The Prevalence of Risk Factors for Work-Related Fatigue in the U.S. Mining Industry: An Exploratory Analysis of Public Data Sets

Details

• Journal Article:
  Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration
• Personal Author:
  Bauerle, Timothy ; Robinson, Tashina S. ; Hunt, Alison ; Zhao, Yongli
• Description:
  Miner fatigue is widely recognized as a ubiquitous and significant risk, yet there is minimal published evidence detailing its burden within the industry. Given the complexities of direct fatigue measurement and the consequential scarcity of available primary data, this paper instead examines the prevalence of work-related fatigue risk factors among U.S. miners compared to the construction and oil and gas industries. We conducted exploratory analyses of fatigue risk factors across seven public data sets. Results indicate that workers in the U.S. mining industry-particularly in coal and metal-experience fatigue risk factors at a high rate, including weekly work hours, commute duration and time of day, shift work, work tasks, and sleep. The high burden of fatigue risk factors in mining highlights an opportunity to design and implement practical and effective controls that prevent the occurrence of fatigue and mitigate its risks. Further research is encouraged to validate these findings; incorporate fatigue-related questions in surveys of miners; and assess multiple risk factors concurrently across various mining commodities, types, and contexts. Description provided by NIOSH
• Subjects:
  • Fatigue
  • Mining
  • Occupational Health
  • Safety
  • Shift Work
• Keywords:
  • Fatigue; Long work hours; Mining industry; Mine workers; Risk factors; Shift work; Sleep; Data processing;
  • Author Keywords: Fatigue; Sleep; Work hours; Job demands; Shiftwork; Commute
• Source:
  Min Metall Explor 2026 Apr; :Epub ahead of print
• ISSN:
  2524-3462
• Document Type:
  Text
• Genre:
  Journal Article
• Place as Subject:
  Atlanta Region OSHA ; North Carolina ; Oregon ; Philadelphia Region OSHA ; San Francisco Region OSHA ; Washington ; West Virginia
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Division:
  SMRD - Spokane Mining Research Division ; DSR - Division of Safety Research
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  13 pdf pages
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20071639
• Contact Point Address:
  Tim Bauerle, NIOSH Spokane Mining Research Division, Spokane, WA, USA
• Email:
  tbauerle@cdc.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2026
• Peer Reviewed:
  True
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/259412/cdc_259412_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 1.22 MB]
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:040d977e9998b066f4fe711e03c3b88d24a22f52ebcd7b932e12c0ae383c78b263cc378e716154601299d847b19ea4d01a333dcb1e1625ee235305e4665aa7cb