The Necessity for Improved Hand and Finger Protection in Mining

Details

• Personal Author:
  Heberger JR ; Kocher LM ; Nasarwanji, Mahiyar F. ; Pollard, Jonisha P.
• Description:
  Injuries associated with hands and fingers are highly prevalent in mining and identifying factors associated with these injuries are critical in developing prevention efforts. This study identifies nonfatal injury incidence rates, nature of injury, work activities, glove usage, and sources of hand and finger injuries in the U.S. mining industry, as reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) from 2011 - 2017. Hand and finger injuries occur at a rate of 6.53 per 1000 full-time employees, which is nearly double the rate of the next highest affected body part, the back. Most of the hand and finger injuries were classified as cuts/lacerations/punctures (53%) followed by bone fractures/chips (26%). Materials handling and maintenance/repair were common activities at the time of the incident with miscellaneous metals (pipe, wire, guarding) and hand tools as the primary sources of hand and finger injury. Although the information on glove use was limited, leather gloves were most often worn when an injury occurred. When worn, gloves were found to contribute to 20% of the injuries, indicating their potential to protect the hands, but also potentially put the hands at risk. Further research is necessary to determine performance requirements for gloves used in mining operations, specifically those offering cut and puncture resistance. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Environmental Exposure
  • Maintenance
  • Manufacturing and Industrial Facilities
  • Metals
  • Mining
  • Musculoskeletal System
  • Occupational Health
  • Personal Protective Equipment
  • Preventive Medicine
  • Protective Clothing
  More +
• Keywords:
  • Extremities
  • Hand protection
  • Hand injuries
  • Mining industry
  • Mining
  • Exposure levels
  • Risk factors
  • Injuries
  • Preventive measures
  • Protective clothing
  More +
• Series:
  Mining Publications
• ISSN:
  2524-3462
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  OSHA Region 3 ; Pennsylvania
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  PMRD - Pittsburgh Mining Research Division ; NPPTL - National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Volume:
  39
• Issue:
  2
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20064699
• Citation:
  Min Metall Explor 2022 Apr; 39(2):507-520
• Contact Point Address:
  John R. Heberger, Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 626 Cochran Mill Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA
• Email:
  JHeberger@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2022
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Source Full Name:
  Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/215521/cdc_215521_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 849.43 KB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:f05cadc6d7aba37186839c0c3674c3e1536e09b78045aa3cda22655786ab2f90bb9a43f1fa5081c5265b2510c2d257c33d03b8ebdf56b6d2c046ccfd45ed034f