Figure 20 shows the work- and street-clothes rooms in two change houses: A is the work-clothes room equipped with hook-and-basket hangers. B is the street-clothes room with steel lockers; the lockers are at seat level above the floor to facilitate cleaning the floor and have sloping tops to prevent storing anything on them. (Note the ventilating ducts near the ceiling.)

For a small mine all facilities may be housed in one room, except that the toilets may be enclosed with curtain walls or half partitions, as shown in figure 21.

Based on the maximum number of employees on any one shift, the following equipment is suggested for a change house or room:

42

1. Separate accommodations for street and work clothes, preferably a steel locker for street clothes and a chain hanger for work clothes.

2. One adjustable shower head for each 10 employees, with a minimum of 2 heads.

3. One toilet for each 20 employees, with a minimum of 2 toilets.

4. One upright urinal for each 20 or fewer employees.

5. One lavatory or equivalent basin space for each 20 or fewer employees.

6. At least two sanitary drinking fountains.

MISCELLANEOUS HAZARDS

Disabling occupational injuries in the United States totaled approximately 2 million in 1952.43 Of these, about 1,500 were fatal, and 85,000 resulted in some permanent impairment. Table 5 shows the

42 Cash, F. E., Suggested Standards for Change Houses: Pres. at annual meeting, Am. Pub. Health Assoc., San Francisco, Calif., Oct. 31, 1951, 14 pp.

43 National Safety Council, Accident Facts: 1953, pp. 30, 31, and 37.

approximate number of injuries involving different parts of the body, percentages of the total injuries, and percentages of all compensation paid. The average compensation was $369 per injury, and the more frequent sources (with percentages) were: Handling objects, 22 percent; falls of persons, 17 percent; machinery, 16 percent; falling objects, 13 percent; handtools, 7 percent; vehicles, 7 percent; and other sources, 18 percent.

TABLE 5.-Occupational injuries, percentage of total injuries, and percentage of all compensation paid, 1952

Handling materials and equipment is the greatest source of injuries in most industries. In metal and nonmetallic mining 13.6 percent of all injuries from 1932 to 1954 were charged to handling materials. Records of the Bureau of Mines (tables 6 and 7) show 51 fatal injuries at underground mines and 5 at opencut operations during the 23 years; 13 percent of the nonfatal injuries at underground mines and 20 percent of those at opencut mines were from handling materials.

Injuries (fatal and nonfatal) from handling materials at underground metal and nonmetallic mines declined from an average of 1,416 a year between 1932 and 1941 to 1,180 a year between 1942 and 1951. In these decades injuries from all causes declined from 11,375 to 8,772.

The injury-frequency trend from handling materials at underground mines (fig. 22) was upward, with an increase of 15 percent from 1932 to 1954. There were during these 23 years, 51 fatal and 29,902 nonfatal injuries (total, 29,953), which is 13.6 percent of the total injuries from all causes.

From 1950 to 1954, the trend was sharply upward, with an increase of 54 percent in injuries. There were during these 5 years 16 fatal and 5,970 nonfatal injuries (total, 5,986), or 17.2 percent of the total injuries from all causes. (See table 6.)

A review of injuries from handling materials (other than ore and rock) in the iron-ore mines of the Lake Superior district for

1944-54 44 45 revealed that there were 2 fatal and 1,531 nonfatal injuries, which is approximately 16.3 percent of the total injuries from all causes. These (1,533) injuries resulted in a time charge of 67,613 days, which is 3.8 percent of the total days charged to injuries from all causes. One of the fatal and 1,128 of the nonfatal injuries occurred at underground mines where approximately 55 percent of the men were employed.

The injuries (fatal and nonfatal) from handling materials at opencut metal and nonmetallic mines increased from an average of 154 a year between 1932 and 1941 to 225 a year between 1942 and 1951. In those decades injuries from all causes increased from 665 to 1,008; injuries from handling materials increased by 66 percent during the 20 years. (See table 7.)

The injury-frequency trend from handling materials at opencut mines (fig. 23) was downward, with a decrease of 54 percent from 1932 to 1954. There were during the 23 years 5 fatal and 3,888 nonfatal injuries (total, 3,893), which is 20.2 percent of the total injuries from all causes. From 1950 to 1954 the trend was also downward, with a decrease of 61 percent in injuries. There were during the 5 years 1 fatal and 815 nonfatal injuries (total, 816), or 18.7 percent of the total injuries from all causes. (See table 7.)

When handling materials manually, injuries may be caused by lifting, falls, mashing or cutting hands or feet, eye wounds, and burns. Strains from lifting may account for over half of the injuries that occur in handling materials where such work is done mainly by hand labor. Although injuries of various kinds result from improper lifting, back strains probably are the most numerous. As a rule, these strains come about because of failure to lift in such a way that most of the load is imposed on the strong leg muscles rather than the weaker one of the back. To lift safely, a person should (fig. 24):

1. Make sure that there is secure footing, that a good hold can be obtained, and that there is room to lift.

2. Stand close to the object with feet not too far apart; bend the knees; keep the arms and back as straight as practicable.

3. Lift steadily without jerking; never try to lift while in an unbalanced position.

The human body is well designed for lifting, but unless used correctly it will break down, often with serious damage. Wrong lifting may cause a back muscle to stretch beyond its strength and tear. Such an injury is known as a strain, and many times recovery is slow and difficult. Persons with weakness in abdominal muscles are subject to hernia; medical authorities disagree as to whether a lifting strain will bring one about, but straining and pulling from an awkward position or slipping while lifting have caused this type of injury.

Injuries from falling material other than ore and rock are frequently connected with but not included in injuries from handling materials.

44 Cash, F. E., Accident Experience, Iren-Ore Mines-Lake Superior District, 1940-45: Bureau of Mines Inf. Circ. 7410, 1947, 11 pp.; Accident Experience, Iron-Ore Mines-Lake Superior District, 1940-47: Bureau of Mines Inf. Circ. 7510, 1949, 16 pp.

45 Lake Superior Mines Safety Council, Review of Accidents in the Lake Superior District: Proc. Lake Superior Mine Safety Conf., 1949, pp. 21-34; 1950, pp. 16-30; 1951, pp. 90-107; 1952, pp. 150-164; 1953, pp. 121–137; 1954, pp. 72-88; 1955, pp. 104-117.

FIGURE 22.—Injury-Frequency Trend From Handling Materials at Underground Metal and Nonmetallic Mines, 1932-54.

A review of injuries from falling material in the opencut iron-ore mines of the Lake Superior district for 1944-52 46 revealed that there were 11 fatal and 618 nonfatal injuries (total, 629), which is approximately 7.7 percent of the total injuries from all causes. These 629 injuries resulted in a time charge of 93,064 days, which is 5.6 percent of the total days charged to injuries from all causes. Ten fatal and 466 nonfatal injuries occurred at underground mines where approximately 55.5 percent of the men are employed (13-year average).

Certain accident-prevention measures are applicable to handling materials, just as to machinery, air contaminants, and falls of persons. Employees must be trained in the safe procedures of their respective jobs, they must be properly supervised, mechanical handling devices must be substituted where practicable, and protective equipment must be provided and used.

Materials such as pipe, rail, timber, etc., should be piled neatly and safely in storage yards for ease in handling and so they will not fall on persons. Warehouse and shop storage should include rack and floor loading strength having a safety factor of at least 2 and protection against accidental movement (fig. 25). Figure 26 shows good storage and housekeeping practices at an iron mine.

46 See works cited in footnotes 44 and 45.

TABLE 6.—Injuries from handling materials at underground metal and nonmetalic mines, 1932-541

NOTE.-Prepared by Accident Analysis Branch, Health and Safety Division.

Mechanical handling of supplies and materials (figs. 27, 28, and 29) has greatly reduced the hazard of hernia and back injuries. A novel device for unloading rail from a cage is shown in figure 30, A and B.

Timber, drill rods, scaling bars, rails, and pipe should not be thrown while being moved onto or from cars or trucks. One end of timber, pipe, and rail should be lowered to the floor or ground before the other end is released. Drill rods and scaling bars thrown into or from cars have a tendency to rebound and ricochet, resulting in numerous injuries to nippers as well as others who may be in the vicinity. When handling any heavy material on sloping surfaces, such as the floor of a stope, those occupying positions below the object should first obtain secure footing in a position that will permit them to step into the clear in the event the object should slide or roll. Most material handled underground will be wet and slippery; because of this, an object should be gripped firmly, and after it is raised no attempt should be made to shift the grip.

One of the most important phases of unloading material is to store it so as not to create tripping or stumbling hazards.

Warehouse, shop, and mine storage should include racks and bins for the various kinds of materials.