Occupational health and safety regulation in the coal mining industry: public health at the workplace
Journal Article
·
· Annual Review of Public Health; (United States)
- Department of Occupational Health and Safety, United Mine Workers of America, Washington, DC (USA)
The strategy for preventing occupational disease and injury in the coal mining industry employs several elements. Standards are set and enforced; technical assistance, research, and development are provided; and surveillance is conducted. Compensation for black lung is a vivid reminder of the consequences of failure to prevent disease. And, workers are represented by a union that encourages active participation in all aspects of this strategy. There are significant problems in each of these elements. Regulatory reform threatens to weaken many standards, there is a decline in government research budgets, surveillance is not well monitored, and compensation for black lung is significantly more difficult to obtain now than in the past. Moreover, the conservative governments of the past decade are not friendly towards unions. Nevertheless, the fundamental structure of disease and injury prevention remains intact and, more importantly, it has a historical record of success. The Mine Safety and Health Act provided for a wide array of basic public health measures to prevent occupational disease and injury in the mining industry. These measures have been effective in reducing both risk of fatal injury and exposure to respirable coal mine dust. They are also associated with temporary declines in productivity. In recent years, however, productivity has increased, while risk of fatal injury and exposure to respirable dust have declined. At individual mines, productivity with longwall mining methods appear to be associated with increases in exposure to respirable dust. These trends are not inconsistent with similar trends following implementation of regulations by OSHA. When OSHA promulgated regulations to control exposure to vinyl chloride monomer, enforcement of the standard promoted significant efficiencies in vinyl chloride production (5).21 references.
- OSTI ID:
- 5580339
- Journal Information:
- Annual Review of Public Health; (United States), Journal Name: Annual Review of Public Health; (United States) Vol. 12; ISSN AREHD; ISSN 0163-7525
- Country of Publication:
- United States
- Language:
- English
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