims for those conditions are most often
filed near the end of the coal miner’s career, these conditions
certainly might exist prior to such a filing and pose significant
vocational rehabilitation obstacles.
- There is no “light duty” in underground coal
mines and relatively little on the surface. This precludes some very
practical transitional return to work possibilities.
- Ready access to timely, quality care is an
issue for most living in Appalachian America and is exacerbated by the
number of health care providers who will not accept workers compensation
patients. This contributes to difficulty with implementation of a
goal-oriented treatment plan. When specialists must be seen, long
delays often occur. For example, it may take 2 months to see a
neurosurgeon in some areas. To complicate matters, injured workers
regularly describe feeling they are treated as “second class” patients
because their treatment is covered workers compensation.
- A growing trend of hiring contract employees
(essentially “temp” service hires) at mine sites is an issue since there
is no traditional employer-employee relationship between the miner and
the coal operator for whom the work is being performed. Further, there
is no incentive for that coal operator to bring the injured worker back
to their workplace upon work release.
- Aside from excellent adult education programs
for GED preparation around much of West Virginia, retraining options for
less physically demanding occupations are rather limited. Available
facilities often start programs only once a year or are sometimes unable
to offer all classes needed for a program underway due to budget
issues. Limited local options means an injured worker who does attend
school may face a daily commute of 100 miles or more.
- A long adversarial history between coal
miners and coal operators has led to a tradition of mistrust . Circa 1900 immigrants to the Southern West Virginia
coal fields worked in company mines using tools and equipment leased
from the company. They lived in company housing and rent was deducted
from their pay. The company stores charged inflated prices. Miners were
paid with “scrip” that could be spent only at the company store. Miners,
paid by weight of coal mined, were cheated through “cribbing” where coal
cars were altered to hold extra coal. West Virginia fell far behind
other major coal-producing states in regulating mining conditions. All
this led to violent unionization attempts that culminated in the coal
mine wars between armed miners and “guards” employed by coal operators.
It ended, not well for the miners, in 1921’s Battle of Blair Mountain
when the President ordered in Federal troops (West Virginia Archives and
History, n.d.).
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- Rehabilitation strategies
- Strategies for the rehabilitation professional
working with injured coal miners are no different from work with other
occupational injury population; early intervention is critical to
successful vocational rehabilitation outcomes:
-
Ø
Involve everyone; immediate contact with the injured
worker, their family, the employer and treating physician upon receipt
of the referral;
-
Ø
Gain the injured worker’s trust (helps if you are “from
around here”); provide full professional disclosure (preferably in
writing);
-
Ø
Give the injured worker “someone to talk to” about issues
faced;
-
Ø
Be assertive (but not aggressive) about “getting things
moving” (when the injured worker sees such results, that improves
trust);
-
Ø
Promote a goal-oriented, time-framed treatment plan;
recognize when it is time to consider work conditioning/work hardening;
-
Ø
Encourage (re-establish if need be) communication between
the injured worker and the employer; act as “communication hub” among
all parties including the doctor, therapist and claims adjuster;
-
Ø
Help the injured worker recognize progress being made, to
be an “informed consumer” of his own medical care and to accept
responsibility for his/her own rehabilitation;
-
Ø
Ask the employer to consider some sort of transitional
duty (reduced hours if not reduced physical activity); never mention
“light duty.”
-
Ø
If return to work in the mines is questionable, make use
of the medical recovery time frame:
-
·
Encourage the injured worker to begin exploring
vocational options; perform or arrange vocational testing
to assist the injured worker to identify suitable alternative vocational
goals;
-
·
Suggest the injured worker participate in developmental
classes as may be needed (ABE for a GED, computer classes,
community college Math/English prerequisites, etc.);
-
·
Refer to other resources as needed;
-
·
If working with a coal miner whose spouse does not already
work outside the home, some assistance might be offered to that spouse
for a job search to supplement the family income that may drop.
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- Conclusion
- Mining coal is a hazardous occupation with
heavy physical demands. Coal miners are loathe to consider alternate
occupations because of financial considerations, cultural attachments to
the work, limited retraining opportunities and a narrow range of other
local vocational choices. Rehabilitation professionals working with
injured miners must focus their efforts on return to the pre-injury
occupation. The alternatives generally are a problematic course of
retraining for an occupation paying, at best, 50% less than the coal
miner previously earned (or placement without training for an occupation
paying even less) in a job requiring long commutes or relocation.
- Even so, the rehabilitation professional can be the catalyst
needed to achieve a successful outcome.
Edwin S. Watson, CRC, CDMS, LPC, is a self-employed
rehabilitation counselor with 27 years experience working with injured
workers in West Virginia.
Linda Dougherty, MS, CRC, graduated from West
Virginia University with a Masters Degree in Vocational Rehabilitation
Counseling. Mrs. Dougherty is employed by Procura Management as a
Case manager working with injured employees in West Virginia.
Harold Eugene Nelson, RN, CRRN, is self-employed
through Covenant Case Management as a Medical Vocational Nurse Case
Manager working with West Virginia and Ohio injured workers since 1997.
Mr. Nelson previously worked as an Underground Coal Miner for 15 years.
Michael W. Davis, CBIS-CE, is a Certified Brain
Injury Specialist and Senior Case Manager for Neurological Case
Management Associates in Charleston, WV. Mr. Davis provides case
management services to survivors of traumatic brain and spinal cord
injuries, to their families and to the professionals who serve them.
He primarily works with attorneys who represent these individuals and
the injured person's guardians and conservators.
- References
- Centers for Disease Control. (n.d.) Distribution
of loss-time injuries by accident class, underground
- mining operations 2000 -
2004. Retrieved on January 22, 2006 from
-
www.cdc.gov/Niosh/mining/statistics/images/acis.gif
-
- Miner Safety and Health Administration. (2006).
Metal and nonmetal fatal accident review CY 2005.
- Retrieved February 26,
2006 from
-
http://www.msha.gov/stats/review/2005/mnm-2005fatalreview.pps
National Safety Council. (2004). Injury Facts. Itasca,
IL; Author
- Petrauskis, C. & Pierce, C. (2003). Research
reports on electricity generation and use. Retrieved
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www.inee.mu.edu/Capstone%202003/Research%Reports.htm
-
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Average number of employees at underground and
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from
-
www.eia.gov/cneaf/coal/page/acr/table20.html
-
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http://cdc.gov/search.do?
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-
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-
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-
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that burned doubled as fresh air intake. Charleston
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January 22, 2006 from
www.wvgazette.com/section/News/20060122
-
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legislation passes. Charleston Gazette. Retrieved January
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www.wvgazette.com/section/News/20060127
-
- Ward, K. (2006, January 24) U.S. senators
query MSHA industry on safety. Charleston Gazette.
- Retrieved from
www.wvgazette.com/section/News/20060124
-
- Ward, K. (2006, January 27) Manchin seeks belt
airway ban. Charleston Gazette. Retrieved from
-
www.wvgazette.com/section/News/20060127
-
- Ward, K. (2006, January 28) State following
Manchin on new mine safety rules. Charleston Gazette.
- Retrieved from
www.wvgazette.com/section/News/20060128
-
- Ward, K. (2006, January 29) Bush MSHA cast
aside text devices. Charleston Gazette. Retrieved
- January 29, 2006
from
www.wvgazette.com/section/News/20060129
-
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West Virginia's mine wars. Retrieved on January 25, 2006
- from
www.wvculture.org/history/mine_wars.html
-
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and Training. Production of coal and coke
in West
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2003. Retrieved January 26, 2006 from
-
http://www.wvminesafety.org/historicprod.htm
West Virginia Office of Miners' Health, Safety and
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