Occupational health hazards in mining: an overview.

This review article outlines the physical, chemical, biological, ergonomic and psychosocial occupational health hazards of mining and associated metallurgical processes. Mining remains an important industrial sector in many parts of the world and although substantial progress has been made in the control of occupational health hazards, there remains room for further risk reduction. This applies particularly to traumatic injury hazards, ergonomic hazards and noise. Vigilance is also required to ensure exposures to coal dust and crystalline silica remain effectively controlled.

[1]  Yu-tang Liu,et al.  A retrospective lung cancer mortality study of people exposed to insoluble arsenic and radon , 1996 .

[2]  E Hnizdo,et al.  Risk of pulmonary tuberculosis relative to silicosis and exposure to silica dust in South African gold miners. , 1998, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[3]  R. Reger,et al.  A re-evaluation of radiological evidence from a study of U.S. strip coal miners. , 1984, Archives of environmental health.

[4]  W K Morgan,et al.  The prevalence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis in US coal miners. , 1973, Archives of environmental health.

[5]  V. E. Archer,et al.  Lloyd JW, Smith EM, Archer VE, Holaday DA: Mortality of uranium miners in relation to radiation exposure, hard-rock mining and cigarette smoking--1950 through September 1967. , 1969, Health physics.

[6]  E Hnizdo,et al.  Risk of silicosis in a cohort of white South African gold miners. , 1993, American journal of industrial medicine.

[7]  K Steenland,et al.  Lung cancer mortality among nonsmoking uranium miners exposed to radon daughters. , 1989, JAMA.

[8]  P. Laippala,et al.  Respiratory health of cobalt production workers. , 2003, American journal of industrial medicine.

[9]  M. Attfield.  British data on coal miners' pneumoconiosis and relevance to US conditions. , 1992, American journal of public health.

[10]  A. Baker,et al.  The impact of roster changes on absenteeism and incident frequency in an Australian coal mine , 2003, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[11]  A. Lee-Feldstein,et al.  Cumulative exposure to arsenic and its relationship to respiratory cancer among copper smelter employees. , 1986, Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association.

[12]  A. Williamson,et al.  Moderate sleep deprivation produces impairments in cognitive and motor performance equivalent to legally prescribed levels of alcohol intoxication , 2000, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[13]  N. Seixas,et al.  Respiratory protection: associated factors and effectiveness of respirator use among underground coal miners. , 2002, American journal of industrial medicine.

[14]  J. T. Woodcock,et al.  Australasian Mining and metallurgy : the Sir Maurice Mawby memorial volume , 1993 .

[15]  F. Speizer,et al.  A retrospective cohort study of lung cancer and diesel exhaust exposure in railroad workers. , 1988, The American review of respiratory disease.

[16]  Elwood Jm.  Melanoma and sun exposure: contrasts between intermittent and chronic exposure. , 1992 .

[17]  J. D. Kom,et al.  Mercury Exposure of Maroon Workers in the Small Scale Gold Mining in Suriname , 1998 .

[18]  D. Hryhorczuk,et al.  Fractional mercury levels in Brazilian gold refiners and miners. , 1995, Journal of toxicology. Clinical toxicology.

[19]  M. Thompson,et al.  Nervous system effects of occupational manganese exposure on South African manganese mineworkers. , 2003, Neurotoxicology.

[20]  E. Gubéran,et al.  Increased risk for lung cancer and for cancer of the gastrointestinal tract among Geneva professional drivers. , 1992, British journal of industrial medicine.

[21]  A Michael Donoghue,et al.  Heat illness in the U.S. mining industry. , 2004, American journal of industrial medicine.

[22]  B. Miller,et al.  Dust exposure, pneumoconiosis, and mortality of coalminers. , 1985, British journal of industrial medicine.

[23]  A K Dasgupta,et al.  Effects of vibration on the hand-arm system of miners in India. , 1996, Occupational medicine.

[24]  P. Hessel,et al.  Relationship between silicosis and rheumatoid arthritis. , 1986, Thorax.

[25]  A. Dubois,et al.  Occurrence of occupational asthma in aluminum potroom workers in relation to preventive measures , 1998, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[26]  W. Ahrens,et al.  Lung cancer risk in male workers occupationally exposed to diesel motor emissions in Germany. , 1999, American journal of industrial medicine.

[27]  A M Donoghue,et al.  Coal dust exposures in the longwall mines of New South Wales, Australia: a respiratory risk assessment. , 2002, Occupational medicine.

[28]  L. Pickle,et al.  Lung cancer in motor exhaust-related occupations. , 1989, American journal of industrial medicine.

[29]  D. Buchanan,et al.  Quantitative relations between exposure to respirable quartz and risk of silicosis , 2003, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[30]  M D Attfield,et al.  Prevalence of pneumoconiosis and its relationship to dust exposure in a cohort of U.S. bituminous coal miners and ex-miners. , 2013, American journal of industrial medicine.

[31]  A. M. Donoghue,et al.  Miliaria rubra of the lower limbs in underground miners. , 2000, Occupational medicine.

[32]  E. D. Coleman,et al.  Potroom asthma: New Zealand experience and follow-up. , 1989, American journal of industrial medicine.

[33]  S Shearer,et al.  Dehydration and serum electrolyte changes in South African gold miners with heat disorders. , 1990, American journal of industrial medicine.

[34]  K Steenland,et al.  Silicosis among gold miners: exposure--response analyses and risk assessment. , 1995, American journal of public health.

[35]  J. Hurley,et al.  Relation between dust exposure and lung function in miners and ex-miners. , 1986, British journal of industrial medicine.

[36]  Ching Aw,et al.  Occupational Medicine: State of the Art Reviews , 1988 .

[37]  R. Marks,et al.  The incidence of non‐melanocytic skin cancers in an Australian population: results of a five‐year prospective study , 1989, The Medical journal of Australia.

[38]  A. Musk,et al.  Silica, compensated silicosis, and lung cancer in Western Australian goldminers. , 1998, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[39]  J. Olsen,et al.  Cancer incidence in urban bus drivers and tramway employees: a retrospective cohort study. , 1998, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[40]  T. Holman.  Historical Relationship of Mining, Silicosis, and Rock Removal , 1947, British journal of industrial medicine.

[41]  S Wall,et al.  Survival and mortality pattern among Swedish smelter workers. , 1980, International journal of epidemiology.

[42]  A. Andersen,et al.  Exposure to nickel compounds and smoking in relation to incidence of lung and nasal cancer among nickel refinery workers. , 1996, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[43]  C B Novak,et al.  Occupational exposure to hand vibration in northern Ontario gold miners. , 1993, The Journal of hand surgery.

[44]  J. Fraumeni,et al.  Occupational Risks for Cutaneous Melanoma Among Men in Sweden , 1995, Journal of occupational and environmental medicine.

[45]  Respiratory health effects of opencast coalmining: a cross sectional study of current workers. , 1998, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[46]  J H Lubin,et al.  Radon-progeny exposure and lung cancer risk in a cohort of Newfoundland fluorspar miners. , 1998, Radiation research.

[47]  A. Andersen,et al.  Cancer incidence and cause specific mortality among workers in two Norwegian aluminum reduction plants. , 2000, American journal of industrial medicine.

[48]  M. Dosemeci,et al.  Pooled exposure–response analyses and risk assessment for lung cancer in 10 cohorts of silica-exposed workers: an IARC multicentre study , 2001, Cancer Causes & Control.

[49]  O. Malm.  Gold mining as a source of mercury exposure in the Brazilian Amazon. , 1998, Environmental research.

[50]  G. Bates,et al.  The risk of heat exhaustion at a deep underground metalliferous mine in relation to surface temperatures. , 2000, Occupational medicine.

[51]  B. Armstrong,et al.  Relationship of cutaneous malignant melanoma to individual sunlight-exposure habits. , 1986, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[52]  J. Richalet,et al.  Chilean miners commuting from sea level to 4500 m: a prospective study. , 2002, High altitude medicine & biology.

[53]  E. Tucker,et al.  Managing Major Hazards: The Lessons of the Moura Mine Disaster , 2001 .

[54]  Brian Davies.  2002 William P. Yant Award Lecture. Diesel particulate control strategies at some Australian underground coal mines. , 2002, AIHA journal : a journal for the science of occupational and environmental health and safety.

[55]  A. M. Donoghue.  Mercury toxicity due to the smelting of placer gold recovered by mercury amalgam. , 1998, Occupational medicine.

[56]  D. English,et al.  Melanoma in Western Australia 1975–76 TO 1980–81: Trends in demographic and pathological characteristics , 1986, International journal of cancer.

[57]  O. Axelson,et al.  Mortality among taxi drivers in Rome: a cohort study. , 1994, American journal of industrial medicine.

[58]  A. Andersen,et al.  Cancer incidence among workers in six Norwegian aluminum plants. , 2000, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[59]  M D Attfield,et al.  Exposure-response analysis of mortality among coal miners in the United States. , 1995, American journal of industrial medicine.

[60]  J. E. Lincoln,et al.  Determinants of chronic bronchitis and lung dysfunction in Western Australian gold miners. , 1988, British journal of industrial medicine.

[61]  G Fruhmann,et al.  Urinary excretion of platinum from platinum industry workers. , 1998, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[62]  W H Schiffbauer.  A workplace safety device for operators of remote-controlled continuous mining machines. , 1999, American journal of industrial medicine.

[63]  Robert J. Tuchman,et al.  Injuries, illnesses, and hazardous exposures in the mining industry, 1986-1995 : a surveillance report , 2000 .

[64]  David W. Stanton,et al.  Safety in Mines Research Advisory Committee , 2003 .

[65]  G. Marsh,et al.  Mortality among workers in a nickel refinery and alloy manufacturing plant in West Virginia. , 1982, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[66]  K Steenland,et al.  Exposure-response analysis and risk assessment for silica and silicosis mortality in a pooled analysis of six cohorts , 2002, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[67]  E. S. Hansen.  A follow-up study on the mortality of truck drivers. , 1993, American journal of industrial medicine.

[68]  B Järvholm,et al.  Lung cancer in heavy equipment operators and truck drivers with diesel exhaust exposure in the construction industry , 2003, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[69]  S. G. Hutton,et al.  Vibration-induced white finger among selected underground rock drillers in British Columbia. , 1986, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[70]  G Drasch,et al.  The Mt. Diwata study on the Philippines 2000-treatment of mercury intoxicated inhabitants of a gold mining area with DMPS (2,3-dimercapto-1-propane-sulfonic acid, Dimaval). , 2003, The Science of the total environment.

[71]  A. Andersen,et al.  Occupational exposure and cancer incidence among workers from an aluminum smelter in western Norway. , 1999, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[72]  B. Armstrong,et al.  Estimation of risk of developing bladder cancer among workers exposed to coal tar pitch volatiles in the primary aluminum industry. , 1995, American journal of industrial medicine.

[73]  M. Bovenzi,et al.  Prevalence of vibration-induced white finger and assessment of vibration exposure among travertine workers in Italy , 1988, International archives of occupational and environmental health.

[74]  R. Reger,et al.  The incidence and progression of pneumoconiosis over nine years in U.S. coal miners: I. Principal findings. , 1984, American journal of industrial medicine.

[75]  B. Armstrong,et al.  Epidemiology of pre‐invasive and invasive malignant melanoma in Western Australia , 1980, International journal of cancer.

[76]  W Taylor,et al.  Prevalence of vibration-induced white finger in fluorspar mines in Weardale. , 1978, British journal of industrial medicine.

[77]  A M Donoghue,et al.  Type A lactic acidosis in occupational heat exhaustion. , 2003, Occupational medicine.

[78]  J. Chameaud,et al.  Mortality of a cohort of French uranium miners exposed to relatively low radon concentrations. , 1993, British Journal of Cancer.

[79]  Report of the International Committee on Nickel Carcinogenesis in Man. , 1990, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[80]  Sluis-Cremer Gk,et al.  Hearing loss in white South African goldminers. , 1987 .

[81]  H B Newcombe,et al.  Lung cancer mortality (1950-80) in relation to radon daughter exposure in a cohort of workers at the Eldorado Port Radium uranium mine: possible modification of risk by exposure rate. , 1987, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[82]  A. Blair,et al.  Nonmalignant respiratory disease among hematite mine workers in China. , 1989, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[83]  M D Attfield,et al.  An investigation into the relationship between coal workers' pneumoconiosis and dust exposure in U.S. coal miners. , 1992, American Industrial Hygiene Association journal.

[84]  D. Battistutta,et al.  Skin cancer in a subtropical Australian population: incidence and lack of association with occupation. The Nambour Study Group. , 1996, American journal of epidemiology.

[85]  L. G. Morgan,et al.  Cancers of the Lung and Nasal Sinuses in Nickel Workers , 1970, British Journal of Cancer.

[86]  Georgius Agricola,et al.  De Re Metallica , 1951 .

[87]  R. Cowie,et al.  Silicosis, chronic airflow limitation, and chronic bronchitis in South African gold miners. , 1991, The American review of respiratory disease.

[88]  N A Esmen,et al.  Some effects of cigarette smoking, arsenic, and SO2 on mortality among US copper smelter workers. , 1987, Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association.

[89]  K. Kreiss,et al.  Risk of silicosis in a Colorado mining community. , 1996, American journal of industrial medicine.

[90]  Lung cancer and exposure to diesel exhaust among bus garage workers. , 1990, Scandinavian journal of work, environment & health.

[91]  J. Hurley,et al.  Exposure to respirable coalmine dust and incidence of progressive massive fibrosis. , 1987, British journal of industrial medicine.

[92]  B. Armstrong,et al.  The epidemiology of UV induced skin cancer. , 2001, Journal of photochemistry and photobiology. B, Biology.

[93]  E. Radford,et al.  Lung cancer in Swedish iron miners exposed to low doses of radon daughters. , 1984, The New England journal of medicine.

[94]  F. Speizer,et al.  Diesel exhaust exposure and lung cancer: adjustment for the effect of smoking in a retrospective cohort study. , 2000, American journal of industrial medicine.

[95]  M R Cullen,et al.  Prevalence of pneumonoconiosis among coal and heavy metal miners in Zimbabwe. , 1990, American journal of industrial medicine.

[96]  Graham P Bates,et al.  Heat exhaustion in a deep underground metalliferous mine , 2000, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[97]  M. Attfield,et al.  Use of data from X-ray screening program for coal workers to evaluate effectiveness of 2 mg/m3 coal dust standard. , 1986, Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association.

[98]  D. Bradley,et al.  Renal function and hyperfiltration capacity in lead smelter workers with high bone lead. , 1994, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[99]  The risk of heat exhaustion at a deep underground metalliferous mine in relation to body-mass index and predicted VO2max. , 2000, Occupational medicine.

[100]  G Thériault,et al.  Lung cancer mortality and polynuclear aromatic hydrocarbons: a case-cohort study of aluminum production workers in Arvida, Quebec, Canada. , 1994, American journal of epidemiology.

[101]  D. Coggon,et al.  Coal mining and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease: a review of the evidence , 1998, Thorax.

[102]  J. Richmond,et al.  Measurement of vitamin D3 metabolites in smelter workers exposed to lead and cadmium. , 1998, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[103]  G. Marsh,et al.  Cancers related to exposure to arsenic at a copper smelter. , 1995, Occupational and environmental medicine.

[104]  S. Jones.  Medical aspects of expatriate health: health threats. , 2000, Occupational medicine.

[105]  M Lipsett,et al.  Occupational exposure to diesel exhaust and lung cancer: a meta-analysis. , 1999, American journal of public health.

[106]  H B Newcombe,et al.  Lung cancer mortality (1950-80) in relation to radon daughter exposure in a cohort of workers at the Eldorado Beaverlodge uranium mine. , 1986, Journal of the National Cancer Institute.

[107]  T B Richards,et al.  Health status of anthracite surface coal miners. , 1989, Archives of environmental health.

[108]  J. Kongerud,et al.  Aluminium potroom asthma: the Norwegian experience. , 1994, The European respiratory journal.

[109]  D. Silverman,et al.  Occupational Exposure to Diesel Engine Emissions and Risk of Cancer in Swedish Men and Women , 2001, Cancer Causes & Control.

[110]  W S Lainhart,et al.  Roentgenographic evidence of coal workers' pneumoconiosis in three geographic areas in the United States. , 1969, Journal of occupational medicine. : official publication of the Industrial Medical Association.