Hurricane Ida, a Category 4 hurricane, made landfall in southern Louisiana in August of 2021, causing widespread wind damage and flooding. The objective of this study was to investigate knowledge, attitudes, and practices related to post-hurricane mold exposure and cleanup among residents and workers in areas of Louisiana affected by Hurricane Ida and assess changes in knowledge, attitudes, and practices that have occurred over the past 16 years since Hurricane Katrina. We conducted in-person interviews with 238 residents and 68 mold-remediation workers in areas in and around New Orleans to ask about their mold cleanup knowledge and practices, personal protective equipment use, and risk perceptions related to mold. Knowledge of recommended safety measures increased since the post-Katrina survey but adherence to recommended safety measures did not. Many residents and some workers reported using insufficient personal protective equipment when cleaning up mold despite awareness of the potential negative health effects of mold exposure.

BACKGROUND: New elastomeric half mask respirator (EHMR) models without exhalation valves (EVs) or with exhalation valve filters (EVFs) are facilitating expanded use in health settings to reduce workers' exposure to airborne hazards while acting as source control to prevent pathogen spread. The physical comfort of new models has not been assessed in comparison to previously used EHMRs with EVs. METHODS: Researchers assessed 1,962 healthcare and emergency medical service personnels' self-reported adverse experiences from two cohorts while wearing EHMR models with EVs (Cohort 1, n=1,080) and without EVs or with EVFs (Cohort 2, n=882). Fisher's Exact Test identified differences between the cohorts accounting for organizational factors when possible. RESULTS: Cohort 1 respondents experienced communication challenges and discomfort when wearing the EHMR >1 hour statistically significantly more often than Cohort 2. Cohort 2 respondents reported statistically significantly more instances of difficulty breathing, moisture buildup, being uncomfortable to wear <1 hour, and being uncomfortably warm. CONCLUSIONS: Discomfort is prevalent among end users and more often among those wearing EHMRs without an EV/with an EVF. As EHMR research and development advances, prevalence in use may increase for emergency and routine situations. Organizations may not only need guidance about respirator selection but also model-specific selection.

Key Takeaways: Receiving reusable respirators and corresponding ongoing communication and training may improve worker well-being, serving as a tangible indicator of organizational support. From an emergency preparedness standpoint, organizations may consider stockpiling reusable elastomeric half-mask respirators and updating their respiratory protection program (RPP) to include education about these respirators. From a health promotion standpoint, it may behoove organizations to develop comprehensive programs that emphasize management practices to increase worker perceptions of safety climate and, consequently, worker mental health and well-being. Supervisor or frontline leadership communication and engagement in the implementation of RPPs is critical to foster trust and adoption of new respirators. Ongoing role modeling and support by management to comply with the RPP or other safety and health plans are necessary to garner employee-wide participation in respiratory protection.

Reusable elastomeric half mask respirators (EHMRs) have been encouraged for use during conventional, contingency, and crisis capacity in healthcare delivery settings as an alternative to disposable N95 filtering facepiece respirators (FFRs). However, standard, operationalized guidelines for implementing EHMRs in healthcare and first responder settings are needed to facilitate such integration. Specifically, research is needed to identify and address specialized concerns in healthcare delivery settings beyond hospitals to understand the widespread barriers to EHMR use and how organizational culture can support or hinder EHMR adoption. The Strategic National Stockpile (SNS) requested support from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) to develop its strategy to purchase and distribute EHMRs to interested health organizations. To support this SNS effort, NIOSH published a Federal Register Notice (FRN) to request formative input from the public on the nationwide distribution of EHMRs and provided the technical analysis of the responses. Twenty-two representatives from first responder organizations, healthcare and dental associations, manufacturers, higher education, medical/nursing societies, and a union provided comments for consideration. This feedback was qualitatively analyzed to identify themes among the comments. This paper discusses patterns that emerged in the feedback provided within the primary topics of perceived advantages and disadvantages of EHMRs and key considerations for a successful national deployment of EHMRs. This paper also discusses how the formative feedback received was critical to informing the SNS's strategy to purchase and deploy EHMRs for longitudinal demonstration projects with the goal to produce updated EHMR implementation guidelines and best practices.

OBJECTIVES: Personal protective equipment (PPE) supply chain disruptions force US health-care entities to adopt conservation strategies such as procurement from different respirator manufacturers. This research seeks to better understand how the number of respirator models on hand can serve as an indicator of N95 filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) supply chain stability or disruption. METHODS: Researchers looked at differences in the mean number of N95 FFR models, averaged weekly, from 10 hospitals in a health-care system over 15 wk from June 1 to September 10, 2020. Participating hospitals entered near-daily PPE inventory data by manufacturer and model number. RESULTS: A linear mixed effect model was run in SPSS v. 26 using a random intercept for hospitals, with week as a fixed predictor and mean number of respirator models (averaged weekly) on hand as the dependent variable. Each week showed a small but significant effect compared with the past week (P < 0.001), where the average weekly number of respirator models on hand decreased. CONCLUSIONS: The limited data may indicate a resolution of supply chain disruptions and warrant further investigation. Consequently, the number of respirator models may be applicable as an indicator of supply chain stability and be more easily ascertained and tracked by health-care entities.

An increase in reusable elastomeric half mask respirators among healthcare personnel has been documented during pandemic emergencies; however, research has not detailed leadership practices to support their use. Forty-three organizations implemented EHMRs received from the United States federal government which prompted interviews with 73 individuals who managed respirator distribution and fit testing between October 2021 and November 2022. Interview data was qualitatively analyzed. Themes around organizational culture and leadership practices emerged when discussing how elastomeric half mask respirators were integrated into health delivery settings including communication and outreach methods to aid worker support. Example included on-line and hands-on training, peer support, leadership support, and a culture that supports respirator use. To support a shift to reusable respiratory protection being procured and implemented, organizational- and individual-level perspectives are needed. Employee engagement, respirator champions, and updated verbal and written communication mechanisms are important takeaways for leaders to consider during any routine or emergency scenario.

BACKGROUND: Infection precautions (IP) facilitate standardized and safe patient care. Research has demonstrated several barriers to IP adherence among health care personnel (HCP) but potential exposure risk to SARS-CoV-2 and job role has not been considered. METHODS: Researchers used self-reported baseline surveys with 191 HCPs at a university medical center to examine factors that may have affected IP adherence (eg, personal protective equipment [PPE] and hand hygiene errors) over the 2 weeks prior to the survey. Chi-square tests were used to determine if differences existed first, among job role and IP adherence, and second, the potential risk of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 and IP adherence. A binary logistic regression estimated if PPE nonadherence was associated with COVID-19 stress, job role, and potential exposure risk to SARS-CoV-2. RESULTS: PPE nonadherence varied by job role. Those in the Other group (ie, nonphysician/non-nursing HCP) reported significantly fewer errors (9.6%) compared to Physicians (26.5%) and Registered Nurses (33.3%). Hand/glove hygiene errors between COVID-19 patient rooms varied by job role. Respondents who had higher risks of exposure to SARS-CoV-2 were 5.74 times more likely to experience errors. CONCLUSIONS: The results provide implications for adopting systems-level approaches to support worker knowledge and engagement across job roles to improve IP adherence.

Introduction: Work-related injuries are a common lagging safety indicator whereas safety climate assessments can help identify constructs serving as leading indicators. The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) partnered with the U.S. Department of the Air Force (DAF) Safety Center to examine the association between perceptions of safety climate survey constructs and the number of injury events within the DAF workforce. Methods: The DAF administers voluntary, anonymous, occupation-specific safety climate surveys to DAF workers using the internal Air Force Combined Mishap Reduction System (AFCMRS). Survey responses from 2014 to 2018 provided by DAF workers and injury events in maintenance, support, and operations occupations were shared with NIOSH. Exploratory Factor Analysis revealed five constructs: Leadership and Communication; Organizational Safety Priority; Error Management; Resource Adequacy; and Deployment/Official Travel Impact. Squadron-level analysis included bivariate correlations and estimated Rate Ratios (RRs). Results: 1,547 squadrons administered the survey, averaging 144 workers and 15.8 reportable injuries per squadron. Higher (more favorable) squadron-level construct scores were consistently correlated with fewer reported injuries (p &lt; 0.001). Controlling for the number of workers, RRs revealed significant reductions in injury rates with each one-unit increase in responses: Leadership and Communication RR = 0.40 (95 %CI: 0.32-0.48); Organizational Safety Priority RR = 0.50 (95 %CI: 0.40-0.64); Error Management RR = 0.37 (95 %CI: 0.30-0.47); Deployment/Official Travel Impact RR = 0.36 (95 %CI: 0.29-0.45). Resource Adequacy revealed a non-significant lower injury rate RR = 0.87 (95 %CI: 0.73-1.04). Conclusions: This unique study quantified safety climate and the association with injuries across a multi-year period. While safety climate measurements may be limited by frequent turnover and the self-reported, voluntary, anonymous nature of AFCMRS, the strength of this study is in the census of injuries. Practical Applications: Future research should include longitudinal analyses to examine the impact on injuries when squadron leaders are provided feedback on safety climate survey results.

A lack of confidence in the efficacy of respiratory protection can contribute to uncertainty among workers and cast doubt on workplace safety. To date, no research has been conducted to study and understand the introduction of elastomeric half-mask respirators (EHMRs)—without exhalation valves (EVs) or with exhalation valve filters (EVFs), both representing new designs that address source control—in the workplace. To study this issue, researchers collaborated with partners at 32 health delivery settings that received EHMRs from the Strategic National Stockpile during the COVID-19 pandemic. EHMR users (n = 882) completed an online survey between October 2021 and September 2022. Analyses demonstrated that employees were statistically significantly more confident in the efficacy of EHMRs with no EV/with an EVF (including the efficacy in protecting the user from COVID-19) if they had been fit tested and received training. Respondents were also statistically significantly more confident in the efficacy of their EHMR if they had a more positive perception of their organization’s safety climate. The results provide insights for tailored fit testing and training procedures as manufacturers continue to improve respirator models to enhance worker comfort and use. Results also show that, even during a public health emergency, the role of safety climate cannot be ignored as an organizational factor to support worker knowledge, attitudes, and participation in health and safety behaviors specific to respirator use. © 2023 by the authors.

BACKGROUND: Availability of personal protective equipment (PPE) and its effective use may influence safety climate perceptions among health care personnel (HCP). It is unclear how health care organizations can leverage the effective use of respiratory protection to engage in continuous improvement of their safety climate, which can inform opportunities for employee education and engagement. METHODS: After using an elastomeric half mask respirator (EHMR) as their primary form of respiratory protection for several months, 1,080 HCP provided feedback in an electronic survey about respiratory protection training, confidence in EHMR use, barriers during use, and perceived safety climate. Ordinal logistic regressions were used as nonlinear models to test relationships between these variables. FINDINGS: We observed that an increase in user confidence (p < .013), training content (p < .001), training formats (p < .001), and a decrease in EHMR barriers (p < .001) were associated with a statistically significant increase in proactive safety climate. In the second model, an increase in user confidence (p < .006) and training content (p < .001), and a decrease in barriers (p < .001), was associated with a statistically significant increase in compliant safety climate. CONCLUSIONS/APPLICATION TO PRACTICE: HCP EHMR confidence was positively associated with safety climate perceptions, underscoring the value of competency building by respiratory protection leaders prior to implementation. Because fewer barriers experienced while using an EHMR were associated with a more positive perception of safety climate, it is important to first communicate with end users about potential barriers and, second, to continue research with end users and manufacturers to improve the design of EHMRs moving forward.

During public health emergencies such as an influenza pandemic, disposable filtering facepiece respirator (FFR) shortages have a significant impact on the national response, affecting many types of workplaces that rely on respiratory protection. During the COVID-19 pandemic, severe FFR shortages led the CDC to publish strategies for optimizing the supply of N95 FFRs. These strategies included the extended use and limited reuse of FFRs, wearing decontaminated FFRs, wearing respirators that meet an international respirator standard, or wearing FFRs that were past their manufacturer-designated shelf life. An additional strategy to mitigate supply shortages that was highlighted during the COVID-19 pandemic was to wear reusable respirators, such as elastomeric half mask respirators (EHMRs), or powered air-purifying respirators, which can be cleaned, disinfected, and reused. A decade of nationwide initiatives to increase the utility of EHMRs in healthcare settings were realized during the COVID-19 pandemic as EHMRs became more well-known and were used in healthcare settings for respiratory protection. This expanded use of EHMRs led to an increase in federal procurement, research, guidance, and private sector research and development of innovative EHMR designs by manufacturers to respond to workers' needs for both respiratory protection and source control. This paper describes the role of reusable EHMRs before and during the COVID-19 pandemic, and reviews past and current research, to inform successful EHMR implementation in healthcare and first responder settings.

Fire-based emergency management service (EMS) personnel are dispatched to various incidents daily, many of which have unique occupational risks. To fully understand the variability of incident types and how to best prepare and respond, an exploration of the U.S. coding system of incident types is necessary. This study uses potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2 as a case example to understand if and how coding categories for incident call types may be updated to improve data standardization and emergency response decision making. Researchers received emergency response incident data generated by three fire department computer-aided dispatch (CAD) systems between March and September 2020. Each incident was labeled EMS, Fire, or Other. Of the 162,766 incidents, approximately 8.1% (n = 13,144) noted potential SARS-CoV-2 exposure within their narrative descriptions of which 86.3% were coded as EMS, 9.9% as Fire, and 3.9% as Other. To assess coding variability across incident types, researchers used the original 3-incident type variable and a new 5-incident type variable reassigned by researchers into EMS, Fire, Other, Hazmat, and Motor Vehicle. Logit regressions compared differences in potential exposure using the 3- and 5-incident type variables. When evaluating the 3-incident type variable, those responding to a Fire versus an EMS incident were 84% less likely to be associated with potential exposure to SARS-CoV-2. For the 5-incident type variable, those responding to Fire incidents were 77% less likely to be associated with a potential exposure than those responding to EMS incidents. Changes in potential exposure between the 3- and 5-incident type models show the need to understand how incident types are assigned. This demonstrates the need for data standardization to accurately categorize incident types to improve emergency preparedness and response. Results have implications for incident type coding at fire department municipality and national levels.

There is a gap in research associated with emerging infectious diseases and the role that individual perceptions have on attitudes and health-protective behaviors. NIOSH researchers sought to understand healthcare and emergency medical services (EMS) workers’ perceived risks toward SARS-CoV-2 and what factors may significantly influence subsequent health-protective behaviors. Between March and May 2020, 122 healthcare and EMS workers completed an assessment on a mobile safety application provided by their workplace. The results inform organizational practices regarding COVID-19 information sharing. First, it is important that all employees have access to information about respiratory protection as well as organizational resources such as their updated respiratory protection plans that may influence health-protective behaviors at work. Second, messaging for employees with individualistic attitudes may significantly differ and more research should be done to determine whether science-based consensus messages are the most effective risk communication strategy.

Research studying the intersection of occupational safety and health (OSH) and direct reading and sensor technologies (DRST) is sparse, with a specific lack of research available that has empirically considered ways that DRST may impact worker well-being. In this paper, the authors examine how organizations could utilize core elements of their health and safety management system (HSMS) to coordinate and execute DRST in the workplace to support worker well-being. National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers developed a 39-item questionnaire targeting OSH professionals to understand attitudes toward DRST and the current and intended uses of DRST at their place of employment. Eighty-eight OSH professionals completed the questionnaire between August and December 2021. Descriptive results of the study sample are provided but the focus of the study applies the open-ended responses to two questions, which was deductively analyzed. Descriptive results show that reliability and validity of data was a top concern while the open-ended qualitative feedback revealed three primary themes: (1) acceptability and trust in technology; (2) ease of use; and (3) support and guidelines. Results provide an opening to use core HSMS elements (i.e., management commitment and leadership, communication and coordination, and employee involvement) during DRST integration to demonstrate support for workers during times of ambiguity and change.

In recent years, there has been increasing interest in the role that individual factors play in health and safety (H&S) outcomes in the mining industry. Two surveys, one measuring self-reported routine safety performance and one measuring individual perceived competence in the non-routine knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) critical to emergency response, were administered to two samples of mineworkers in separate research studies over a 2-year period (N = 2,020 and 696, respectively). Eight demographic items were common to both surveys and their associations with each performance outcome were tested in response to a series of exploratory research questions. Significant relationships were found between both safety outcome variables and individual factors, including the length of experience in current job, current mine, and mining industry, as well as participant workgroup and work schedule. Notably, the length of experience in the mining industry was the only variable significantly associated with both routine and non-routine safety performance. This analysis suggests that individual factors such as length of job, industry, and mine experience are predictive of routine and/or non-routine safety performance outcomes in significant and sometimes unexpected ways. © 2022, This is a U.S. government work and not under copyright protection in the U.S.; foreign copyright protection may apply.

An international system should be established to support personal protective equipment (PPE) inventory monitoring, particularly within the healthcare industry. In this article, the authors discuss the development and 15-week deployment of a proof-of-concept prototype that included the use of a Healthcare Trust Data Platform to secure and transmit PPE-related data. Seventy-eight hospitals participated, including 66 large hospital systems, 11 medium-sized hospital systems, and a single hospital. Hospitals reported near-daily inventory information for N95 respirators, surgical masks, and face shields, ultimately providing 159 different PPE model numbers. Researchers cross-checked the data to ensure the PPE could be accurately identified. In cases where the model number was inaccurately reported, researchers corrected the numbers whenever possible. Of the PPE model numbers reported, 74.2% were verified-60.5% of N95 respirators, 40.0% of face shields, and 84.0% of surgical masks. The authors discuss the need to standardize how PPE is reported, possible aspects of a PPE data standard, and standards groups who may assist with this effort. Having such PPE data standards would enable better communication across hospital systems and assist in emergency preparedness efforts during pandemics or natural disasters.

During emergencies, areas with higher social vulnerability experience an increased risk for negative health outcomes. However, research has not extrapolated this concept to understand how the workers who respond to these areas may be affected. Researchers from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) merged approximately 160,000 emergency response calls received from three fire departments during the COVID-19 pandemic with the CDC’s publicly available Social Vulnerability Index (SVI) to examine the utility of SVI as a leading indicator of occupational health and safety risks. Multiple regressions, binomial logit models, and relative weights analyses were used to answer the research questions. Researchers found that higher social vulnerability on household composition, minority/language, and housing/transportation increase the risk of first responders’ exposure to SARS-CoV-2. Higher socioeconomic, household, and minority vulnerability were significantly associated with response calls that required emergency treatment and transport in comparison to fire-related or other calls that are also managed by fire departments. These results have implications for more strategic emergency response planning during the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as improving Total Worker Health® and future of work initiatives at the worker and workplace levels within the fire service industry. © 2021 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland.

Purpose. Although a focus on safety communication between managers and employees has been prevalent, research around coworker influence in this communication has been fragmented in the literature. Methods. To examine these issues, researchers gathered survey data from 1,955 mine employees from surface stone, sand, and gravel (SSG) and industrial mineral operations across the United States between 2016 and 2018 and studied the relationships between justice perceptions, supervisor communication, and coworker communication on behavioral safety compliance. Results. Using structural equation modeling, coworker communication partially mediated the direct effects of supervisor communication and justice perceptions on behavioral safety compliance-where the indirect effects were greater for justice perceptions. Conclusion. The results demonstrate the value in formal and informal communication paths to facilitate employee safety compliance; and that enhanced perceptions of job fairness and adaptability enhances coworker communication, further improving compliance in an interdependent environment.Author Note:Emily J. Haas ORCID ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5128-470X, Emily J. Haas is a Senior Research Behavioral Scientist at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Pittsburgh Mining Research Division. Patrick L. Yorio is a Statistician at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory. We have no known conflict of interest to discloseDisclaimerThe findings and conclusions in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Mention of any company or product does not constitute endorsement by NIOSH.

Currently, the US mining industry is encouraged, but not required to adopt a formal health and safety management system. Previous research has shown that the adoption of such systems has been more difficult in some subsectors of the mining industry than others. Given the interdependencies between management systems and safety climate in addition to their predictive utility of incidents, it is important to assess differences in the perceptions of safety climate among mining subsectors in the USA. If significant differences exist, then mining subsectors may not necessarily be able to adopt a one-size approach to system implementation. To that end, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health assessed mineworkers’ perceptions of several individual and organizational safety climate constructs. Participants consisted of 2945 mineworkers at coal, industrial mineral, and stone/sand/gravel mine sites throughout 18 states. Linear regressions were used to answer the research question. The results suggest that coal miners, in comparison to those miners in industrial mineral and stone/sand/gravel sectors, had significantly less favorable perceptions on each of the organizational climate constructs measured (i.e., organizational support, supervisor support and communication, coworker communication, engagement/involvement, and training) (p < 0.001 in all cases). Importantly, these results parse out organizational indicators to show that perceptions are not only lower in one area of organizational or supervisor support. Rather, engagement, training, and communication practices were all significantly lower among coal miners, prompting considerations for these significant differences and actions that can be taken to improve system practices.

PROBLEM: Safety management literature generally categorizes key performance indicators (KPIs) as either leading or lagging. Traditional lagging indicators are measures related to negative safety incidents, such as injuries, while leading indicators are used to predict (and therefore can be used to prevent) the likelihood of future negative safety incidents. Recent theory suggests that traditional lagging indicators also possess characteristics of leading indicators, and vice versa, however empirical evidence is limited. METHOD: The current research investigated the temporal relationships among establishment-level injuries, near misses, and fatal events using injury and employment data from a sample of 24,910 mining establishments over a 12-year period. RESULTS: While controlling for employee hours worked, establishment-level reported injuries and near misses were associated with of future fatal events across the sample of mines and over the time period studied. Fatal events were also associated with increases in future reported near misses, providing evidence of a cyclic relationship between them. DISCUSSION: These findings challenge the strict categorization of injuries, near misses, and fatal events as lagging indicators. Practical applications: Understanding the KPIs that should be used to manage organizational safety, and how they can be used, is of critical practical importance. The results of the current study suggest that, depending on several considerations, metrics tied to negative safety incidents may be used to anticipate, and possibly prevent, future negative safety events.

Although researchers have struggled to replicate Heinrich’s safety triangle findings (Heinrich 1931) for various reasons (e.g., no access to his original database and it is unclear if the database was of a single establishment/operation or for an entire industry), the occupational safety community has continued to adopt and expand the applications of this theory (e.g., McSween 2003). Within the mining industry, the potential exists for operations and companies to use concepts from the safety triangle as a way to inform or challenge the practices employed within their health and safety management systems (HSMS) to prevent incidents (Backlund 2016). This paper considers data obtained from the Mine Safety and Health Administration’s databases and demonstrates the validity of applying the safety triangle theory at the mine level. The results support the use of this theory and demonstrate that lower severity incidents can predict fatalities in a subsequent year where significant nuances and caveats to applying the theory are identified and discussed.

In May 1994, the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) considered crystalline silica to be a potential occupational carcinogen as defined by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration's (OSHA) carcinogen policy [29 CFR 1990], and this information was used in establishing the NIOSH Recommended Exposure Limit (REL) at 50 micro g/m3. NIOSH has long realized that occupational overexposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) dust can lead to the development of silicosis, an incurable and often fatal lung disease, but it can also result in health problems that include chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, emphysema and chronic renal disease. Probably the most significant occupational travesty that brought focus to the effects of silicosis was the Hawk's Nest Tunnel Disaster in southern West Virginia where a 4.83-km (3-mile) tunnel was driven through the Gauley Mountain. The material being removed during the mining of this tunnel for the development of a hydroelectric power plant was a sandstone and limestone ore containing very high levels of crystalline silica. Within months of the completion of this work, 476 of the workers died from acute silicosis. This acute silicosis was caused by extremely high respirable dust concentrations while driving this tunnel and was attributed to inconsistent dust-control methods, including poor ventilation and minimal use of water, not allowing the dust to settle after blasting occurred before workers returned back inside the tunnel and no use of respiratory protection.

The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the former U.S. Bureau of Mines (USBM) have given a significant effort over the past four decades in researching and developing engineering controls and interventions to reduce mine workers’ dust exposures during the bagging and palletizing of industrial minerals. Workers performing manual bagging and palletizing of 50- to 100-pound bags typically have some of the highest dust exposures of all workers at mining and mineral processing operations. This paper will provide an overview of available dust control technologies for bagging operations and present the findings of a recent case study that was conducted at four different industrial sand operations to identify the current types of bagging and palletizing technologies being used and to evaluate their effectiveness in reducing workers’ exposures to respirable crystalline silica dust. An evaluation will also be performed to determine if further reductions in respirable dust levels can be achieved by incorporating additional modifications or improvements into the existing technology.

Near misses recorded and reported by workers can provide awareness to the potential causes of injury and prompt safety management initiatives. Although most companies require near-miss reporting, it is unclear what the value of these reports are, if any, and how they influence subsequent actions or controls to reduce on-the-job risks. Researchers at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) conducted a case study with an aggregates company in which near-miss reports were analyzed at each of their locations over an entire quarter during the summer of 2018. Within that quarter, workers recorded 249 near misses. Of those, 167 were valid near misses that occurred at work. Researchers coded the reports using a qualitative 5 × 5 risk matrix. Of the 167 near misses, 19% were deemed low risk, 25% moderate risk, 30% high risk, and 26% critical risk. Several patterns in the near-miss incidents were documented, including classification of incidents and common corrective actions referenced (i.e., elimination/substitution, engineering control or redesign, work process/procedures, and personal protective equipment). The analysis provides insight into ways that risk communication and management programs can be improved to reengage workers and their situational awareness on the job.

Exposure to respirable crystalline silica (RCS) remains a serious health hazard to the US mining workforce who are potentially exposed as various ore bodies are drilled, blasted, hauled by truck, crushed, screened, and transported to their destinations. The current Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) permissible exposure limit (PEL) for RCS remains at approximately 100 &#181;g/m3, but it is noteworthy that the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has lowered its PEL to 50 &#181;g/m3 (with enforcement dates staggered through 2022 for various sectors), and the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) has held a 50 &#181;g/m3 recommended standard since 1976. To examine a method for reducing RCS exposure using a NIOSH-developed video exposure monitoring (VEM) technology (referred to as Helmet-CAM), video and respirable dust concentration data were collected on eighty miners across seven unique mining sites. The data was then collated and partitioned using a thresholding scheme to determine exposures that were in excess of ten times the mean exposure for that worker. Focusing on these short duration, high magnitude exposures can provide insight to implement controls and interventions that can dramatically lower the employee's overall average exposure. In 19 of the 80 cases analyzed, it was found that exposure could be significantly lowered by 20% or more by reducing exposures that occur during just 10 min of work per 8-hour shift. This approach provides a method to quickly analyze and determine which activities are creating the greatest health concerns. In most cases, once identified, focused control technologies or behavioral modifications can be applied to those tasks.

A sociotechnical system (STS) creates a framework that allows an examination of how social and technical factors affect organizational outcomes within a specific environmental context. STS has been rigorously studied with a primary research focus addressing worker-technology interactions. Although these interactions are important, the social processes and interactions that occur whenever any technical or environmental change is introduced into the system have been undervalued. If social processes are better understood, mining organizations could efficiently prepare and stabilize for such changes. With this goal in mind, we sought to extend STS theory through applying principles of meta-design to analyze the results of two case study interventions. Specifically, we studied the impact of an unregulated dust control technology (the Helmet-CAM) and a regulated dust control technology (the Continuous Personal Dust Monitor) on factors within an STS including employees' knowledge of, communication about, and use of technology to mitigate respirable dust sources. The results are presented in a way that first, addresses the overarching principles of meta-design STS including organizational participation, flexibility, and communication and second, examines how technology implementation processes differ when the organization is complying with a formal, higher-level requirement. Results show that a prominent focus on the social factors within an STS framework could help reduce unpredictability on the technical side and may improve communication within the system to help reduce adoption time, especially if and when accompanying a new, formal work process.

The process industry has made major advancements and is a leader in near-miss safety management, with several validated models and databases to track close call reports. However, organizational efforts to develop safe work procedures and rules do not guarantee that employees will behaviorally comply with them. Assuming that at some point, every safety management system will need to be examined and realigned to help prevent incidents on the job, it is important to understand how personality traits can impact workers’ risk-based decisions. Such work has been done in the mining industry due to its characteristically high risks and the results can be gleaned to help the process industry realign goals and values with their workforce. In the current study, researchers cross-sectionally surveyed 1,334 miners from 20 mine sites across the United States, varying in size and commodity. The survey sought to understand how mineworkers’ risk avoidance could impact their near miss incidents on the job – a common precursor to lost-time incidents. Multiple regressions showed that as a miner's level of risk avoidance increased by 1 unit in the 6-point response scale, the probability of experiencing a near miss significantly decreased by 30% when adjusting for relevant control variables. Additionally, a significant interaction between risk avoidance and locus of control suggested that the effect of risk avoidance on near misses is enhanced as a miner's locus of control increases. A one-unit increase in locus of control appends the base effect of risk avoidance on near misses with an additional 8% decrease in the probability. Findings are discussed from a near-miss safety management system perspective in terms of methods to foster both risk avoidance and locus of control in an effort to reduce the probability of near misses and lost time at the organizational level within the process industry and other high-hazard industries.

Advancing the application of safety and health (S&H) technologies is likely to remain a value in the mining industry. However, any information that technologies generate must be translated from the organization to the workforce in a targeted way to result in sustainable change. Using a case study approach with continuous personal dust monitors (CPDMs), this paper argues for an organizational focus on technology integration. Although CPDMs provide mineworkers with near real-time feedback about their respirable coal dust exposure, they do not ensure that workers or the organization will continuously use the information to learn about and reduce exposure sources. This study used self-determination theory (SDT) to help three mines manage and communicate about information learned from the CPDM technology. Specifically, 35 mineworkers participated in two mixed-method data collection efforts to discuss why they do or do not use CPDMs to engage in dust-reducing practices. Subsequently, the data was analyzed to better understand how organizations can improve the integration of technology through their management systems. Results indicate that using the CPDM to reduce sources of dust exposure is consistent with mineworkers’ self-values to protect their health and not necessarily because of compliance to a manager or mine.

Leadership is a critical component to an organization's embedded safety culture and influences the ways that health and safety is enacted on site. Empirical research has demonstrated that by improving leadership, safety outcomes are likely to improve as well. Worker perceptions are shaped through leader-employee interactions over time. However, few details are known about social support dimensions (i.e., emotional, informational, and tangible support) offered by supervisors and what kind of impact this communication has on miners' safety culture perceptions and performance. In order to study leadership communication in a high-risk environment, this study utilized pre- and post-interview data collected with 20 managers and 48 workers to identify positive and negative instances of social support and its implications on worker performance. Findings show that emotional support, although helpful in motivating miner compliance and proactivity, was harder to tailor and to be received as intended. Informational support not only had the largest impact on miners' behaviors but was also carried out by miners through support to their coworkers. Finally, tangible support in the form of supervisor assistance had a larger impact on worker behavior than offering incentives or other tangible rewards. By demonstrating the communication offered and desired within these three support dimensions - informational, emotional, and tangible - practitioners can see what is lacking in their organization and whether a shift is needed to balance supportive communication.

Mineworkers are continually introduced to protective technologies on the job. Yet, their perceptions toward the technologies are often not addressed until they are actively trying to use them, which may halt safe technology adoption and associated work practices. This study explored management and worker perspectives toward three technologies to forecast adoption and behavioral intention on the job. Interviews and focus groups were conducted with 21 mineworkers and 19 mine managers to determine the adoption process stage algorithm for workers and managers, including perceived barriers to using new safety and health technologies. Differences between workers and managers were revealed in terms of readiness, perceptions, and initial trust in using technologies. Workers, whether they had or had not used a particular technology, still had negative perceptions toward its use in the initial introduction and integration at their mine site, indicating a lengthy time period needed for full adoption. The key finding from these results is that a carefully considered and extended introduction of technology for workers in Stage 3 (undecided to act) is most important to promote progression to Stage 5 (decided to act) and to avoid Stage 4 (decided not to act). In response, organizational management may need to account for workers' particular stage algorithm, using the Precaution Adoption Process Model, to understand how to tailor messages about protective technologies, administer skill-based trainings and interventions that raise awareness and knowledge, and ultimately encourage safe adoption of associated work practices.