Mining is one of the most hazardous industries as it has to be performed under potentially unsafe and unhealthy conditions even with substantial technological improvements. The mine fatality rate which was at its peak during 1908 has been significantly reduced with the new technological developments and effective safety measures.



According to mining safety statistics from 1983-2004, it has been reported that there were more than 3 million lost workdays associated with mining injuries. Statistical results also showed that the probability of an injury having 10 or more lost workdays was 0.52 for coal mine cases versus 0.35 for metal/nonmetal mining injuries.

Generally, the total number of coal mine accidents and the total number of deaths in coal mining decreased from 2002 in almost all the countries involving in coal mining. But according to 2005 mining safety statistics report of China, the number of deaths in large-scale coal mine disasters or accidents increased by 253 percent in 2005. The sharp increase was seen despite of the strong measures and efforts by the central government to reduce the number, frequency and severity of accidents. The sharp increase may be also due to the fact that the policy initiatives have done nothing to help reduce the number of large-scale coal mine disasters and the number of deaths in such accidents. This made the central government to order for the closure of more than 12,000 small mines across the country.

Then the overall decline in the total number of accidents and deaths in coal mining could be because of the fact that the central government ordered local government officials to crackdown small mines in their areas. The reason could be also due to adoption of effective safety measures. The accident rate in mines has been reduced greatly since the introduction of modern safety and training methods, and productivity has risen dramatically.

Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) collects and analyzes current information on employment and production, as well as on accidents, injuries, and illnesses in the mining industry. The current accident, injury, and illness information are used to produce statistics on accident causes. The produced statistics are published and available to the mining industry and the general public at related web site. These statistics are needed for evaluating the existing safety measures in order to make new effective safety measures.

Mine Safety and Health Administration will publish a proposed rule to enhance miner safety and implement the recommendations of the Technical Study Panel on the Utilization of Belt Air and Composition and Fire Retardant Properties of Belt Material in Underground Coal Mining, based on the mining safety statistical analysis of various years. Mining industry management and labor, and the federal government's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), have made intense effort on decreasing

accidents, improving miner training and minimizing unhealthy workplace conditions.

The mining industries must strictly follow the safety measures in order to reduce the number of accidents and the number of deaths, and to reduce the negative environmental effects of mining. The safety measures will help the mining industry to more effectively identify higher-risk operations and more logically evaluate their safety improvement programs.

Extreme weather conditions such as winter weather creates certain safety hazards that can affect working conditions at mines in U.S and other countries. Therefore it is very essential to identify the hazards so as to minimize or reduce or eliminate the accidents, injuries, and illnesses in the mining industry and to ensure a safe workplace for all miners.