The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration
requires reporting of injuries and illness sustained while working in
mines in the U.S. But according to previous research, their reporting
program, called the Part 50 program, did not effectively capture cases
of injury in Kentucky, spurring concerns about underreporting in other
states.
In 2015, Illinois ranked fourth among the 50 states in coal
production, with 23 coal mines producing 56,101,000 short tons of coal
(a short ton is 2,000 pounds). That year, there were 4,171 workers
employed in the mining industry in Illinois, according to the Mine
Safety and Health Administration. Mining remains hazardous and is
associated with an increased risk for injury, as well as several health
conditions, including chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, emphysema
and black lung disease.
The Part 50 program provides the Mine Safety and Health
Administration the authority to investigate accidents, injuries and
illnesses occurring in U.S. mines. Operators of coal, metal and nonmetal
mines are required to notify the agency of occupational accidents,
injury and illness of their employees. However, underreporting is a
common occurrence.
Researchers led by Dr. Robert Cohen, clinical professor of
environmental and occupational health sciences in the University of
Illinois at Chicago School of Public Health, looked at Part 50 reports
of illness and injury in Illinois from 2001 to 2013, and attempted to
link each report to a corresponding Illinois Workers' Compensation
Commission case. Workers' compensation cases that didn't have a
corresponding Part 50 report were considered unreported to the Part 50
program.
The researchers identified 1,923 cases of injury or illness in the
Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission reports from 2001 to 2013 that
were captured by the Part 50 program. These cases represented just 34
percent of the 5,653 cases of injuries and illnesses to mining employees
identified by the Illinois Workers' Compensation Commission database.
They found that the Part 50 program did not capture about 66 percent of
Illinois workers' compensation cases among mining employees from
2001-2013.
"Underreporting to the Part 50 program really hinders the U.S. Mine
Safety and Health Administration's ability to enforce safety and health
standards," Cohen said.
Chronic injuries and illnesses were less likely to be reported to the
Part 50 program than acute events, like accidents. "Ninety-four percent
of chronic conditions, like pneumoconiosis, weren't captured by the
Part 50 program," said Kirsten Almberg, research assistant professor of
environmental and occupational health sciences in the UIC School of
Public Health and a co-author on the paper.
Mine size was also correlated with reporting. The lowest rates of
injury and illness reporting were associated with employees working in
the smallest mines. "The underreporting by small mines may be due to
lack of resources or established workplace safety programs," Cohen said.
"Employees may not report their occupational injuries or illnesses to
their employer or file a workers' compensation claim out of fear of
losing their job, or because they are unfamiliar with the system," said
Almberg. "Programs that educate both mining operators and employees
about the Part 50 program and workers' compensation, and policies
designed to protect reporting workers from being punished or even fired,
would help improve reporting rates, but more importantly, improve
safety for those working in mines."
Lee Friedman of the UIC School of Public Health, and David Swedler of
the Pacific Institute for Research and Evaluation in Calverton,
Maryland, are co-authors on the paper.
This work was funded by contract DOL-OPS-14-P-00121 from the U.S.
Department of Labor, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Policy, Chief
Evaluation Office.
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