Mining Program Strategic Plan, 2019-2024

Letter from the Director of Mining

The Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) is an office within the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) tasked with developing knowledge and technology advances for ensuring the well-being of mine workers. We perform this important work in close collaboration with many interested parties including mine workers, industry, labor, trade associations, academia, government, and other public and private organizations as well as the occupational health and safety community at large. These relationships ensure that the NIOSH Mining Program focuses taxpayer dollars on solving the highest priority mine worker health and safety challenges.

We are stakeholder-driven with a mining subsector approach that includes coal, crushed stone, sand and gravel, metal, and industrial minerals. In order to inform our stakeholders and the public about our current and future plans, we have written our updated five-year Strategic Plan (2019–2024) and extended this plan to cover 2024. This approach allows us to focus our program to better address the health and safety challenges that are unique to each mining subsector. Our research continues to be driven by both our mission—"To eliminate mining fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through relevant research and impactful solutions"—and our core values of relevance, impact, innovation, integrity, collaboration, and excellence. With this focus on our mission and our core values, we are dedicated to achieving our overall vision of safe mines and healthy miners.

The current version of the Strategic Plan was last updated in November 2020 to reflect changing stakeholder priorities and needs as well as to be responsive to changes in the regulatory agenda. Compared to the version published in 2019, seven new research projects were added to the Plan, and projects that closed in 2019 were listed in Appendix A. In 2020, new areas of research include developing technology for a near real-time monitor for measuring respirable crystalline silica in non-coal mines, providing tools for the assessment of ground-failure-related hazards in underground softrock mining, establishing effective ground control management strategies and developing tools that help to forecast time-dependent processes, validating performance of collision avoidance systems for surface mining haul trucks, improving ventilation to reduce contaminant exposure in large-opening stone mines, and developing engineering guidelines for shale gas wells in the wake of longwall mining. We also had the opportunity to respond to needs related to COVID-19 in the areas of Digital Contact Tracing and Air Purification Systems.

The Strategic Plan aligns with the latest version of the NIOSH Strategic Plan and demonstrates our commitment to collaborating with our peers within the Institute to ensure the highest quality research for the mining community. As we face greater challenges to achieve meaningful and timely results in an ever more complex world, we will continue to expand our program to enhance our program through the use of multidisciplinary and cross-divisional teams. Both 2020 and 2021 presented unforeseen challenges related to COVID-19 which necessitated a temporary closure of our facilities and labs and the curtailment of travel for all research except that deemed as mission critical. Despite this significant barrier, we were able to continue research in non-mission critical areas which is a testament to the perseverance and creativity of our workforce. Also during this time frame, we stood up a new organizational structure designed to support our commitment to multidisciplinary research conducted across divisions, branches and teams. With these organizational changes in place, we are confident that we will be able to deliver timely research that is responsive to shifting needs.

Jessica E. Kogel, PhD, Associate Director for Mining

Introduction

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) is an institute within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) under the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and is responsible for conducting research, providing new scientific knowledge, making recommendations, and delivering practical solutions to prevent worker injury and illness. The NIOSH Mining Program provides health and safety research and science-based interventions for the mining workforce. The Mining Program is under the direction of the Office of Mine Safety and Health Research (OMSHR) and includes both the Spokane Mining Research Division (SMRD) in Spokane, Washington, and the Pittsburgh Mining Research Division (PMRD) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

The NIOSH Mining Program conducts research to eliminate occupational diseases, injuries, and fatalities from the mining workplace. Our goal is to ensure that our research portfolio responds to the greatest needs of the industry, that our work is of the highest quality, and that our limited resources will have the greatest impact. We provide solutions for miners working in the five major mining subsectors: metals, industrial minerals, crushed stone, coal, and sand and gravel (see Appendix B). Our work extends to surface and underground operations, along with associated plants, mills, shops, and offices.

Purpose

This Strategic Plan serves as a roadmap and forms the research foundation for the NIOSH Mining Program. It informs our research project planning, sets the priorities and goals for the upcoming years, and ensures that our work will be relevant and impactful. We initially developed the NIOSH Mining Program research strategy in 2004 to focus mining research and prevention activities on the areas of greatest need, as articulated by our stakeholders and supported by surveillance data. Partnerships and collaborations continue to be critical to maximizing the impact of our research. Additionally, we are incorporating evaluation methods within our research to strengthen project planning, tracking of outcomes, and documentation of impact in relation to our project aims as well as strategic goals.

Since the implementation of the original 2004 Plan, the face of mining health and safety has changed due to: (1) a series of disasters that resulted in passage of the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act (MINER Act) of 2006, which drove new technological development; (2) a trend toward mining in more complex geological conditions; (3) a push toward deeper mines; (4) the continuing introduction of automation and new technologies in mining and the sociotechnical factors these technologies bring; (5) the contraction of the U.S. coal industry and the recent growth of the aggregates industry; and (6) changes in the demographics of the mining workforce, with a trend toward younger, less experienced workers and more contractors. In light of these and other changes, this updated Plan sets new research priorities based on Burden, Need, and Impact (BNI), stakeholder input, and the regulatory agenda including rulemaking by the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). The Plan is meant to clearly communicate, both internally and externally, what the NIOSH Mining Program is doing, why we are doing it, and how our activities contribute to our success.

Setting research priorities

Setting research priorities is one of our biggest and most important challenges. Our goal is to ensure that the priority setting process is broad-based, inclusive, unbiased, transparent, and data driven. The ability to evaluate progress and measure the success of these priorities is critical to the relevance and impact of the Mining Program. The process must also be responsive to changes in industry needs and interests. We draw on a number of different sources for input into the process and they are described below.

Committee and partnership engagement

Our stakeholders are the end users of our research and therefore our research is largely driven by their needs. Our stakeholders are diverse (see sidebar below) and each group has unique perspectives and interests when it comes to mine worker health and safety. NIOSH relies on several mechanisms for gathering input.

One mechanism involves convening partnerships to bring diverse perspectives to the table around technically complex topics. This model for collaboration has proven to be highly effective. Currently there are six active partnerships: Breathing Air Supply Partnership, Respirable Mine Dust Partnership, Diesel Health Effects Partnership, Rock Dust Partnership, Automation and Emerging Technologies Partnership, and the newest, the Miner Health Partnership (NIOSH 2020j). These partnerships are comprised of representatives from equipment manufacturers, academia, mining companies, labor unions, trade associations, and government agencies. Our partnerships web page provides additional information about NIOSH Mining's partnership activities.

In addition to partnerships, the NIOSH Mining Program receives advice from the Mine Safety and Health Research Advisory Committee (MSHRAC), which is a Federal Advisory Committee initially established under the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (Public Law 91-173) and is comprised of representatives from our major stakeholder groups. MSHRAC provides advice on mine safety research and serves as a productive forum for information exchange. To ensure that the advice from the committee is objective and available to the public, MSHRAC utilizes the rules for engagement under the Federal Advisory Committee Act (FACA) [GSA 2017].

An additional effort to advance communication and collaboration across the mining health and safety community includes the NIOSH-facilitated National Occupational Research Agenda (NORA) Mining Sector Council. This broad, non-advisory Council comprises representatives across the occupational health and safety spectrum, including public- and private-sector researchers, professionals, consultants, practitioners, and manufacturers. The Council works to identify the most salient needs of this large and diverse global sector, facilitate the most important research, understand the most effective intervention strategies, and learn how to implement those strategies to achieve sustained improvements in workplace practice. NORA runs in ten-year cycles and is now in its third decade. During its second decade, the Mining Sector Council developed the National Mining Agenda for Occupational Safety and Health Research and Practice in the U.S. Mining Sector (the Agenda).

The Agenda is made up of 8 objectives and 62 sub-objectives and captures the breadth of current occupational health and safety challenges facing the U.S. mining industry. During its third decade, the Council is focusing on prioritizing the objectives and sub-objectives of the Agenda. These objectives are for the good of the nation and all of its research and development entities, whether government, higher education, or industry related. The Mining Program goals support each of the NORA Mining Sector Agenda objectives and articulate NIOSH's contribution. The NORA Mining Sector Agenda objectives support each of the strategic goals of the Mining Program. An update to the Agenda based on input from the Council members is currently underway and expected to be finalized in late 2022.

In summary, the NORA Mining Sector Agenda was developed and implemented through the NORA Mining Sector Council and is guidance for the nation as a whole, while the NIOSH Mining Program Strategic Plan is specific to NIOSH and its capabilities and resources.

Mining Stakeholders

Our broad base of stakeholders includes academia; equipment manufacturers; government; mine operators; mining industry trade associations; organized labor; miners; regulatory agencies (on the local, state, and federal levels); research laboratories; technology integrators; standards organizations; and suppliers. We collaborate and communicate with these groups on a regular basis to better inform our research and assess its direct contributions to safety and health.

Rulemaking

The MSHA rulemaking process can also affect our research priorities. NIOSH and MSHA communicate and collaborate on a regular basis to better serve our common goal of improving mine worker health and safety. One mechanism for communication between our agencies is through a Request for Information (RFI)—one recent example is MSHA's Respirable Silica (Quartz) [MSHA 2019c]. An RFI requests data, comments, and other information from the public relevant to the problem presented. When relevant scientific research is available, the NIOSH Mining Program submits a formal response to the RFI based on our scientific expertise. This comment period is a formal mechanism for the NIOSH Mining Program to participate in the rulemaking process.

Our responses to an RFI help MSHA to determine an appropriate course of action to address a particular health and safety problem or issue. MSHA may choose to enact or develop a rule based on this scientific information. If a rule is pending, we may choose to redirect our research to bring the best science possible to the mining community before the rule is in place or during the rulemaking process. Through this process, we can proactively provide scientific evidence to MSHA for developing and implementing new rules that protect miner health and safety.

Burden, need, and impact

NIOSH uses Burden, Need, and Impact (BNI) to identify and define research priorities. BNI is an objective framework that structures research planning to ensure we do the most important work to protect the workforce and identify research priorities to guide the investment of limited resources in a clear and transparent manner.

The following definitions are adopted from the NIOSH Strategic Plan [NIOSH 2020j).

Burden provides evidence of the health and safety and economic burden (or potential burden) of workplace risks and hazards. In considering these burden estimates, we also consider how well the burden evidence is assessed. Emerging issues, understudied populations, or hazards that would not have established burden due to their emerging nature, would have potential burden that can be described by many of the same parameters of established burden, such as potential for injury, illness, disability, and mortality.

Need helps define the knowledge gap that will be filled by the proposed research. It considers the comparative advantage NIOSH has over other research organizations and the unique resources NIOSH might have to respond to the research need. Need is where the needs of interested parties within the industry are identified and addressed.

Impact is where we consider how well the research is conceived and likely to address the need. Impact or potential for impact helps us consider if the proposed research can create new knowledge, lead others to act on findings, promote practical intervention, adopt a new technology, develop evidence-based guidance, aid in standards setting or promote other outcomes. Consideration of impact is where we look to see if the proposed research will likely lead to a decrease in worker injury, illness, disability or death, or enhance worker well-being.

The NIOSH Mining Program establishes burden and need through surveillance data, statistical analysis, stakeholder input, and risk analysis. Surveillance data show how workers are being fatally injured, injured, or impaired. Our stakeholders identify their needs, and we communicate with our stakeholders regularly to better understand those needs. We use risk analysis to assess low-probability, high-impact events such as mine explosions.

Mission, vision, and core values

Mission: To eliminate mining fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through relevant research and impactful solutions.

Vision: Safe Mines, Healthy Miners

Core Values:

Relevance: We pursue research that addresses and is responsive to the most critical needs of our stakeholders.

Impact: We develop timely, value-driven, and cost-effective solutions for our stakeholders.

Innovation: We foster an environment that encourages forward-thinking, creativity, and novel ideas.

Integrity: We work in a transparent, ethical, and accountable manner while practicing responsible stewardship of our resources.

Collaboration: We leverage diverse national and international partnerships and multidisciplinary teams to advance applied solutions.

Excellence: We passionately pursue rigorous, high-quality, and unbiased science in service of our mission.

Research goals

The Mining Program Strategic Plan focuses on two hierarchies of goals: strategic and intermediate goals. We keep our strategic goals purposely broad in scope, maintain them as generally long-standing, and achieve them through the outcomes of the Mining Program research portfolio. Intermediate goals are more specific goals that focus on the research or knowledge gaps that must be addressed in order to meet the strategic goals. Intermediate goals cascade from the strategic goals, and each strategic goal has multiple intermediate goals that will change over time as specific intermediate goals are met.

This Strategic Plan also provides future direction and recommendations for research needed to address impending and trending issues. Internal and external reviews of the Mining Program identify research topics that should be addressed to improve the health and safety of the mining workforce. Reports from recent reviews and feedback include:

• NORA Mining Sector Council Agenda
• NIOSH Mining Program Expert ReviewPDF
• Haul Truck Research Roadmap (internal report)
• Mine of the Future: Disruptive Technologies that Impact our Future Mine Worker Health & Safety Research Focus (internal report)
• Automation and Emerging Technologies Agenda and workgroup outcomesPDF and presentationsExternal
• Summary Report for Interim Peer Review of Field-based Respirable Crystalline Silica Monitoring Approach Project (internal report)
• MSHRAC
• Miner Health Strategic Agenda
• Partnerships discussions
• In some cases, NIOSH may not be the best organization for carrying out this research due to available expertise, resources, or skill sets. However, these recommendations are discussed, prioritized, and considered by the Mining Program when developing the call for project concepts. These recommendations are provided under each Strategic Goal under the Future Directions heading to show the critical path forward to improve mine worker health and safety. When a health and safety issue as described in the Future Directions section becomes more prevalent or defined, it may move forward as a pilot project or as a full project. A description of the activities of current full projects and links to those projects are available under each associated goal.

The NIOSH Mining Program has established three overarching strategic goals for this plan:

Strategic Goal 1: Reduce mine workers' risk of occupational illnesses.

Strategic Goal 2: Reduce mine workers' risk of traumatic injuries and fatalities.

Strategic Goal 3: Reduce the risk of mine disasters and improve post-disaster survivability of mine workers.

Guide to strategic goals

As an overview of the Mining Program Strategic Plan, 2019–2024, Table 1 represents these three strategic goals, along with their associated intermediate goals (IGs) and related NIOSH goals, in the context of a five-year planning horizon.

Intermediate goals

The NIOSH Mining Program recognizes that we cannot make improvements to occupational safety and health without the assistance of our stakeholders. Therefore, we also establish intermediate goals that are the actions that organizations should take—namely, to use NIOSH research findings and products that will directly contribute to health and safety. It often takes years and the combined effort of multiple research projects to achieve intermediate goals. Based on the standard research project cycle, an average time frame for achieving an intermediate goal is five years.

The intermediate goals defined in this Plan represent relevant problems that the NIOSH Mining Program is committed to solving, and they were selected because they are on the critical path to meeting our strategic goals. Furthermore, they are achievable given our staff, facilities, and funds. In the Strategic Goals, Intermediate Goals and Activity Goals section of this document, the Burden, Need, and Impact for each strategic goal is described, the intermediate goals that contribute the strategic goal as well as the activities that contribute to the intermediate goal are provided. The projects that directly contribute to the activities of the intermediate goal are linked.

Activity goals

Integrally tied to achieving intermediate goals are activity goals. These are activities that move the research through the NIOSH research to practice (r2p) continuum. The NIOSH Mining Program organizes its research into four categories: (1) basic/etiologic, (2) intervention, (3) translation, and (4) surveillance. These four categories are defined below, as described by the NIOSH Strategic Plan research goals webpage.

• Basic/Etiologic Research: Builds a foundation of scientific knowledge on which to base future interventions. Most laboratory research falls into this category, as well as exposure assessment.
• Intervention Research: Engages in the development, testing, or evaluation of a solution to an occupational safety and health problem or the improvement of an existing intervention. Intervention is a broad term that includes engineering controls, personal protective equipment, training, and fact sheets, and other written materials intended to inform and change behavior, among other occupational safety and health solutions.
• Implementation Research (formerly Translation Research): Discovers strategies to translate research findings and theoretical knowledge to practices or technologies in the workplace. This type of research seeks to understand why available, effective, evidence-based interventions are not being adopted.
• Surveillance Research: Develops new surveillance methods, tools, and analytical techniques.

Activity goals describe which of the four categories will be used to move goals into practical application and are presented in the context of their associated intermediate goals. Each activity goal names the research category, articulates how the problem or gap will be addressed, identifies the targeted health or safety outcome and links the mining program project related to these activities.

Extramural research program

In many cases, there are additional research problems that must be addressed outside of the NIOSH Mining Program intramural project portfolio in order to fully meet the strategic goal. Often these problems are addressed through our extramural program and, while our Strategic Plan does not specifically incorporate research being conducted outside of the NIOSH Mining Program, it does provide a strategic framework for extramural partnership through contracts, grants, and interagency agreements.

The extramural research program that was established with the passage of the MINER Act of 2006 provides extramural funding through a contracts and grants program administered by OMSHR. According to the MINER Act [MINER Act 2006], OMSHR has the authority to:

(A) award competitive grants to institutions and private entities to encourage the development and manufacture of mine safety equipment; and

(B) award contracts to educational institutions or private laboratories for the performance of product testing or related work with respect to new mine technology and equipment.

While a small extramural contracts program existed prior to the MINER Act, that program became an integral part of the NIOSH Mining Program after the passage of the MINER Act. The extramural program stands separate from the intramural program but aligns with our strategic goals, with a strong focus toward the MINER Act intent. Similarly, the NIOSH Strategic Plan reflects the intent of the MINER Act by way of service goals, which contribute to the NIOSH mission by providing a service to individuals and organizations outside of NIOSH, support internally to NIOSH staff, or a combination of the two.

The MINER Act Contracts and Grants Program consists of two parts: extramural contracts administered by the Mining Program and grants awarded by the NIOSH Office of Extramural Programs (OEP). Contracts are developed primarily through Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) solicitations aimed at fostering innovative solutions to key health and safety issues; support is also provided to the intramural program through detailed Request for Proposal (RFP) solicitations to supplement intramural research when resources (staff, facilities, expertise) are not available. Interagency Agreements (IAAs) are also used to take advantage of expertise and synergies with ongoing projects at other federal agencies and federally funded research and development centers (FFRDCs).

Non-mining industry collaborations

This Strategic Plan recognizes that the mining industry shares many similarities with the oil and gas and construction industries. By leveraging NIOSH’s broad-based resources to address worker health and safety challenges for all three high-risk industries, we can have a much greater impact on a larger segment of the U.S. workforce. According to the United States Census Bureau Current Population Survey [U.S. Census Bureau 2020], in 2019, there were 11.4 million workers in construction and 99,000 workers in oil and gas. According to MSHA data, including mine operator employees and contractor employees, 296,909 individuals were working in mines in the United States in 2020 [NIOSH 2022]. In addition to a greater impact on worker health and safety, this multisector strategy also significantly increases the market size for manufacturers by considering the marketing of health and safety interventions developed by NIOSH.

Maximizing research impact

Interdisciplinary /multidisciplinary collaboration (formerly Overarching research approaches)

Engaging multiple disciplines and perspectives in the planning, design, conduct, dissemination, and implementation of mining research can further the impact of our research. Specifically, we have expertise in disciplines and approaches that cut across research designed to address the strategic and intermediate goals. These include impact planning and evaluation, human factors, human-centered design, health communications, surveillance and statistics, and training solutions. Our intent is to provide a holistic approach resulting in science-based, viable, and impactful solutions that meet the needs of the mining sector.

Impact, planning and evaluation

An initiative underway to build into our projects and program is planning for impact of our research with appropriate evaluation to provide science-based evidence that our research and its outputs are making a difference to the health and safety of the mining workforce. Our impact planning and evaluation effort contributes to and follows the NIOSH Evaluation Capacity Building Plan which utilizes contribution analysis as a method to emphasize the importance of NIOSH's research. The overall goal is to integrate evaluation into project planning and to develop and implement creative and cost-effective mechanisms to demonstrate the relevance and impact of our work. This endeavor moves beyond the translation of our science through publications into deeper impact levels where the collaborative (stakeholder – NIOSH) implementation of research outputs at worksites are adopted and institutionalized to have a science-based impact.

This impact, when measured, can show proof of health and safety value and provide incentive and confidence for similar applications. It requires sound scientific methods be followed to develop applicable solutions, testing solutions in the lab under controlled environments, then tested and implemented at real-world worksites with following up to see evidence of impact and lessons learned. This type of impact planning and evaluation cannot be done without close relationships with stakeholders and regulatory agencies and therefore these relationships are critical to build at the project inception to ensure the full evidence-based result. The level (or depth) of impact needs to follow a cost benefit comparison: are the resources and time spent providing a high level of impact evidence more important than moving resources on to solve the next health and safety issue. This same approach can be applied on a programmatic level (evaluation of multi-related topics) where the program valuation will benefit from project impact planning and evaluation.

Human factors

Human factors considerations include environmental, organizational and job factors, and human and individual factors which can affect the health and safety of the workplace. These factors are also components of health and safety management systems (HSMS) and safety culture, which are institution-wide approaches to managing and improving health and safety through organizational practices. The Mining Program recognizes the advantages of providing solutions and practices that can be integrated holistically to provide direction to individual research projects and make their solutions compatible with sociotechnical aspects of the workplace. Moreover, the Program investigates the factors that contribute to the overall HSMS effectiveness and communicates these factors in the form of recommendations to health and safety implementers in the mining industry.

Human-centered design

Successful engineering solutions need to accommodate the capabilities and limitations of their human operators. Often complex systems, such as automated mining systems, tend to integrate components of smaller systems to make larger systems without methodological consideration to building the entire system and managing user risk. To meet these criteria, the Program applies a human-centered design approach across each of the projects that develop and design human-machine-environment system interactions. This involves assessment of the entire system and how the human workers will interact with that system and the cognitive and physical function of the human in the environment, closely connected to the human requirements and considerations of human factors approaches described above. Ideally, we identify potential health and safety issues during the development process and resolve these issues during iterative design and testing phases.

Health communications

The Mining Program includes a strong health communications function that contributes to impact by communicating the program's solutions in the most appropriate way to the stakeholders who are in the best position to improve mine worker health and safety. Purposeful communications of products and scientific results relevant to the mining workforce are necessary to reducing injuries and illnesses. The health communications staff initially engages with projects at the proposal and planning stages to ensure that a detailed dissemination plan is in place, performs an audience analysis, then helps to execute that plan during the project's lifetime, with specific communication products targeting audiences who can take effective safety and health action. We execute and evaluate the dissemination plan through targeted communications, including publications, exhibits, videos, social media, software, and web content—choosing the best mix of communication tools to serve our stakeholders and their health and safety needs.

Surveillance and statistics

The Mining Program's surveillance and statistics staff gather analyzable data files and summary statistics, economic analyses, production statistics, and MSHA data on accident, injuries, and illnesses specific to the mining industry. We perform surveillance analyses to identify the sectors, tasks, machinery and equipment, activities, contaminants, and other factors that are responsible for the greatest risk of injury and illness in order to target our research activities most efficiently. We undertake impact analyses based on injury and illness surveillance data from the mining and regulatory industry to determine the effectiveness of our activities in relation to each strategic and intermediate goal. As part of the dissemination plan, we also review products that involve statistics and apply proven statistical analysis techniques to ensure their quality and usability by stakeholders.

Training solutions

We integrate a training function across the Mining Program to identify solutions that lend themselves to training and are needed to achieve specific health and safety goals. Our training staff works across research projects to identify areas where miners will need training to accommodate new technologies and to implement new advances in health and safety knowledge, skills, and abilities. First, we perform a training analysis to identify whether there is a training component to a successful intervention; then, if a training component is needed, we develop and evaluate that intervention, which could range from instructional manuals to toolbox talks to simulations that can be performed in a safe environment. Training solutions are packaged alongside the Program's engineering solutions or can serve as standalone packages that demonstrate effective training approaches and techniques. Opportunities often exist to translate or transfer this knowledge to other industries such as construction and oil and gas extraction.

Challenges and emerging issues

In the last decade we saw mineworkers working in deeper mines where temperature control and ventilation are difficult, mines that are less accessible, challenging geologic conditions and ores that are lower grade. In situ ground stresses increase with depth and can result in geologic instabilities and seismicity, which will likely require more sophisticated ground support to maintain safe workspaces. We saw that economic pressures will require companies to increase their efficiencies to remain competitive and these issues remain. We also saw mine workers commuting longer distances to work, newer inexperienced workers joining the workforce, and mine worker fatigue issues. These challenges and issues can contribute to increased injuries for workers. Understanding the causes behind these injuries and how they can be addressed is critical. Our current program portfolio has since focused significant research addressing these issues with the goal of translating scientific information and providing interventions that will reduce injuries for the mining workforce.

One such ongoing but successful effort is in the area of respirable crystalline silica (RCS) exposure monitoring. This health hazard which leads to illnesses such as silicosis and lung cancer is still a major concern for mine workers, MSHA, and mining companies. NIOSH has successfully addressed this concern through an end-of-shift RCS monitoring approach for personal exposure evaluations. In a current pilot project, a novel aerosol sampler will enable the development of the first wearable RCS monitor for near-real-time detection. This capability can save lives by alerting miners to hazardous RCS concentrations and the need for respiratory protection prior to substantial exposures which can cause lung fibrosis. This will address the current fibrosis resurgence across the US, especially in central Appalachia.

As we look towards the next decade into the future of mining, we continue to acknowledge and address ongoing challenges and emerging issues such as climate change, decarbonization, increased mineral needs, continued increase in oil and gas production, increased implementation of automation and new technologies, electrification, worker mental health and fatigue, respiratory hazards, heat stress and the effects of COVID 19 and infectious diseases among the miner population. The Miner Health Program will keep these health-related issues in the forefront as the challenges faced by the mining workforce continues. While in many cases it would be difficult to address global new topics, we can understand the issues and bring generalizable knowledge, methods, tools and interventions to better identify and anticipate how these issues will affect mine workers and how to proactively abate their possible effects.

It is predicted that climate hazards (increased heat, drought, heavy precipitation) will increase the challenges to mine companies and their workforces. There is expected to be a shift in demands for minerals given the raw material needs for alternative low-carbon energy technologies. Current predictions state that the production of electric vehicles will necessarily increase the demand for cobalt, lithium and nickel. Electrifying mining equipment, both underground and surface, haul trucks and trolley systems, and the use of hydrogen and fuel cell technologies, are showing increasing use and will no doubt have safety issues for workers who interact in terms of maintenance, storage and use. Our pilot project which addresses the identification and characterization of health hazards, consequences for not identifying and/or mitigating health hazards will take the first step to inform future research to improve mine worker recognition of health hazards. And our pilot project on flame-tube exploration will contribute to basic knowledge to better understand mitigation of accidents and injuries related to explosions and catastrophic events.

Mine companies continue to adopt automation and other emerging technologies to remain competitive and increase efficiencies. Strategies such as monitoring and control systems, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, automation, interoperability, and wearable and smart sensors are being deployed across the U.S. mining industry and particularly in coal and metal mines. While automation technology may improve worker health and safety by removing workers from hazards, unintended hazards may also be introduced into the workplace.

Inevitably, as we move towards automated equipment and processes, the interaction between manual and automated systems is another issue. Even fully automated systems require maintenance and will involve humans in those situations. The likelihood of unintended consequences increases with implementation of new technologies. Providing risk assessment tools can help to identify these needs in the design phase. Consideration for workforce acceptance, how jobs/tasks will change and how workforce skillsets will evolve are critical to the well-being and success of the person in the system. Related to automation and new technologies, wireless network performance requirements (latency, radio link reliability, throughput) are needed to understand possible failures (communication failures, cross talking, etc.) and to ensure robust operation in safety critical applications. These requirements will be defined and guidance provided to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs). Understanding the risks and possible solutions for autonomous or semi-autonomous systems is critical to safer implementation. A pilot project addressing real-time risk management and intervention framework for autonomous mining equipment is currently underway and will examine the feasibility of a system that will encourage interoperability across suites of sensors deployable on a large range of vehicles. For a better understanding of the human factors issues related to automation and emerging technologies, a pilot project complementing a BAA funded project aims to identify, understand, and document human factors considerations and expectations when designing, deploying and implementing automation along its continuum as part of the human systems integrated approach for mine worker health and safety. In order to address these emerging issues, we pay careful attention to the trending needs of the mine worker, as represented in the more detailed "Future Directions" subsection within each Strategic Goal below.

Strategic, intermediate, and activity goals

Strategic Goal 1: Reduce mine workers' risk of occupational illnesses

The mining environment may expose miners to mineral, chemical, and physical hazards. Mineral hazards include exposure to airborne elongate mineral particles that may cause asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma. Exposure to respirable coal and respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust may cause coal workers' pneumoconiosis (CWP) and silicosis, and both RCS and diesel emissions are classified as carcinogens by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). In relation to chemical hazards, one of the primary hazards experienced by mine workers results from exposure to diesel emissions in confined spaces with inadequate levels of ventilation, which may lead to lung cancer and cardiovascular health problems. Physical hazards include exposure to high levels of noise, heat, and tasks that require forceful exertions, awkward postures, and repetition rates that pose a risk of musculoskeletal disorders. Over half of the mining workforce has experienced one symptom of heat stress or strain in the previous year, and nearly one-third reported four or more symptoms. This problem has become exacerbated by mining into deeper, hotter environments. Finally, extraction of ore in confined spaces with high-horsepower equipment results in miners having a higher level of hearing loss than workers in any other major industry.

Work and health are inexorably related, and difficult to fully understand and manage when treated as independent of each other. As stated in the 1970 OSH Act, attributes and influences of health are often different from safety, consequently it is necessary to consider managing health differently than how we manage safety. After several progressive conversations and meetings with our mining community partners, the NIOSH Mining Program established the Miner Health Program (MHP), which is a long-term and systematic effort to understand and improve the health and well-being of all miners through focused integration of research, evaluation, and community engagement. The Strategic Agenda of the MHP has established program goals and objectives that are slightly more agile in nature and meant to help inform this Mining Program Strategic Plan on a regular and ongoing basis. More details on the MHP can be found here.

Below, in support of Strategic Goal 1, each intermediate goal is followed by a series of activity goals—as defined earlier in the Plan—then a table, then an analysis of burden, need, and impact. The table lists the health and safety concerns; describes the research focus areas; identifies the mining sectors or worker populations affected; defines the research type used to address the concerns, and links to key Mining Program research projects that target solutions.

Intermediate Goal 1.1: Workplace solutions are adopted to reduce miner overexposure to hazardous airborne dust and diesel contaminants

Activity Goal 1.1.1: (Basic/Etiologic Research) Conduct studies to improve measurement of exposures to elongate mineral particles, diesel emissions, respirable crystalline silica, and other dusts, and to better understand the risks for respiratory diseases among mine workers.

Activity Goal 1.1.2: (Intervention Research) Conduct studies to better understand workers' acceptance and use of dust controls and develop interventions to improve use of dust controls and thereby reduce exposures to elongate mineral particulates, diesel emissions, respirable crystalline silica, and other hazardous dusts to reduce respiratory disease among mine workers.

Activity Goal 1.1.3: (Translational Research) Conduct studies to improve the adoption of control interventions and technologies to reduce exposures to hazardous airborne contaminants in the mining environment.

Activity Goal 1.1.4: (Intervention Research) Conduct studies to assess the effectiveness of foamed or slurried rock dust to minimize respirable dust generation during applications of rock dust in underground coal mines.

Activity Goal 1.1.5: (Basic/Etiologic Research) Conduct studies to assess health effects of exposure to treated and untreated rock dusts.

Activity Goal 1.1.6: (Intervention Research) Conduct studies to develop interventions that reduce dust (including respirable crystalline silica) at transfer points of ore haulage conveyors.

Activity Goal 1.1.7: (Surveillance Research) Conduct surveillance research on mining practices to better understand the risks for respiratory disease among mine workers.

Burden

Extracting and processing mined materials can result in overexposures to several hazardous airborne contaminants, including elongate mineral particles, coal dust, respirable crystalline silica dust, and diesel exhaust. Analysis by NIOSH researchers of publicly available MSHA compliance data demonstrates overexposures to these airborne contaminants at rates as high as 27% [MSHA 2020]. Overexposure to respirable coal dust can lead to CWP, and exposure to respirable silica dust can lead to silicosis—both irreversible, disabling, and potentially fatal lung diseases. From 1970 through 2015, CWP caused or contributed to the deaths of over 74,000 miners [CDC 2017], with over $46 billion paid to compensate them and their families [U.S. DOL 2018].

For more than two decades following the enactment of the 1969 Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act (Coal Act), amended in 1977, CWP cases in the U.S. declined significantly [Blackley 2016]. However, this trend unexpectedly shifted in the early 2000s, despite established dust exposure limits, dust control methods and technologies, and medical surveillance programs [Cohen 2016]. Since then, the prevalence of CWP, including progressive massive fibrosis (PMF)—a severe form of CWP, has steadily climbed [Blackley 2016].

In recent years, NIOSH has reported on large clusters of PMF in current and former mine workers at local health clinics in both Kentucky (60 mine workers) and Virginia (416 mine workers) [Blackley et al. 2016; Blackley et al. 2018]. Overexposure to mine dusts containing silica cause serious respiratory illness and overexposure to silica in the MNM sector continues to be a problem [Watts and Parker 1995; Watts et al. 2012; Cauda et al. 2013; Weeks and Rose 2006]. Occupational exposure to silica has long been known to be associated with the development of silicosis [Leung et al. 2012], lung cancer [IARC 1997; Straif et al. 2009], and other airway diseases [NIOSH 2002].

Analysis of MSHA health exposure data from the MNM sector collected over the period of 2010 to 2019 shows that of the 23,375 respirable crystalline silica (RCS) samples 10% were over the Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL), and among those overexposed samples, PPE was used in only 946 of the cases. When looking at RCS exposure in terms of job type, the positions of crusher operator, laborer, stone polisher/cutter, bagging operator, cleanup man, and front-end loader operator have the highest level of exposure with 60% of the overexposures being from these occupations [MSHA 2020].

Exposure to diesel exhaust can affect both respiration and circulation. The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) classifies both diesel engine exhaust and respirable crystalline silica as carcinogenic to humans. In recognition of the potential health hazards of exposure to diesel particulate matter (DPM), MSHA reduced allowable DPM concentrations from 400 µg/m³ to 160 µg/m³ in May 2008 (CFR 57.5060(b)(3)). The number of citations given for the DPM standard peaked in 2009 with 42 citations, a year after the law pertaining to DPM limits was in effect. In 2019, there were 18 citations by MSHA related to DPM standards. DPM limits still seem to be a prevalent issue and conforming to standard 57.5060(b)(3) can dictate airflow requirements of the entire underground stone mine. MSHA records show that in the first decade, only about 66% of underground MNM mines were in compliance with the standard (Tomko et al. 2010), although compliance is increasing due to introduction of new-generation diesel engines. Bugarski et al., 2009 indicate that overexposures to DPM were frequent in the mining industry before 2010.

A more recent review of the MSHA personal health samples for total carbon (TC) and elemental carbon (EC) collected from 2010 to 2019 shows that out of a total of 16,499 samples overexposures occurred in around 11% of samples. The highest DPM exposures apply to mucking machine operators, scoop-tram operators, front-end loader LHD operators, drift miner and scaling crews. In terms of number of overexposures for job types blasting crew were worst affected. Out of the total overexposures, blasting crew were overexposed around 23% times followed by front-end loader operator (12%), truck drivers (11%), scaling crew (8%), jumbo drill operators (6%), and mucking machine operators (6%). Around 80% of all overexposures occurred in the active production area [MSHA 2020]. Finally, miners suffer from higher rates of asbestosis, lung cancer, and mesothelioma than other workers. In June 2018, the National Academy of Sciences (NAS) published a consensus study report on the contaminant exposures in underground mines [NAS 2018]. The report stresses the health hazards posed by respirable crystalline silica. In 2007, a mesothelioma cluster of 58 cases was found in 72,000 former taconite miners who worked in the iron range in Minnesota, even though the expected occupational mesothelioma rate is much lower at 1 per 200,000 workers. This higher rate was attributed to exposure to elongate mineral particles associated with the taconite [MDH 2007].

Need

Miners experience incidences of respiratory illness and disease that are much higher than the general population, and the standards for exposures to airborne hazards continue to be lowered based on new medical evidence. Despite this evidence, there remain gaps in knowledge about airborne contaminants, worker exposures, and resulting lung disease. As mining practices may have changed over time, an improved understanding of historical trends in geological conditions, operating conditions, and regulatory compliance history is vital to controlling exposure hazards and associated health risks. To that end, an additional need exists to advance the ways in which health data are being collected and used to prevent exposures. Most recently, the 2016 reduction of the respirable coal mine dust standard from 2.0 to 1.5 mg/m³ created a heightened need for effective controls [MSHA 2014].

To address these needs, the NIOSH Mining Program continues to develop more effective methods to monitor and control hazardous airborne contaminants in mines. In developing such methods, it is critical to effectively identify and use leading indicators within health programs and interventions [Almost et al. 2018]. NIOSH is uniquely qualified to conduct this research due to its state-of-the-art laboratories for development and testing of dust controls, including full-scale longwall and continuous mining galleries where dust can be generated and measured without putting workers at risk. For diesel-powered equipment, the need is to reduce hazardous emissions from older engines being used in mines. Utilization of improved Tier 4 diesel engines and administrative controls can reduce DPM concentrations and help underground mine operators meet the MSHA standards.

However, adopting new diesel technology is not always feasible nor cost-effective for many underground mine operators. Therefore, improved ventilation plays a vital role in helping mine operators meet the new standards and reduce overexposure of contaminants and there is a need for more research in this area. NIOSH has recognized the need to focus on leading indicators in occupational health and safety with a posting on NIOSH's science blog [Inouye 2016] touting the use and measurement of leading indicators to evaluate trends over time and to improve interventions. To further the identification of necessary leading indicators around dust exposure and control, NIOSH has extensive laboratories for developing and testing diesel controls, and these facilities are served by a dedicated team with two decades of experience and worldwide recognition for their diesel expertise.

Finally, to further the accurate identification of potential exposure to elongate mineral particles during mining, NIOSH's minerals laboratory has the proper equipment and decades of experience to establish novel methods for elongate mineral particles characterization and monitoring. NIOSH has addressed overexposure to RCS and dust, in general, by conducting research that entailed collecting exposure data and designing appropriate countermeasures. But such data is derived from air filter samples, which must be sent to a lab, and the results are typically not available for days or weeks. There is a need for mine operators to be able to identify sources of silica dust and "hotspots" in the mine, and this is not possible using current methods that depend on sending samples to a laboratory.

In order to evaluate exposures and make modifications to procedures so as to control exposures in the workplace, it is critical that mines are able to measure airborne RCS in real time under field conditions. NIOSH currently has personnel with decades of experience and unique expertise in the collection and quantification of hazardous airborne particulate matter and subsequent exposure assessment. NIOSH researchers have also developed new spectrometric methods for analyzing filter samples of particulate matter [Miller et al. 2012; Hart et al. 2018], which are now being evaluated for the potential to miniaturize for wearability. Additionally, a wide network of motivated and trusted partners in the mining industry has been developed, which will play a key role in transferring any developed technologies into practice.

Impact

NIOSH has developed technologies, including monitoring and measuring devices and improved control methods, to reduce exposure to respirable coal dust, respirable crystalline silica, diesel particulate matter, and elongate mineral particles. These technologies include the PDM 3700, a real-time respirable coal dust monitor commercialized by Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. and required for MSHA compliance sampling; the Airtec, a real-time diesel particulate monitor commercialized by FLIR Systems, Inc. (now licensed by Airflo Dynamics Limited); and the Helmet-CAM and EVADE software monitoring technology that merges recorded video of worker activities and personal exposure data to identify sources of overexposure [NIOSH 2006a; NIOSH 2016b; Noll et al. 2013].

An end-of-shift crystalline silica monitoring technique that is in the final stages of development enables mines to perform silica analysis onsite and in near real time. This technique replaces the traditional laboratory analysis method that required mines to wait weeks for the results [Lee et al. 2017]. In addition to identifying potential trends in exposures, current research related to respirable coal mine dust control addresses over 60% of the overexposures experienced by coal miners. The adoption of real-time RCS monitoring by operators and mine safety professionals would have a positive impact on miner health by not only providing real-time feedback regarding exposures, but also by enabling informed decisions about changes in controls and behavior, with the goal of reducing exposures to airborne hazards in the workplace. Real-time RCS monitoring would also empower miners to reduce their exposures by altering their work practices that are contributing to their personal exposure. In addition, NIOSH is establishing a repository of characterized elongate mineral particles samples to support toxicology research [NIOSH 2020e] and developing monitoring technologies to provide real-time data that can be used to prevent overexposures from occurring. NIOSH is addressing DPM exposure by researching retrofitted diesel exhaust technology to help companies prepare for full integration of Tier IV EPA-rated low-emission engines into mines [Bugarski et al. 2020a,b].

Intermediate Goal 1.2: Workplace solutions are adopted that reduce miner overexposure to noise

Activity Goal 1.2.1: (Intervention Research) Conduct studies to remediate barriers to full implementation of hearing conservation programs designed to reduce noise-induced hearing loss among mine workers.

Activity Goal 1.2.2: (Intervention Research) Conduct studies to develop and assess the effectiveness of noise controls for reducing noise exposure from mining equipment.

Burden

Mining has a higher prevalence of hearing loss than any other major industry. A NIOSH analysis of over 1 million audiograms from 2000 to 2008 showed that 27% of miners had a material hearing impairment versus 18% for all industries [Masterson et al. 2013]. Mining has the highest prevalence of noise overexposure (76%) according to a NIOSH analysis of the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) [Tak et al. 2009]. Common equipment used in mines, such as continuous mining machines, rock drills, and roof bolting machines, generate sound levels over 100 decibels, which can lead to hazardous exposures within minutes. Companies implement hearing conservation programs (HCPs) to address these issues; however, lack of expertise or funding may leave some HCP components under-performing. There are currently no requirements for mine equipment manufacturers to produce quieter equipment or state the noise levels of their equipment. Therefore, the burden is with the end user to either reduce equipment noise levels by installing aftermarket noise controls or to limit operator exposure. Based on NIOSH project research, about 50% of jumbo drill machines used in the United States do not have cabs [NIOSH 2018]; therefore, operators are directly exposed to the noise generated by the machine. Although hearing loss does not typically result in loss of life, it greatly impacts the quality of the worker's life, both on and off the job.

Need

NIOSH Mining Program research specifically addresses a knowledge gap in noise overexposure that affects miners. A process of objective data analysis and subjective interviewing is needed to identify the underlying issues to full, effective implementation of HCPs and, in turn, providing solutions to improve those areas. Some inspectors, specialists, and MSHA Technical Support personnel conduct field engineering studies to identify sound levels and noise sources, and although MSHA collects noise exposure data via dosimetry for compliance determination, MSHA does not evaluate the actual noise levels produced by the machinery during operating conditions as part of its routine exposure compliance sampling. NIOSH fills that gap by conducting laboratory and field research to determine overall sound levels and identify the primary noise-generating components of machinery and, in turn, by developing suitable noise control solutions.

The NIOSH Mining Program is ideally suited to develop these solutions, with a large hemi-anechoic chamber and a National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP) accredited reverberation chamber, large enough to test working mining equipment. The hemi-anechoic chamber is used in conjunction with an 84-microphone beamforming array to identify the physical location and the frequency content of dominant noise sources in mining equipment. This essential information helps NIOSH to develop effective noise controls that directly address the dominant noise sources. The reverberation chamber is used to obtain accurate measurements of the sound power radiated by a mining machine before and after the newly developed noise controls are installed. This allows NIOSH to evaluate the performance, in terms of noise reduction, of the developed noise controls. These state-of-the-art facilities, instrumentation and software, relationships with original equipment manufacturers, and expertise to develop engineering noise controls for mining equipment uniquely position NIOSH as a leader in mining noise control development and testing.

Impact

NIOSH noise control technologies address hazardous noise at the source. NIOSH partnerships with manufacturers allow the Mining Program to act as a close collaborator to develop and evaluate the feasibility of noise control properties, while allowing manufacturers to market and distribute the end products. Joy Global Inc. has manufactured a longwall shearer drum to include design modifications and engineering developed by NIOSH. Other NIOSH-developed commercially available noise control technologies include coated flight bar conveyor chains and dual sprocket conveyor chains to reduce continuous miner conveyor noise levels [NIOSH 2008a] and drill bit isolators to reduce noise exposure during underground coal roof bolt drilling [NIOSH 2012a]. These controls, when installed, used, and maintained properly, can reduce the overall daily noise doses of the machine operator by 30%–50%, as shown by the collective findings from three NIOSH studies on coated flight bars for a continuous mining machine (CMM) [Smith et al. 2007], a dual sprocket chain on a CMM [Kovalchik et al. 2008], and noise controls for roof bolting machines [Azman et al. 2015].

Future research will expand on the quiet-by-design approach through partnerships with manufacturers to design and install controls on machines during production. Current NIOSH research is also identifying primary noise sources and noise-hazardous areas at surface mining facilities and addressing actual and perceived barriers to full implementation of HCPs at surface stone, sand, and gravel mines [NIOSH 2020h]. The results of this research will demonstrate a broad context fit across the surface mining industry, with potential application to similar machines and tasks in construction and other heavy industries.

Intermediate Goal 1.3: Workplace solutions are adopted to reduce the effects of environmental factors on miners

Activity Goal 1.3.1: (Basic/Etiologic Research and Intervention Research) Conduct studies to determine and reduce the occupational risk factors associated with heat-related illness and injuries in the mining industry.

Burden

Heat stress is a challenge in many industries, including mining, and can lead to heat strain among workers. A total of 139 heat exposure/illness incidents among metal and nonmetal miners were reported to MSHA during 2006–2015 [NIOSH 2019a]. However, heat illness incidents among miners are likely underreported, especially if they do not lead to lost workdays. Heat strain has adverse consequences to health and safety, outside of directly causing heat illness. It is associated with increased injury risk among workers, likely related to a combination of fatigue and reduced cognitive and psychomotor function. Many symptoms, such as difficulty concentrating, poor motor control, and chronic fatigue that could be attributable to heat strain are likely ignored, with workers not recognizing the causal relationship.

As an example of the scope of the problem, in one study of heat strain prevalence, 56% of miners reported at least one symptom of heat strain or heat stroke while working during the previous year, and 31% had experienced four or more symptoms in the previous year [Hunt et al. 2013]. Mine rescue operations in the United States resulted in a heat-related double fatality in October 2002. With the coolant canisters of their breathing apparatus not properly outfitted with gel packs, two members of a team exploring an abandoned mine slope in Nevada were fatally overcome by heat exhaustion [MSHA 2003]. As underground mines expand into deeper, hotter environments, and surface mines continue to operate in hot climates, heat stress and strain among miners are likely to increase.

Need

The extent and magnitude of heat strain among miners have not been well characterized, nor have the environmental and personal risk factors in relation to effects such as cognitive function and performance declines. Heat stress refers to the total heat load placed on the body from external environmental sources and from physical exertion, whereas heat strain refers to the physical strain the body experiences as a result of heat stress. In addition to immediate effects that can increase the risk of injury (e.g., impaired reaction time, sweaty palms), heat strain can lead to adverse heat-related conditions of varying severity, such as the development of rashes, syncope, heat exhaustion, and heat stroke, which can be fatal or induce long-term impairment. Given the Mining Program's established history of collaborating with mining companies, and expertise in medicine, industrial hygiene, and epidemiology, NIOSH is well positioned to define issues that accurately describe the incidence of heat-related illnesses as well as target and conduct research that may reduce the potential for such illnesses and can be translated to industry. This research will analyze the contributing factors and the symptoms experienced by heat-exposed miners in order to identify, develop, and evaluate targeted solutions and guidance.

Impact

A better understanding of the environmental, physiologic, and cognitive attributes related to individual heat strain will inform the NIOSH Mining Program's guidance and development of mitigation strategies, as well as evaluations of their effectiveness. Advancing knowledge in this field will help to train miners and supervisors on effective heat stress monitoring techniques and heat illness prevention and will inform policies on work organization to prevent heat illness. As one example, NIOSH project research to establish methods to evaluate the cognitive effects and predictive indicators of heat strain [NIOSH 2020k] can assist workers in identifying imminent decreases in mental performance and increases in risk of illness or injury in themselves as well as in their peers. Recent Mining Program publications such as a series of heat stress fact sheets offer practical advice that workers can use to stay safe while performing their duties in hot environments [NIOSH 2017a]. Collectively, information on heat stress will fill an important gap in heat research and can help to direct improvements to work/rest cycles, hydration frequency, and job tasks to prevent heat illness, thus helping to maintain worker performance and mining production.

Intermediate Goal 1.4: Workplace solutions are adopted that enable mines to remediate risk factors for musculoskeletal disorders

Activity Goal 1.4.1: (Intervention Research) Conduct studies to develop and assess the effectiveness of interventions to reduce musculoskeletal disorders among mine workers.

Activity Goal 1.4.2: (Intervention Research) Conduct studies to understand barriers and improve the adoption and implementation of evidence-based interventions, design recommendations, and work practices to reduce musculoskeletal disorders at mine sites.

Burden

Of all nonfatal occupational injuries and illnesses reported to MSHA from 2006 through 2015, just over one-third (34%) were musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs) [Weston et al. 2016]. The median number of days lost, which is the sum of days lost from work and the number of days with restricted work activity, was 19 for all reported MSD cases. Musculoskeletal disorders have direct costs (medical plus compensation payouts) and indirect costs (lost wages, fringe benefit losses, training, hiring, and disruption costs, etc.). Older workers and those with more mining experience show more days lost from work—defined in the article cited above as the sum of days lost from work and days of restricted work activity—as compared to their younger or less experienced counterparts, who show a higher frequency of injury. Further, having a past MSD places a worker at a higher risk for developing a future injury, and re-injury rates can be especially high in some jobs, leading to the loss of a worker from his or her specific occupation. MSDs affect the quality of life of workers, limiting their physical capabilities, vitality, and even negatively impacting their mental health.

Need

From an ergonomics standpoint, mining tasks that require forceful exertions, awkward postures, and repetition rates that pose a risk of musculoskeletal disorders are ubiquitous, and these tasks are present across mining commodities [NIOSH 2004]. Unusual postures and restricted spaces often exacerbate the exposure and risk [NIOSH 2006b]. The NIOSH Mining Program is well-positioned to address these problems and has been a significant contributor globally to mining ergonomics research over the past two decades. NIOSH's research team of biomechanists, ergonomists, and engineers uses an interdisciplinary focus to develop practical solutions to mining industry problems.

In addition to work physiology, strength assessment, and motion analysis laboratories, NIOSH's unique Human Performance Research Mine can be configured to mimic various underground mining scenarios, including operation of actual mining equipment, with state-of-the-art data acquisition capabilities that measure human performance parameters during simulated work. This research mine allows NIOSH to conduct carefully controlled yet highly relevant studies that are not feasible in typical mining environments due to often harsh environmental conditions. NIOSH researchers also maintain working relationships with mine operators that facilitate the access needed to conduct field assessments on site, and to determine the necessary characteristics for laboratory simulations. Working directly with mine operators helps NIOSH to fill knowledge gaps and ensure that the work is timely and targeted to reducing MSD risk factors.

Impact

NIOSH's proven history of helping mines address ergonomics issues includes the publication Ergonomics and Risk Factor Awareness Training for Miners, which has been used extensively to educate miners about how their bodies age and steps they can take to protect their musculoskeletal health [NIOSH 2008b]. More recently, ErgoMine, an Android application created by NIOSH, has delivered over 2,200 recommendations to miners in the first year after being published [NIOSH 2016a]. ErgoMine 2.0, currently under development, will be available on Android and Apple platforms and is planned for release in 2020. ErgoMine provides customized recommendations for addressing observed ergonomics and safety issues detected while answering a series of easy-to-understand questions or inputting weight and distance measurements. Future impact will be made in the area of slips, trips, and falls (STFs) through research to develop tools to identify, report, and remediate STF hazards in the workplace [NIOSH 2019b] These impacts will be achieved through significant field studies and interaction with miners, laboratory studies, and continued surveillance of injury and illness data.

Intermediate Goal 1.5: Workplace solutions are adopted that reduce morbidity and mortality of chronic diseases in mining

Activity Goal 1.5.1: (Surveillance Research) Conduct analyses of secondary data sources to determine and characterize the occupational health issues affecting the mining industry.

Burden

There is limited information about the current health status of the mining population in the United States, and the information that is available varies across the mining subsectors (e.g., coal, metal/nonmetal [M/NM], stone/sand/gravel). No comprehensive or narrowly focused health surveillance systems exist for this population. Approximately 80 different commodity types are mined and processed in the United States. Because these commodities are derived from a broad range of rock types that may be compositionally heterogeneous, they pose a range of exposure hazards (inhalation, ingestion, contact, etc.). Despite research-based advances in knowledge of health problems such as black lung and hearing loss, gaps exist in empirical understanding on the health effects of acute and chronic exposures to hazards common in mining, such as airborne contaminants, noise, heat, and repetitive stresses. Gaps also exist in understanding the current state of CWP and its prevalence with respect to mine characteristics such as geological conditions, operating conditions, geographical information, and regulatory compliance history. Greater knowledge is critical to addressing the morbidity and mortality of chronic diseases among miners. Further, the mining industry often uses shiftwork to ensure a productive working mine around the clock. The top two mining subsectors using shiftwork are coal mines (68.3%) and metal mines (64.7%). According to a recent study, the health risks related to shiftwork include type 2 diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and cancer [Kecklund and Axelsson 2016].

Need

Surveillance of worker health remains fundamental to the mission of the NIOSH Mining Program. Despite clear programmatic expertise in occupational health surveillance, no surveillance efforts are specifically dedicated to the systematic examination of injury and illness burden within the mining industry. With expertise in mining engineering, industrial hygiene, and epidemiology, and given NIOSH's proven history in collaborating with industry, NIOSH is uniquely positioned to lead and coordinate the necessary efforts for obtaining, managing, and analyzing several data sources that will aid in describing what is currently known about the health of miners.

Initial data sources planned for analysis include complex survey data (e.g., National Health Interview Survey, NHIS), workers compensation, State-based medical centers, MSHA, and industry-based sources. Health data may be collected by various members of mine management and, with so much data available, NIOSH has the capability to take advantage of advanced machine-learning statistics, improved infrastructures for managing big data, and helping mines adapt on a continual basis in response to unforeseen risks. Therefore, a methodology for regular and systematic review of available health-related data sources must be instituted in order to establish baseline measures and build a more robust surveillance program that can evaluate the efficacy and effectiveness of implemented health and safety strategies.

NIOSH researchers have a strong rapport with companies and know that future guidance must come to them in a more tangible way to help measure progress and encourage longevity of health surveillance. As one example, human-centric lighting interventions are an effective means of addressing circadian disruption from shiftwork given that circadian rhythms depend upon the natural light and dark cycles. NIOSH has distinct advantages and unique resources for conducting lighting intervention research. Mine lighting research involving the testing of human subjects has been conducted for at least a decade; thus, researchers have extensive experience with mining equipment, mine lighting, human subject protocols, and the human factors of lighting. NIOSH also has unique resources that include a lighting laboratory and highly specialized photometry instrumentation.

Impact

The NIOSH Mining Program has a long history of providing analyzable data files and summary statistics for the mining industry for public use, including MSHA data files and documentation [NIOSH 2020a]. Building on this resource, the proposed work will help to establish a foundation for a surveillance program called the Miner Health Program [NIOSH 2020b], which will identify workers and collaborators in developing health and safety initiatives and will routinely monitor and assess miner health. A structure and procedure for securing and analyzing health-related data will be instituted, thus enabling a systematic assessment of what is currently known about miner well-being and the potential hazards that may contribute to adverse health effects. Among several outcomes, these assessment methods will aid in identifying specific knowledge gaps in miner health and in prioritizing health issues and hazards that are ready for intervention or require new primary and secondary data collection to improve risk estimates. The primary human-centric lighting outcomes include a reduction in circadian disruption and new knowledge about human-centric lighting efficacy in mining applications.

Future directions

Research on exposure to airborne dust and diesel contaminants is critical for miner health. There is a need to collect data to better understand the fundamental characteristics of mine dust particles including particle size, shape, compositions and their links to health outcomes. Information on commodity-specific and even mine-specific dust particle samples and characteristics can help develop more accurate prediction models. Research also needs to focus on nanoparticles, and ultrafine aerosol particles, such as diesel particles, to understand their toxicology and better understand the health effects of exposure to these particles. It is essential to understand the influence of particle size and number on health outcomes and the toxicity of diesel particles along with possible interactions with respirable crystalline silica. In terms of RCS, robust training datasets are needed along with the development of novel segregation and sample collection methods. There should be a focus on new RCS evaluation methods (such as Partial least squares (PLS) for optimizing the resolution and accuracy of current analyses methods such as FTIR and expanding spectral analysis to the entire spectrum (beyond the quartz doublet), especially for more complex mineral compositions. Although NIOSH has the resources to support this work, collaborating and partnering with experts in the field of toxicology, geology, minerology, chemometrics, and spectroscopy will be essential. Actively working with government agencies to help inform policy and decision making is essential as well.

NIOSH has developed technologies for RCS sampling and monitoring. The next step would be to help use developed technologies, such as the continuous personal dust monitor (CPDM), as part of a more holistic approach to reducing exposures to RCS and commercialization of real-time RCS monitoring systems. There is also an opportunity to conduct cross disciplinary research, such as incorporating human factors considerations like noise measurement, whole body vibration, and physiologic measures into developed technologies like Helmet-CAM. With the surge in unmanned automated vehicles (UAVs) and drones for commercial purposes, these technologies can be leveraged for dust and gas sampling in both underground and surface mines. Finally, as NIOSH continues to work on dust suppression, isolation, and measurement systems, new and novel systems should be continually explored, including canopy curtains and air filtration kits, while simultaneously optimizing current solutions for different commodities and locations, including use of resources like water for dust suppression.

Based on number of nonfatal incidents and burden associated with musculoskeletal disorders (MSDs), there is a continuing need to reduce these health hazards. Musculoskeletal health assessments and work assessment tools are needed for both small and large mines. In addition, research is needed to reduce MSDs related to manual material handling and slips, trips, and falls, and those injuries caused by overexertion that lead to strains and sprains. Emerging technologies, like exoskeletons and process automation, are being used in other industries to reduce the negative health effects on workers. The efficacy of using exoskeletons and other emerging technologies should be evaluated for the mining industry as they relate to MSDs.

From a miner health perspective developing quieter mines and quieter equipment can lead to a reduction in hearing impairment. An emphasis on the quiet-by-design approach would provide proactive solutions for manufacturers. In addition, continuing to explore both singular and multi-source hazards (e.g., ototoxic, vibration, etc.) of hearing impairment is critical to mitigate exposure and risk. With recent advances in and an emphasis on automation, technology and the Future of Work, there is a need to investigate the health effects associated with implementing these systems and other attributes of Healthy Work Design (HWD). Conducting studies on conditions that affect readiness-for-work (e.g., mental health, substance use/misuse, fatigue) as well as completing studies to understand organizational commitment to safety, health, and well-being, and the impact on worker health and quality of life should be considered. Finally, as presented though the Miner Health Program Strategic Agenda, there is a need to move away from a siloed approach to mine worker health and to shift focus towards a more holistic approach to miner health and well-being that concurrently considers all health aspects through monitoring, implementing interventions, evaluation, and community engagement.