Can Government Regulate Safety? The Coal Mine Example

1980 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 745-756 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael S. Lewis-Beck ◽  
John R. Alford
Keyword(s):  
Federal Government ◽  
Coal Mining ◽  
Coal Mine ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Interrupted Time Series ◽  
Target Population ◽  
Interrupted Time Series Analysis ◽  
Ample Evidence ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Mining Safety

With the 1970 passage of the Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA), federal regulation reached the American workplace. Given the newness of the legislation, any firm conclusion on its effectiveness seems premature. However, there is ample evidence on federal safety regulation of a specific workplace: the coal mine. The federal government has been directly involved in coal mining safety for over 35 years, operating under three major pieces of legislation, enacted in 1941, 1952, and 1969. Opposing opinions regarding the effect of this legislation can be grouped into three categories: radical, reactionary, and reformer. A multiple interrupted time-series analysis indicates that, in fact, the 1941 and 1969 regulations significantly reduced the fatality rate in coal mining. Certain conditions seem related to the effectiveness of this safety legislation: birth order, provisions, enforcement, target population, and goals. The first two conditions would appear to work for the success of the OSHA, the latter three conditions to work against it.

Occupational injuries in underground coal mining in Serbia: A case study

Work ◽  
2021 ◽  
pp. 1-11
Author(s):  
Ivana Ilić Krstić ◽  
Danijela Avramović ◽  
Snežana Živković
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mining ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Preventive Measures ◽  
Occupational Injuries ◽  
Underground Coal Mining ◽  
Health Records ◽  
Employee Safety ◽  
Injury Data ◽  
Safety And Health

BACKGROUND: Mining, especially underground coal mining, has always been a hazardous occupation. Injuries, including those that are fatal, are a major occupational risk that all miners have to face. OBJECTIVE: Despite the fact that all workers are aware of the risks, efforts must be made to increase their safety through the implementation of preventive measures. METHODS: This retrospective study includes injury data from all nine Serbian coal mines over a 16-year period, from 2000 to 2016. All injury data were collected from employee safety and health records. RESULTS: In the analyzed period, a total of 9,273 occupational injuries were recorded at Resavica. The highest number of occupational injuries (over 600) were recorded in 2008 (669), 2004 (651), and 2005 (603). The data shows that almost one fifth of the total number of occupational injuries, or 20.74%, occurred during the said three years. On average, 493.06 minor, 51.12 severe, and 1.29 fatal injuries occurred each year. Every day there were 1.29 minor occupational injuries and every seven days there was one severe injury. CONCLUSIONS: Despite indications that there is a connection between some of the variables and the number of injuries, the general conclusion is that injuries are accidental and unpredictable. The high percentages of injuries are due to the organization of work and the age or qualification structure of the staff and, of course, are the consequence of likelihood –the greater the number of workers, the greater the likelihood of injury. However, the present study showed that some measures can be taken to increase occupational safety and reduce the number of injuries.

The Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970

1972 ◽  
Author(s):  
Theodore F. Schoenborn
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Coal Mine ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Health And Safety ◽  
The United States ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Health Programs ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Health Laws ◽  
Mine Health And Safety

It is a pleasure to be here today to speak to you about the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, which is landmark legislation by any measure applied to it. The Act applies to every employer affecting commerce in the United States and its territories which was not covered by other Federal occupational safety and health laws, such as the Metal and Non-metallic Mine Act, the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act and the Atomic Energy Act of 1954. By 1973 a study is to be completed containing recommendations for combining all Federal occupational safety and health programs. Paper published with permission.

scholarly journals Implementación de las normas ATEX en el contexto de la actividad minera en Colombia

2017 ◽  
Vol 26 (45) ◽  
Author(s):  
Linda Mishell Jaramillo-Urrego ◽  
Jorge Martín Molina-Escobar ◽  
Javier García-Torrent ◽  
Ljiljana Medic-Pejic
Keyword(s):  
Occupational Safety ◽  
International Standards ◽  
Mine Safety ◽  
Safety Regulations ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Safety Code ◽  
Technical Content ◽  
International Mine ◽  
Mining Safety ◽  
Mandatory Adoption

Mining in Colombia is regulated by the Mining Safety Code and although it had not been updated since 1987, the references of safety that has owned were based on international standards. However, these do not have a mandatory adoption and Decree 1886/15, despite its strong component in occupational safety and health, continues to show a rough technical content that could consent the extension of mining disasters associated with explosions in Colombia. The article specifies the international mine safety regulations and shows a critical analysis before the absence of its applicability in the country. Although the national outlook is discouraging because of the lack of rigor from governmental entities in enforcement, mining in other countries has reported improvements in safety by implementing standards that ensure quality operations and procedures, machinery and human resources, decreasing mining disasters.

Research on Mobile Coal Mining Safety Monitoring System

2013 ◽  
Vol 368-370 ◽  
pp. 1995-2001
Author(s):  
Jian Xun Wang
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mining ◽  
Monitoring System ◽  
Coal Mine ◽  
Safety Monitoring ◽  
Mine Safety ◽  
Production Environment ◽  
Safety Monitoring System ◽  
Mining Safety ◽  
Time Critical ◽  
Server Application

Time and information are without doubt two key factors for successful coal mine emergency management. The advancement of information technology has brought new opportunities to improve coal mine safety. In this paper, a mobile coal mining safety monitoring system is introduced. The objective of the system is to help coal mine official acquire the real production environment data influencing mine safety in time anywhere and anytime thus be capable of responding to the matters arising immediately. The architecture of the system is proposed and it contains three layers including data acquisition layer, server application layer, and mobile client layer. Then, the system implementation details are elaborated. A use scenario is taken to demonstrate how the system can help safety official and relevant staff of the coal mine to respond to the changing mine production situation quickly and make time-critical decisions.

scholarly journals Safety And Health Implementation Study Work (K3) In Coal Mining Companies (Case Study: PT. XYZ)

2019 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 75-79
Author(s):  
Arafik Arafik ◽  
Restu Juniah ◽  
Mohammad Zulkarnain
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mining ◽  
Quantitative Research ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Secondary Data ◽  
Analysis Data ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Primary Data ◽  
Research Approach ◽  
Mining Company ◽  
Safety And Health

This study aims to analyze the implementation of occupational safety and health (K3) in the coal mining company PT XYZ, Analyze and identify the factors that influence the implementation of occupational safety and health (K3) in the mining company PT XYZ. This research is a descriptive qualitative and quantitative research approach. Primary data obtained from respondents are used as a means to obtain information or data carried out by field surveys through direct observation and interviews with respondents in the company and secondary data obtained from PT XYZ collected and compiled according to the problem of this study which was conducted in literature studies. Data were analyzed through text analysis, data interpretation. Data were analyzed using the SPSS (factor analysis) program to analyze the factors that influence the implementation of occupational safety and health in the coal mining company PT XYZ.

Considerations for Communications Systems in Underground Refuge Alternatives

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nicholas W. Damiano ◽  
Chenming Zhou ◽  
Bruce Whisner
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mine ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Mine Safety ◽  
Wall Material ◽  
Health Administration ◽  
Signal Loss ◽  
Communications Systems ◽  
Safety And Health ◽  
Entrance Door ◽  
Final Rule

In 2008, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) published a final rule on Refuge Alternatives (RAs) for Underground Coal Mines. The rule states that RAs shall be capable of sustaining trapped miners for 96 hours and that RAs can also be used to facilitate escape by sustaining trapped miners until they receive communications regarding escape options. As of 2014, there were three types of coal mine RAs manufactured by 10 different companies and at least 13 different communications systems approved for use underground. However, there is no specific guidance on how to determine if such a wide variety of systems will facilitate successful communication in an emergency. Examples in this study detail one representative example of each of the three types of RAs. Each example RA was tested underground in an experimental coal mine by researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). The purpose of the testing was to determine a representative signal attenuation caused by a specific RA’s wall material and entrance door. For each RA type, the signal loss was investigated using comparative measurements. Test results showed an average difference of 3 decibel milliwatts (dBm) for a tent type RA, 15 dBm for a metal RA and 14 dBm for a Built-in-Place RA for a frequency range of 150 to 3000 MHz. These results can be used in calculating the available link budget for a communication system to determine if a signal will reach the inside of the RA.

scholarly journals Strengthening Inspection and Audit of Occupational Safety and Health in Coal Mining Enterprises in Vietnam

2021 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
Author(s):  
Kim Tu NGO
Keyword(s):  
Coal Mining ◽  
Occupational Safety ◽  
Annual Report ◽  
Mining Industry ◽  
Occupational Safety And Health ◽  
Occupational Accidents ◽  
Coal Mining Industry ◽  
State Management ◽  
Safety And Health

Coal mining is one of the heavy, hazardous industries. Therefore, workers in this industryalways face high risks of occupational accidents and diseases. According to the annual report of theMinistry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA), the situation of occupational accidents andillnesses in the mining sector in recent years has increased both in terms of number and severity, and thisincludes fatal occupational accidents in the coal mining industry. Currently, the authorities have beenimplementing inspection of occupational safety and health (OSH) to prevent and limit the situation. In thescope of this article, the author focuses on clarifying the position and the role of OSH inspecting whilepresenting and analyzing the results of the inspection of OSH legislation compliance within the coalmining industry nationwide. From there, proposing several solutions to strengthen inspection of OSH,prevent and limit occupational accidents and diseases in the coming time, contributing to improving theefficiency of state management of OSH in the coal mining industry in Vietnam today.

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