Occupational Heat Strain in Deep Shaft Metal Mining

Details

• Personal Author:
  Lutz E ; Reed R
• Description:
  A single heat strain incident increases miners' sensitivity to subsequent heat exposures. With technology moving operations deeper, the potential for excessive thermal loading among miners poses a significant challenge. Forty-five miners ingested core body sensors and wore heart rate monitors during day, swing, and graveyard shifts while performing deep shaft-sinking tasks where ambient rockface temperatures ranged from 32.5-60 degrees C. Ninety-eight percent of miners' temperatures were measured below recommended limits (38 degrees C), with mean temperature of 37.2 degrees C. Most values for maximum 10-minute averages were above this limit (mean 38.15 degrees C). Workers reached 72%, 74%, and 81% of their maximum heart rate during maximum 60-, 30-, and 10-minute averages, indicating moderate to high activity levels. Of the eight most common tasks, welding and cutting were associated with significantly increased maximum10-minute average temperatures. Swing shift miners had higher median core body temperatures (p=0.008). Employees in the Obese Level 1 BMI category had higher maximum 10-minute average core body temperatures than miners in the 'Normal' BMI and 'Overweight' categories (p=0.017). [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Heat Stress Disorders Hot Temperature Mining Occupational Health Safety Temperature Welding
• Keywords:
  BMI Body Mass Index Heat Exposure Heat Stress Miners Mine Safety Mining Industry Obesity Temperature Effects Thermal Effects Weight Factors

  More +
• Publisher:
  Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc.
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Abstract or Summary
• Place as Subject:
  Arizona ; OSHA Region 9
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20054312
• Citation:
  2014 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit (SME 2014): Leadership in Uncertain Times, February 23-26, 2014, Salt Lake City, Utah. Englewood, CO: Society for Mining, Metallurgy, and Exploration, Inc., 2014 Feb; :123
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2014
• NORA Priority Area:
  Mining
• Performing Organization:
  University of Arizona, Tucson
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20100901
• Source Full Name:
  2014 SME Annual Meeting & Exhibit (SME 2014): Leadership in Uncertain Times, February 23-26, 2014, Salt Lake City, Utah
• End Date:
  20260831
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:64ce2507f2e18e58cc57a0108a3cc51de225d291c83f37064261fc7130982f6c11ee8d65948bd621305ddf056840b3b35dcd38cfc9d6102e57f3824a0f57292f
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/216903/cdc_216903_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 137.98 KB ]