To aid in improving mining safety, the University of Arizona Mel and Enid Zuckerman College of Public Health and the Lowell Institute for Mineral Resources have been awarded more than $1.3 million in funding to conduct two research projects related to mining safety. The funding was granted by the Alpha Foundation for the Improvement of Mine Safety and Health, which supports projects across the nation that are designed to improve mine health and safety. The UA funding includes a $669,208 grant to identify effective risk management interventions and a $663,817 grant to improve the effectiveness of mine safety training.
Despite marked improvement over the years, mining remains a dangerous profession in the US, with 36 fatalities in 2012 and at least 20 fatalities in 2013. Some mines are safer than others, due in part to differences in their safety and health programs and training effectiveness.
“Every day, mine operators across the US are challenged to ensure their employees, contractors, and vendors are highly competent with regards to safety,” said Eric Lutz, a UA Assistant Professor of Environmental and Occupational Health and Chair of the Health and Safety Committee for the Society for Mining, Metallurgy & Exploration.
“These research projects will result in pragmatic tools that safety personnel and trainers can use to evaluate and improve their program effectiveness,” Lutz said.
The risk management grant will be administered by lead researchers Lutz, Jeff Burgess, a UA College of Public Health Professor, and Gautam Gowrisankaran, a Professor in the Eller College of Management.
Risk management programs are required in other countries but only a limited number of US mining companies follow established programs. The risk management project will evaluate the effectiveness of recent mining industry safety and health interventions in reducing injuries and injury-related costs.
The training effectiveness grant will be administered by Lutz and Mary Poulton, who directs the Lowell Institute for Minerals Resources and is Head of the Department of Mining and Geological Engineering.
The training research will bring together an inter-collegiate team at the UA to work with mining industry partners to provide guidance to mine safety trainers in a manner that meets US Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) requirements.
Lutz said the study will allow managers to evaluate their trainers and provide mine companies and regulatory agencies with a powerful tool to assess the quality of contractor or vendor-led training courses.