RESEARCH PAPER
Factors of work environment hazardous for health in opinions of employees working
underground in the ‘Bogdanka’ coal mine
1
Pope John Paul II State School of Higher Education in Biala Podlaska, Poland
2
Department of Medical Anthropology, Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland
3
Department of Foreign Languages,Józef Piłsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw, Faculty of Physical Education and Sport in Biała Podlaska, Poland
4
Department of Biological Health Hazards and Parasitology, Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland
5
Maria Curie-Sklodowska University, Lublin, Poland
Corresponding author
Małgorzata Goździewska
Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland, Jaczewskiego, 20-090, Lublin, Poland
Institute of Rural Health, Lublin, Poland, Jaczewskiego, 20-090, Lublin, Poland
Ann Agric Environ Med. 2019;26(3):409–414
KEYWORDS
TOPICS
Biological agents posing occupational risk in agriculture, forestry, food industry and wood industry and diseases caused by these agents (zoonoses, allergic and immunotoxic diseases)Exposure to physical hazards associated with the use of machinery in agriculture and forestry: noise, vibration, dust
ABSTRACT
Introduction:
Employees performing work underground in coal mines are exposed to the effect of many hazardous factors in their work environment which negatively affect their health.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to recognize the opinions of employes working underground in one of the coal mines concerning the occurrence of factors hazardous for health in their work environment.
Material and methods:
The study was conducted in a group of 700 persons working underground in the ‘Bogdanka’ coal mine in Łęczna (Eastern Poland). The study was carried out using a questionnaire. The results were statistically analyzed using software STATISTICA v. 7.1.
Results:
The vast majority of respondents (approximately 80%) reported that noise and dustiness at their workplace create risk for their health. More than a half of them mentioned that the microclimate in the mine threatens their health (high humidity and high temperature), and a half of respondents indicated vibration and poor lighting. The greatest differences of opinions concerning the effect of hazardous factors on health of persons employed in the mine were observed in the sub-groups distinguished according to the work position. Health risk at a workplace was most often identified by those employed as miners.
Conclusions:
Among actions reducing the negative effect of the work environment on health is the introduction of new, safer technologies of coal mining. Also, the human factor is very important for work safety in mining, including the proper preparation of employees who undertake work in a mine. It is recommended that new, more effective educational programmes are implemented in the area of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) at workplaces.
Employees performing work underground in coal mines are exposed to the effect of many hazardous factors in their work environment which negatively affect their health.
Objective:
The objective of the study was to recognize the opinions of employes working underground in one of the coal mines concerning the occurrence of factors hazardous for health in their work environment.
Material and methods:
The study was conducted in a group of 700 persons working underground in the ‘Bogdanka’ coal mine in Łęczna (Eastern Poland). The study was carried out using a questionnaire. The results were statistically analyzed using software STATISTICA v. 7.1.
Results:
The vast majority of respondents (approximately 80%) reported that noise and dustiness at their workplace create risk for their health. More than a half of them mentioned that the microclimate in the mine threatens their health (high humidity and high temperature), and a half of respondents indicated vibration and poor lighting. The greatest differences of opinions concerning the effect of hazardous factors on health of persons employed in the mine were observed in the sub-groups distinguished according to the work position. Health risk at a workplace was most often identified by those employed as miners.
Conclusions:
Among actions reducing the negative effect of the work environment on health is the introduction of new, safer technologies of coal mining. Also, the human factor is very important for work safety in mining, including the proper preparation of employees who undertake work in a mine. It is recommended that new, more effective educational programmes are implemented in the area of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) at workplaces.
REFERENCES (41)
1.
Amponsah-Tawiah K, Mensah J. Occupational Health and Safety and Organizational Commitment: Evidence from the Ghanaian Mining Industry. Saf Health Work. 2016 Sep; 7(3): 225–30. doi: 10.1016/j.shaw.2016.01.002. Epub 2016 Feb 2.
2.
International Labour Organinization. Mining: a hazardous work [Internet]. 2015 [cited 2015 Feb 2]. Available from: http://www.ilo.org/safework/ar....
3.
Gyekye SA. Workers’ perceptions of workplace safety: an African perspective. Int J Occup Saf Ergon. 2006; 12: 31e42.
4.
Salas ML, Quezada S, Basagoitia A, Fernandez T, Herrera R, Parra M, Muñoz DM, Weigl M, Radon K. Working Conditions, Workplace Violence, and Psychological Distress in Andean Miners: A Cross-sectional Study Across Three Countries. Ann Glob Health. 2015 Jul-Aug; 81(4): 465–74. doi: 10.1016/j.aogh.2015.06.002.
5.
Donoghue AM. Occupational health hazards in mining: an overview. Occup Med. (Lond) 2004; 54: 283e9.
6.
Kurmis AP, Apps SA. Occupationally-acquired noise-induced hearing loss: a senseless workplace hazard. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2007; 20: 127e36.
7.
McBride DI. Noise-induced hearing loss and hearing conservation in mining. OccupMed. (Lond) 2004; 54: 290e6.
8.
Jain RK, Pingle SK, Tumane RG, Thakkar LR, Jawade AA, Barapatre A, Trivedi M. Cochlear Proteins Associated with Noise-induced Hearing Loss: An Update. Indian J Occup Environ Med. 2018 May-Aug; 22(2): 60–73. doi: 10.4103/ijoem.IJOEM_43_18.
9.
Mo JF, Wang L, Au W, Su M. Prevalence of coal workers’ pneumoconiosis in China: a systematic analysis of 2001–2011 studies. Int J Hyg Environ Health. 2014; 217: 46–51. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhe... PMID: 23608000.
11.
Han F, Liu J. Flow field characteristics and coal dust removal performance of an arc fan nozzle used for water spray. PLoS One. 2018 Sep 20; 13(9): e0203875. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0203875. eCollection 2018.
12.
Handbook AF. American society of heating, refrigerating and air-conditioning engineers. Inc.: Atlanta; 2007.
13.
Handbook AF. American society of heating, refrigerating and air-conditioning engineers. Inc.: Atlanta; 2009.
14.
Sunkpal M, Roghanchi P, Kocsis KC. A Method to Protect Mine Workers in Hot and Humid Environments. Saf Health Work. 2018 Jun; 9(2): 149–158. doi: 10.1016/j.shaw.2017.06.011. Epub 2017 Jul 13.
15.
Chau N. Injury proneness. In: Cooper CL, Burke RJ, Clarke S, editors. Occupational Health and Safety. Series Psychological and behavioural of risks. Surrey, Burlington: Gower Publishing Ltd.; 2011. p. 119–36.
16.
Chau N, Gauchard G, Dehaene D, Benamghar L, Touron C, Perrin P, et al. Contributions of occupational hazards and human factors in occupational injuries and their associations with job, age and type of injuries in railway workers. Int Arch Occup Environ Health. 2007; 80: 517–25, http://dx.doi. org/10.1007/s00420-006-0158-8.
17.
Chau N, Mur JM, Benamghar L, Siegfried C, Dangelzer JL, Français M, et al. Relationships between certain individual characteristics and occupational accidents for various jobs in the construction industry: A case-control study. Am J Ind Med. 2004; 45: 84–92, http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ ajim.10319.
18.
Dembe AE, Erickson JB, Delbos RG, Banks SM. The impact of overtime and long work hours on occupational injuries and illnesses: new evidence from the United States. Occup Environ Med. 2005; 62: 588–97, http://dx.doi.org/10.1136/ oem.2004.016667.
19.
Melamed S, Yekutieli D, Froom P, Kristal-Boneh E, Ribak J. Adverse work and environmental conditions predict occupational injuries. The Israeli cardiovascular occupational risk factors determination in Israel (CORDIS) study. Am J Epidemiol. 1999; 150: 18–26, http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/oxfo....
20.
Sprince NL, Park H, Zwerling C, Lynch CF, Whitten PA, Thu K, et al. Risk factors for machinery-related injury among Iowa farmers: a case-control study nested in the Agricultural Health Study. Int J Occup Environ Health. 2002; 8:332–8.
21.
Kunar BM, Bhattacherjee A, Chau N. A matched case-control study of occupational injury in underground coalmine workers. J Southern African Institute of Mining and Metallurgy. 2010; 110: 1–9.
22.
Bhattacherjee A, Bertrand JP, Meyer JP, Benamghar L, Otero Sierra C, Michaely JP, et al. Relationships of physical job tasks and living conditions with occupational injuries in coal miners. Ind Health. 2007; 45: 352–8, http://dx.doi. org/10.2486/indhealth.45.352.
23.
Bhattacherjee A, Kunar BM, Baumann M, Chau N; Lorhandicap Group. The role of occupational activities and work environment in occupational injury and interplay of personal factors in various age groups among Indian and French coalminers. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2013 Dec; 26(6): 910–29. doi: 10.2478/s13382–013–0165–4. Epub 2014 Jan 25.
24.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. National Occupational Mortality Surveillance. US Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topic.... Accessed September 2013.
25.
Yeoman KM, Halldin CN, Wood J, Storey E, Johns D, Laney AS.:Current knowledge of US metal and nonmetal miner health: Current and potential data sources for analysis of miner health status. Arch Environ Occup Health. 2016; 71(2): 119–26. doi:10.1080/19338244.2014.998330. Epub 2015 Feb 6.
26.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. MSHA data file downloads. US Department of Health and Human Services. Available at: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/minin.... Accessed July 2013.
27.
Sprawozdanie Zarządu z działalności Lubelski Węgiel Bogdanka S.A.za okres od 1 stycznia 2009 roku do 31 grudnia 2009, Bogdanka marzec 2010 (in Polish).
28.
Canadian Centre for Occupational Health and Safety. Hazard and Risk. Available online: https://www. ccohs.ca/Oshanswers/hsprograms/hazard_risk.html (accessed on 27 July 2018).
29.
Brodny J, Tutak M. Exposure to Harmful Dusts on Fully Powered Longwall Coal Mines in Poland. Int J Environ Res Public Health. 2018 27; 15(9). pii: E1846. doi: 10.3390/ijerph15091846.
30.
Tynan et al. Help-seeking for mental health problems by employees in the Australian Mining Industry. BMC Health Serv Res. 2016; 16: 498 DOI 10.1186/s12913–016–1755–1.
31.
Nie W, Cheng WM, Zhou G, Xie J, Cui XF. Experimental study on spray atomized particle size affected by airflow disturbance in heading face. J China Univ Min Technol. 2012; 41: 378–383.
32.
Castranova V, Vallyathan V. Silicosis and coal workers’ pneumoconiosis. Environ Health Perspect. 2000; 108 (Suppl. 4): 675–684.
33.
Tan C, Jiang ZA. Similarity experiment on muti-source dust diffusion law in fully mechanized caving face. J China Coal Soc. 2015; 40: 122–127.
34.
Zhou G, Cheng WM, Wang G, Cui XF. Experiment research of the coupling relationship between dust field and droplet field about fully mechanized and roof caving work face. J China Coal Soc. 2010; 35: 1660–1664.
35.
Wanxing Ren, Jingtai Shi, Qing Guo, Qiankun Zhao, Lei Bai. The influence of dust particles on the stability of foam used as dust control in underground coal mines. Proc Safety Environ Protect. 2017; 111: 740–746. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ps....
36.
Świątkowska B, HankeW, Szeszenia-Dąbrowska N. Occupational Diseases in Poland in 2016. Nofer Institute of Occupational Medicine: Łódź, Poland, 2017.
37.
Świątkowska B, Hanke W. Occupational diseases in Poland in 2016. Med Pr. 2018 pii: 92434. doi: 10.13075/mp.5893.00745 (in Polish).
38.
National Bureau of Statistics of China (NBSC). The Portion of Energy Consumption. Available online:http://www.stats.gov.cn/tjsj/n... (accessed on 5 June 2018).
39.
Burström L, Hyvärinen V, Johnsen M, Pettersson H. Exposure to whole-body vibration in open-cast mines in the Barents region. Int J Circumpolar Health. 2016; 75: 29373. doi: 10.3402/ijch.v75.29373. eCollection 2016.
40.
World Health Organization (WHO) report 2001. Available from www.who.int/quantifying_ehimpacts/global/ebdcountgroup/en/index.html 2001. [Last accessed on 2015 Jun 15].
41.
Tynan RJ, James C, Considine R, Skehan J, Gullestrup J, Lewin TJ, Wiggers J, Kelly BJ. Feasibility and acceptability of strategies to address mental health and mental ill-health in the Australian coal mining industry. Int J Ment Health Syst. 2018; 12: 66. doi: 10.1186/s13033–018–0245–8. eCollection 2018.
Share
RELATED ARTICLE
Improvement of visual identification of the journal - task financed under the agreement No. 618/P-DUN/2019 by the Minister of Science and Higher Education allocated to the activities of disseminating science.
Generation of the DOI (Digital Object Identifier) - task financed under the agreement No. 618/P-DUN/2019 by the Minister of Science and Higher
We process personal data collected when visiting the website. The function of obtaining information about users and their behavior is carried out by voluntarily entered information in forms and saving cookies in end devices. Data, including cookies, are used to provide services, improve the user experience and to analyze the traffic in accordance with the Privacy policy. Data are also collected and processed by Google Analytics tool (more).
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.
You can change cookies settings in your browser. Restricted use of cookies in the browser configuration may affect some functionalities of the website.