A field evaluation of the physiological demands of miners in Canada's deep mechanized mines. 2012

Glen P Kenny, and Matthieu Vierula, and Joseph Maté, and Francois Beaulieu, and Stephen G Hardcastle, and Francis Reardon
Human and Environmental Physiology Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Ottawa, Canada. gkenny@uottawa.ca

This study was conducted to evaluate the physical/mechanical characteristics of typical selected mining tasks and the energy expenditure required for their performance. The study comprised two phases designed to monitor and record the typical activities that miners perform and to measure the metabolic energy expenditure and thermal responses during the performance of these activities under a non-heat stress environmental condition (ambient air temperature of 25.8°C and 61% relative humidity with a wet bulb globe temperature (WBGT) of 22.0°C). Six common mining jobs were evaluated in 36 miners: (1) production drilling (jumbo drill) (n = 3), (2) production ore transportation (load-haul dump vehicle) (n = 4), (3) manual bolting (n = 9), (4) manual shotcrete (wet/dry) (n = 3), (5) general services (n = 8) and, (6) conventional mining (long-hole drill) (n = 9). The time/motion analysis involved the on-site monitoring, video recording, and mechanical characterization of the different jobs. During the second trial, continuous measurement of oxygen consumption was performed with a portable metabolic system. Core (ingestible capsule) and skin temperatures (dermal patches) were recorded continuously using a wireless integrated physiological monitoring system. We found that general services and manual bolting demonstrated the highest mean energy expenditure (331 ± 98 and 290 ± 95 W, respectively) as well as the highest peak work rates (513 and 529 W, respectively). In contrast, the lowest mean rate of energy expenditure was measured in conventional mining (221 ± 44 W) and manual shotcrete (187 ± 77 W) with a corresponding peak rate of 295 and 276 W, respectively. The low rate of energy expenditure recorded for manual shotcrete was paralleled by the lowest work to rest ratio (1.8:1). While we found that production drilling had a moderate rate of energy expenditure (271 ± 11 W), it was associated with the highest work to rest ratio (6.7:1) Despite the large inter-variability in energy expenditure and work intervals among jobs, only small differences in average core temperature (average ranged between 37.20 ± 0.22 to 37.42 ± 0.18°C) were measured. We found a high level of variability in the duration and intensity of tasks performed within each mining job. This was paralleled by a large variation in the work to rest allocation and mean energy expenditure over the course of the work shift.

UI MeSH Term Description Entries
D008297 Male Males
D008875 Middle Aged An adult aged 45 - 64 years. Middle Age
D010101 Oxygen Consumption The rate at which oxygen is used by a tissue; microliters of oxygen STPD used per milligram of tissue per hour; the rate at which oxygen enters the blood from alveolar gas, equal in the steady state to the consumption of oxygen by tissue metabolism throughout the body. (Stedman, 25th ed, p346) Consumption, Oxygen,Consumptions, Oxygen,Oxygen Consumptions
D002170 Canada The largest country in North America, comprising 10 provinces and three territories. Its capital is Ottawa.
D003032 Coal Mining The practice of extracting COAL from the earth. Mining, Coal
D004734 Energy Metabolism The chemical reactions involved in the production and utilization of various forms of energy in cells. Bioenergetics,Energy Expenditure,Bioenergetic,Energy Expenditures,Energy Metabolisms,Expenditure, Energy,Expenditures, Energy,Metabolism, Energy,Metabolisms, Energy
D004784 Environmental Monitoring The monitoring of the level of toxins, chemical pollutants, microbial contaminants, or other harmful substances in the environment (soil, air, and water), workplace, or in the bodies of people and animals present in that environment. Monitoring, Environmental,Environmental Surveillance,Surveillance, Environmental
D005260 Female Females
D006358 Hot Temperature Presence of warmth or heat or a temperature notably higher than an accustomed norm. Heat,Hot Temperatures,Temperature, Hot,Temperatures, Hot
D006801 Humans Members of the species Homo sapiens. Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man

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