Illnesses and Injuries in Mining

Illnesses and injuries in mining have progressively reduced over the years since there are now a lot of stricter safety laws and improvements in mining machinery and practices. Even though mine health and safety conditions are a lot better now and have dramatically improved, the dust that is caused due to drilling in mines still puts miners at risk of catching either of two severe lung diseases, which are pneumoconiosis, which is also known as black lung disease, which is caused from coal dust, or silicosis from rock dust. The Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 regulate dust concentrations in coal mines, and dust levels that can be breathed are directly checked. The concentrations of dust in mines have become reduced as a result. Underground miners are in addition given the opportunity to get their lungs x-rayed when they start doing this job, and they are then required to do a follow up x-ray three years afterwards, in order to be able to check any development of respiratory problems or illnesses. In addition to this more x-rays are given every five years, if the miners choose so. Mining workers that develop black lung disease or silicosis in many cases are also eligible for Federal aid. Some of the regulations required by the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act are:

1. The first priority and concern of all in the coal or other mining industry must be the health and safety of its most precious resource, the miner.
2. Deaths and serious injuries from unsafe and unhealthful conditions and practices in the coal or other mines cause grief and suffering to the miners and to their families.
3. There is an urgent need to provide more effective means and measures for improving the working conditions and practices in the nation's mines in order to prevent death and serious physical harm, and in order to prevent occupational diseases originating in such mines.
4. The existence of unsafe and unhealthful conditions and practices in the Nation's coal or other mines is a serious impediment to the future growth of the coal or other mining industry and cannot be tolerated.
5. The operators of such mines with the assistance of the miners have the primary responsibility to prevent the existence of such conditions and practices in such mines.
6. The disruption of production and the loss of income to operators and miners as a result of coal or other mine accidents or occupationally caused diseases unduly impedes and burdens commerce.
7. It is the purpose of this Act
• a) to establish interim mandatory health and safety standards and to direct the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and the Secretary of Labour to develop and promulgate improved mandatory health or safety standards to protect the health and safety of the nation's coal or other miners;
• b) to require that each operator of a coal or other mine and every miner in such mine comply with such standards;
• c) to cooperate with, and provide assistance to, the States in the development and enforcement of effective State coal or other mine health and safety programs; and
• d) to improve and expand, in cooperation with the States and the coal or other mining industry, research and development and training programs aimed at preventing coal or other mine accidents and occupationally caused diseases in the industry.

The dust standards and breathing equipment that is required are as follows: “Each operator of a coal mine shall take accurate samples of the amount of respirable dust in the mine atmosphere to which each miner in the active workings of such mine is exposed. Such samples shall be taken by any device approved by the Secretary and the Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare and in accordance with such methods, at such locations, at such intervals, and in such manner as the Secretaries shall prescribe in the Federal Register within sixty days from the date of enactment of this Act and from time to time thereafter. Such samples shall be transmitted to the Secretary in a manner established by him, and analyzed and recorded by him in a manner that will assure application of the provisions of section 104 of the Act when the applicable limit on the concentration of respirable dust required to be maintained under this section is exceeded. The results of such samples shall also be made available to the operator. Each operator shall report and certify to the Secretary at such intervals as the Secretary may require as to the conditions in the active workings of the coal mine, including, but not limited to, the average number of working hours worked during each shift, the quantity and velocity of air regularly reaching the working faces, the method of mining, the amount and pressure of the water, if any, reaching the working faces, and the number, location, and type of sprays, if any, used.”