TY - JOUR
T1 - International evaluation of injury rates in coal mining
T2 - A comparison of risk and compliance-based regulatory approaches
AU - Poplin, Gerald S.
AU - Miller, Hugh B.
AU - Ranger-Moore, James
AU - Bofinger, Carmel M.
AU - Kurzius-Spencer, Margaret
AU - Harris, Robin B.
AU - Burgess, Jefferey L.
N1 - Funding Information:
This study was supported by a grant from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health. The contents of this article are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.
PY - 2008/10
Y1 - 2008/10
N2 - It is unknown if either of the two dominant regulatory approaches commonly employed in the mining industry to oversee occupational health and safety is superior in terms of reducing workplace injuries. In effort to answer this question, the following study analyzed annual lost-time injury (LTI) rates for bituminous coal mines in the United States (US) with respect to Queensland (QLD) and New South Wales (NSW), Australia from 1996 to 2003. Using the available data sources, changes in the occurrences of accidents and injuries were contrasted between each of these regions. The relationship between secular trends in injury rates and changes in the Australian regulatory structure from compliance-based to a risk-based approach was examined to see if evidence existed that the implementation of risk-based regulatory systems may be associated with substantive improvement in employee safety. Generalized estimating equations were constructed to analyze rates of change in incident rate ratios (IRR) of LTIs among coal mines. From 1996 to 2003, LTIs per 100,000 miners declined 20% in the US as compared with 78% and 52% in QLD and NSW, and the adjusted IRR for each region decreased by 11%, 72% and 44%, respectively. The application of risk-based health and safety regulations in Australia provides one explanation for the differential decline in LTIs among Australian states when compared to the US.
AB - It is unknown if either of the two dominant regulatory approaches commonly employed in the mining industry to oversee occupational health and safety is superior in terms of reducing workplace injuries. In effort to answer this question, the following study analyzed annual lost-time injury (LTI) rates for bituminous coal mines in the United States (US) with respect to Queensland (QLD) and New South Wales (NSW), Australia from 1996 to 2003. Using the available data sources, changes in the occurrences of accidents and injuries were contrasted between each of these regions. The relationship between secular trends in injury rates and changes in the Australian regulatory structure from compliance-based to a risk-based approach was examined to see if evidence existed that the implementation of risk-based regulatory systems may be associated with substantive improvement in employee safety. Generalized estimating equations were constructed to analyze rates of change in incident rate ratios (IRR) of LTIs among coal mines. From 1996 to 2003, LTIs per 100,000 miners declined 20% in the US as compared with 78% and 52% in QLD and NSW, and the adjusted IRR for each region decreased by 11%, 72% and 44%, respectively. The application of risk-based health and safety regulations in Australia provides one explanation for the differential decline in LTIs among Australian states when compared to the US.
KW - Incident rate ratio
KW - Lost-time injury
KW - Mining
KW - Regulation
KW - Risk management
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U2 - 10.1016/j.ssci.2007.06.025
DO - 10.1016/j.ssci.2007.06.025
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:49349105628
VL - 46
SP - 1196
EP - 1204
JO - Journal of Occupational Accidents
JF - Journal of Occupational Accidents
SN - 0925-7535
IS - 8
ER -