Heberger John R, Nasarwanji Mahiyar F, Pollard Jonisha P, Kocher Lydia M
Pittsburgh Mining Research Division, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 626 Cochran Mill Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA.
National Personal Protective Technology Laboratory, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, 626 Cochran Mill Rd, Pittsburgh, PA 15236, USA.
Min Metall Explor. 2022 Apr;39(2):507-520. doi: 10.1007/s42461-022-00557-5. Epub 2022 Feb 24.
Injuries associated with hands and fingers are highly prevalent in mining and identifying factors associated with these injuries are critical in developing prevention efforts. This study identifies nonfatal injury incidence rates, nature of injury, work activities, glove usage, and sources of hand and finger injuries in the U.S. mining industry, as reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) from 2011 - 2017. Hand and finger injuries occur at a rate of 6.53 per 1000 full-time employees, which is nearly double the rate of the next highest affected body part, the back. Most of the hand and finger injuries were classified as cuts/lacerations/punctures (53%) followed by bone fractures/chips (26%). Materials handling and maintenance/repair were common activities at the time of the incident with miscellaneous metals (pipe, wire, guarding) and hand tools as the primary sources of hand and finger injury. Although the information on glove use was limited, leather gloves were most often worn when an injury occurred. When worn, gloves were found to contribute to 20% of the injuries, indicating their potential to protect the hands, but also potentially put the hands at risk. Further research is necessary to determine performance requirements for gloves used in mining operations, specifically those offering cut and puncture resistance.
手部和手指受伤在采矿业中极为常见，识别与这些伤害相关的因素对于制定预防措施至关重要。本研究确定了2011年至2017年期间向美国矿山安全与健康管理局（MSHA）报告的美国采矿业中非致命伤害的发生率、伤害性质、工作活动、手套使用情况以及手部和手指受伤的来源。手部和手指受伤的发生率为每1000名全职工人中有6.53起，几乎是受影响第二大身体部位背部发生率的两倍。大多数手部和手指受伤被归类为割伤/撕裂伤/刺伤（53%），其次是骨折/碎骨（26%）。事件发生时，材料搬运和维护/修理是常见活动，杂项金属（管道、电线、防护装置）和手动工具是手部和手指受伤的主要来源。尽管关于手套使用的信息有限，但受伤时最常佩戴的是皮手套。佩戴手套时，发现手套导致了20%的伤害，这表明手套有保护手部的潜力，但也可能使手部面临风险。有必要进行进一步研究，以确定采矿作业中使用的手套的性能要求，特别是那些具有抗切割和抗穿刺性能的手套。
