The paper discusses the prevalence and surveillance of coal miners' pneumoconiosis (CMP) in the Indian mining industry, highlighting the health risks associated with dust exposure and occupational injuries. It emphasizes the need for improved occupational health surveillance and intervention strategies, particularly in the context of increasing mechanization in coal mining. A case study of the Singareni Collieries Company Limited demonstrates a significant reduction in CMP cases over time due to advancements in health and safety measures.

1. Pneumoconiosis and Occupational Health
Surveillance in Coal Mines
U. Siva Sankar, V.N.S. Prasad M.* and B. Ramesh Kumar
Singareni Collieries Company Limited, Kothagudem, Khammam
*Corresponding author: E-mail: uss_7@yahoo.com
ABSTRACT
Mining industry has one of the highest injury rates among the major industry divisions. Occupational
injuries result in socio-economical consequences for miners, industry as well as for society. Occupational
injuries include accidental injuries and health hazards. In Indian mining industry accidental injuries
is a major concern so far. With increasing mechanization of coal mines, a new dimension needs to be
established in the field of occupational health and safety issues of the miners. In this paper authors
emphasized consequences of dust related diseases, especially Coal Miners Pneumoconiosis and also the
occupational health surveillance of the disease in coal mines for effective elimination of the hazard
with a case study of Singareni Collieries Company Limited (SCCL).
Keywords: Coal miners’ pneumoconiosis, Occupational health, Mechanization, Miner,
Surveillance, SCCL
INTRODUCTION
Extraction of minerals from below the surface of the earth is fraught with innumerable dangers. Mining
has been and continues to be a hazardous profession and has a rightly been deemed to be a war with the
unpredictable forces of the nature. Coal is one of the world’s most plentiful energy resources, and its use is
likely to quadruple by 2020[1]. Coal is dominant source of energy in India and accounts for 55% of the
country’s energy need. Average daily employment of miners in nearly 570 coalmines lying in different
coalfields of India is approximately 3.70 lakhs [2]. A focus on the Occupational hazards and overall condition
prevailing in Indian coalmines are felt to be important.
Coal is made up of variety of elements. It is mixed with other dusts notably crystalline silica generated
from fractured rock in the mine roof or floor of the coal seam which can also become airborne. Coal mine
dusts can be a significant health risk. When inhaled by miners, dust can result in disease of pulmonary
system including Coal Miners Pneumoconiosis (CMP), Progressive Massive Fibrosis (PMF), Silicosis, and
Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD).
The above lung diseases are progressive, disabling, non-reversible and sometimes fatal but preventable
occupational lung disease. Chronic lung diseases, such as CMP were once common in miners, leading to
reduced life expectancy.
The scientists of Central Mining Research Station (CMRS), Dhanbad (1972) in a survey of 850 coal
miners found 19 (2.23%) explicit cases of pneumoconiosis and 54 (6.35%) suspected cases of
pneumoconiosis [3]. In India, official statistics revealed an average of 72 new cases of the disease a year

2. 814 34th ICSMRI 2011
between 1980 and 1994 and sample surveys in India produced estimates as high as 40 per cent of the
number of miners with CMP [4]. From 1994 to 2010, 141 CMP cases have been notified [5] and the
distribution of cases in SCCL and other coal mines in India is shown graphically in the Figure.1.
45
40
35 SCCL
Number of Victims
30 All coal mines-India
25
20
15
10
5
0
94
96
98
00
02
04
06
08
10
19
19
19
20
20
20
20
20
20
Figure 1: Pneumoconiosis cases in India since 1994
In some mining countries black lung is still common, with 4000 new cases of black lung every year in
the USA (4% of miners annually) and 10000 new cases every year in China (0.2% of miners) [6]. The US
National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) reported that close to 9 percent of miners
with 25 years or more experience tested positive for black lung in 2005 to 2006, compared with 4 percent
in the late 1990s [7].
Chest X rays are the only way to confirm CMP, and there is no cure other than a lung transplant [8, 9].
Treatments are aimed at the symptoms and complications. The only steps are to remove the patient from
exposure to dust in the early stages to prevent more severe damage.
Dealing with the complex health problems arising out of environmental pollution and occupational
hazards requires more aggressive involvement of the medical community[10]. There are very few professional
agencies like National Institute of Occupational health (NIOH) and its arm the Regional Occupational
Health Centre (ROHC), the National Occupational Health Centre (NOHC), the Industrial Toxicology
Research Centre (ITRC), Central Labor Institute, National Institute of Miners Health (NIMH), Central
Mines Safety and Health Academy functioning at Director General of Mines Safety (DGMS) that are the
institutes working for the betterment of work-related hazards since independence in India[11,12].
Government of India aimed to significantly reduce the prevalence of Pneumoconiosis/Silicosis by
2015 and to totally eliminate Pneumoconiosis/Silicosis at workplaces by 2030 in line with the International
Labour Organisation (ILO) and the World Health Organisation’s Global Programme [13].
NEWER DIMENSION OF SAFETY AND HEALTH ISSUES
The coal production in India has been increased 16 times from 34.98 Mt in 1951 to 566.13 Mt in 2009-
10. ‘Vision Coal 2025’ projected coal production to 1086 Mt by 2024-25 [14]. The reserves amenable to
open cast mining are depleting at a faster rate and environmental concerns are also limiting production
from the opencast mines. In order to cope up with future needs, production from open cast and underground
mines has to be substantially increased using modern and mass production technologies. The present mix
of manual, semi mechanized and mechanized mines will have to change in favour of mechanized mines.
Technological advancements have made coal mining today more productive than it has ever been.

3. Pneumoconiosis and Occupational Health Surveillance in Coal Mines 815
In India mining industry has been under going change in terms of technology, size and pattern of
employment, etc, and the nature of occupational safety and health issues are also expected to change with
increase in mechanization, large scale participation of private entrepreneurs, and outsourcing of different
mining activities. To keep up with technology and to extract coal as efficiently as possible, highly skilled
and well trained mining personnel required in the use of complex, state-of-the-art instruments and
equipment. Modern mining or mechanisation results in some of the following occupational health and
safety issues;
• Modern machines produce lot of heat, noise, dust – making the working environment vulnerable.
• Longer hours of work, arduous travel, and musculoskeletal disorders make miners’ life detrimental.
• Physiological and mental stress levels in operating modern machines are high, and
• Mine safety and health issues largely affected by the socio-economic and socio-political atmosphere
prevailing in the mining field.
Growth in coal mining is has been phenomenal and complexity in mining has been increased. But
there has been steady decrease in the trend of mine accidents. Ten yearly average death rate per 1000
persons employed has come down from 0.82 in 1951-60 to 0.40 in 2000-10 and number of serious
accidents has come down from 523 in 1998 to 334 in 2010[12]. The reduction in fatality rate is mainly due
to shift of technology from conventional underground to mechanized opencast mining and also reduction
in underground manpower due to introduction of semi mechanization and mechanization.
DUST HAZARDS – CMP
Dust pollution is a predominant problem associated in opencast as well as underground mining operations.
The production, transportation and processing of coal generates tiny respirable dust particles that become
airborne and invisible to the naked eye. Coal or rock dust can range in size from over 100 ìm to < 2 ìm.
The miners engaged in mining of minerals are affected with common health hazards due to dust such as
CMP, Silicosis, Asbestosis, Siderosis, Berilliyosis.
The term “Pneumoconiosis” first coined by pathologist Zenker in 1867, originally meant non-neoplastic
fibrotic disease of lung parenchyma, due to inhalation of inorganic/mineral dust. The term has been
broadened to include diseases due to inhalation of organic dusts [15].
Coal Miners Pneumoconiosis colloquially referred to as ‘Black lung disease’ is the result of infiltration
of coal dust in the lungs of miners work at the coal-face hacking out the coal or elsewhere shifting the
lumps of coal or mining waste. Airborne coal dust is composed of inhalable as well as respirable dust.
Inhalable dust is the fraction of airborne dust that enters the nose and mouth during breathing, and is
therefore available for deposition in the respiratory tract. Respirable dust is the fraction of inhalable dust
that penetrates into the gas exchange region of the lung. It is mostly in the size fraction of 0.1 to 10 µm.
As the CMP progresses with continued exposure creates an incurable condition that begins with the
inhalation of small coal dust particles. This causes localized reactions, usually in the upper part of the
lungs, followed by the formation of fibrous scars. Although asymptomatic in the early stages, as CMP
advances, scarred areas in the lungs increase and coalesce. With massive fibrosis or scarring, pulmonary
function decreases, sometimes leads even to death.
Prolonged exposure to large amounts of coal dust can result in more serious forms of the disease from
simple coal workers pneumoconiosis to progressive massive fibrosis (PMF). More commonly, miners exposed to
dust develop industrial bronchitis, clinically defined as chronic bronchitis (i.e. productive cough for 3
months per year for at least 2 years) associated with workplace dust exposure. The incidence of industrial
bronchitis varies with age, job, exposure, and habits like smoking etc. In simple CMP, small rounded
opacities first appear in the upper lung zones. The opacities may coalesce and form large opacities (>1 cm),
characterizing PMF.

4. 816 34th ICSMRI 2011
Observations on industry workers in Lucknow (India), experiments on rats found that jaggery
(a traditional sugar) had a preventive action against the harmful effects of coal dust [16].
In India, Maximum Exposure Limit (MEL) is prescribed as 3 mg/m3 for eight hours time weighted
average (TWA) provided the concentration of silica content in the respirable dust remains < 5%. In case
Silica % in the respirable dust exceeds 5%, the MEL is calculated to be 15 divided by silica %. It is,
therefore essential to determine the % of silica content in the respirable dust in order to define the threshold
limit (MEL) of the concentration of respirable dust at any work place. There are mainly two standard
analytical methods for determination of crystalline silica content in the dust that are infra red
spectrophotometry and X-ray diffraction methods[9,13].
In many countries, the MEL has been prescribed to be 0.3mg/m3 for eight hours TWA. However, in
most of the cases, it is reasonably practicable to control exposure to 0.1 mg/m3 (8 hour TWA) or less by
engineering or process control [13].
Symptoms
There are several stages of pneumoconiosis. Early stages may go completely unnoticed. Both simple CMP
and PMF are often asymptomatic or only affect lung function slightly. When symptoms do occur, shortness
of breath and chronic cough are the most common. Progression to PMF is marked by lung dysfunction,
pulmonary hypertension, and cor-pulmoale. Unlike silicosis, patients with CMP do not appear to have a
substantial increased risk for tuberculosis, but coal miners may experience significant silica dust exposure,
and therefore the accompanying risks.
OCCUPATIONAL HEALTH SURVEILLANCE (OHS)
OHS includes Environmental as well as Medical and Biological surveillance.
Environmental Surveillance
This includes monitoring of work environment factors responsible for the diseases.Engineering control
measures should be adopted at the work place environment for measurement and reduction of dust
generation, suppression of dust, proper maintenance of equipment and adopting environmental hygiene
measures.
Medical and Biological Surveillance
This includes monitoring of occurrence of diseases. CMP can be diagnosed with the examination of Chest
X-rays only. Symptoms and pulmonary function testing relate to the degree of respiratory impairment, but
are not part of the diagnostic criteria. Chest X-rays can detect the early signs of and changes in CMP, often
before the miner is aware of any lung problems. The screening program is only available to current miners
[17]
. The pre-employment medical examination provides the baseline data for each individual. The periodical
medical examinations (PME) are conducted for the early detection of CMP. The medical board uses the
standard ILO X-ray plates of pneumoconiosis which is followed all over the world. ILO (2000) classified
pneumoconiosis for the sake of standardization of the disease fore national and international comparability
using 12 point scale of profusion with major categories 0, 1, 2 & 3, which recognize the existence of a
continuity of change from no small opacities to the most advanced category. In India, if the profusion of
any type of pneumoconiotic opacities in chest radiograph is 1/0 or above, the case shall be certified and
notified as pneumoconiosis [18].Patients of category 1 are declared fit for normal duty. Patients of category
2 are declared fit for duty away from dust and category 3 and above including PMF are declared unfit for
service in mines. Under Workmen Compensation Act, 1923, compensation ranging from 10% to 100%

5. Pneumoconiosis and Occupational Health Surveillance in Coal Mines 817
depending on the severity of CMP is paid to victims as disease is deemed to be an injury by accident.In
India, in addition to the statutory provisions on occupational health and hygiene prescribed under Mines
Act, coal mines and metal mine regulations, mines rules, and DGMS circulars, National Safety Conferences
(NSC) emphasized the creation of occupational health services, occupational health hazards and occupational
health surveillance in the mining industry since 7th NSC. Central government notified diseases connected
with mining operations in the official gazette under section 25(1) of Mines Act, 1952. Silicosis,
pneumoconiosis, and asbestosis are dust related diseases notified in coal and non-coal mines. 10th NSC,
2007 recommended inclusion of siderosis, and berilliyosis dust related diseases under notified diseases.
Prevention of CMP
Preventative strategy of CMP can be divided into four levels i.e., Primordial, primary, secondary and
tertiary prevention [12].
Primordial prevention
Primary prevention entails removal of exposure.
Primary prevention
This approach is a critical element of the preventative strategy. It involves prevention of the disease before
its initiation. It includes introducing dust control measures, the use of appropriate technologies i.e., local
exhaust ventilation, process enclosure, wet techniques and substitution to limit exposure to coal dust.
Secondary prevention
This is the early detection of the asymptomatic disease and prompt intervention when the disease is
preventable after screening chest X-rays and possibly lung function test. Secondary prevention is important
in determining the efficacy of the dust control measures that are in place and to determine the health risks.
Tertiary prevention
This approach is used once the disease has occurred and it aims to lessen the long term impairments and
disability effects stemming from the disease and it entails diagnosis, treatment, appropriate placement,
compensation and rehabilitation.
A CASE STUDY OF CMP - SCCL
In India, Singareni Collieries Company Limited is pioneered in coal mining technology introduction for
meeting the requirements of Southern India. The coal production has been increased ten fold from 5.31
Mt in 1973-74 to 51.30 Mt in 2010-11. As on date, the company consists of 67,480 employees engaged
in 36 underground mines, 14 opencast mines and in other supporting departments.The trend of certified
cases of CMP in SCCL from 1965 is presented in graphical form in Figure 2. It is obvious from the Figure
2 that during 1965 to 1972 more CMP cases were identified. This was because of engaging miners in
manual mining operations such as drilling, blasting and loading which are the major dusty operations;
devoid of dust control measures as well as safety and health precautions. During 1990 there was further
increase in CMP cases, which was as a result of commencement of opencast mining operations in 1975
and introduction of semi mechanization and mechanization in underground mines after 1978, with less
focus on occupational health problems. During 2002 to 2010, totally 1,46,393 X-rays were examined as a
part of periodical medical examination and in which six persons were found victims of pneumoconiosis
and cases fall under the category 1 or less indicating the prevalence is less than 0.009%.

6. 818 34th ICSMRI 2011
30
25
CMP Cases
20 CWP Cases_SCCL
15
10
5
0
65
67
69
72
74
77
79
81
86
90
92
97
07
09
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
19
20
20
Year
Figure 2: Trend of Pneumoconiosis cases in SCCL
From 1965 to 2010, 131 cases were identified as victims of CMP out of which 126 miners were paid
compensation ranging from 10% to 100%. As per the medical records, none of the PMF cases were
observed so far. From the observation of the past data, it is found that miner is prone to pneumoconiosis
after 12 years of exposure to respirable dust at workplace environment.
There is 100% reduction in the cases from the year 1965 to 2010. In the last 30 years, there was only
one year which recorded more than 5 CMP cases. This was achieved with stringent application of
engineering, medical and statutory controls and organization’s commitment towards occupational health
and safety of miners.
Measures Taken by SCCL
Various measures have been taken in opencast and underground mines of SCCL, to prevent liberation
accumulation and propagation of airborne dust with a view to completely eliminate pneumoconiosis in
coal mines. These include management, engineering, medical and statutory control measures. For instance
some of the observed measures are as given below;
• Except few mines manual loading operations are completely eliminated in underground mines
with the introduction of side discharge loaders; load haul dumpers; roadheaders; and continuous
miner and longwall technologies.
• Improved ventilation in terms of both quantity and velocity to reduce airborne dust concentration
at working places of underground mines.
• Wet drilling for roof bolting, water sprinkling at transfer points of belts, stage loader, crusher,
feeder breaker and enclosing with belts wherever possible in underground mines.
• Remote control operation of load haul dumpers, continuous miners and using uni-directional
cutting sequence in longwall to prevent operator’s exposure to air borne respirable dust.
• Inbuilt dust scrubbers with continuous miners, exhaust ventilation with dust filters in roadheader
faces is provided besides drum mounted water spraying system on roadheaders, continuous miners
and shearers.
• Proper maintenance and cleaning of belts, cutting machinery and replacement of cutting tools in
due course.
• Mist sprays provided at coal transfer and unloading points; solenoid activated water spraying on
belts; fully enclosed crushing plants; pre weigh bins and silos in coal handling plants and mast
mounted high capacity water sprinklers at coal yards.
• Wet drilling and dry drilling equipped with dust collectors for drilling blast holes; cleaning of
pavements; water sprinkling on haul roads, and plantation in and around open cast mines.

7. Pneumoconiosis and Occupational Health Surveillance in Coal Mines 819
• Conducting ambient air quality measurements with the help of high volume samplers at 241
strategic locations on every fortnight to detect Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM), Respirable
Particulate Matter (RPM), SO2, NOx etc., in all mining areas.
• When profusion of pneumoconiosis in chest X-ray is more than 0/1, miner is kept under medical
surveillance and shifted to less dust area to prevent further development of CMP.
• Evaluation of dust control measures in mines where CMP case(s) is/are identified.
• As per NSC recommendations, modern diagnostic equipments have been provided in PME centers
of all mining areas in order to detect the occupational health diseases at the earliest during medical
examinations.
• Occupational disease board was constituted in 2006 after 9th NSC recommendation as a part of
occupational health surveillance of miners.
• Education of the miners on sanitation, cleanliness, hygiene, and health care and conducting mobile
health programs at regular intervals.
• Safety committee members and workmen inspectors examine dust measurements; engineering
dust controls and dust records at regular intervals with active participation.
CONCLUSIONS
Coal mining in India is at a very critical juncture; increasing mechanization and privatization pose a great
challenge on occupational health and safety issues of mining industry. The accident figures which appear
in government statistics do not reveal the actual situation and the figures say almost nothing about the
occupational diseases in the mines due to less attentiveness on occupational health so far.
SCCL has been striving for meeting coal demand in southern India, and aimed at continuous
introduction of modern mining with a spotlight on occupation health and safety of its miners. SCCL is
always vanguard in taking measures to completely eliminate dust related diseases as well as in the concern
of occupational health and safety of miners when compared to other counterparts in India.
• Last but not least let us remember the famous quotation of Albert Einstein “Concern for man and
his fate must always form the chief interest of all technical endeavors. Never forget this in the
midst of your diagrams and equations”. Steps necessary for improving conditions of occupational
health and safety status in coal mines include;
• Strengthened organization and appropriate leadership in trade unions, conscious miners, who are
able to control the work process, and the generation of unbiased information about occupational
hazards are essential.
• Every organisation should have occupational health policy and formulate a comprehensive
surveillance programme suitable to its specific occupational health problems for prevention of
occupational diseases.
• Inculcating better system and work culture by adopting ISO certification schemes for Quality,
Environment, Occupational Health and Safety and Risk Management; (Viz; ISO 9000, ISO 14000,
OHSAS 18000 & ISO 27000 ) for the total system from extraction to utilization.
• The periodical medical examination of miners and dust measurements need to be integrated and
pursued together so that the benefits of the dust control measures can be appraised in terms of
change in morbidity.
• Work should be allotted depending upon the two principles, which are, ‘Miner fit for job’ and ‘fit
the job for Miner’.
• DGMS should start ‘Mobile Health Screening Program’ to carry out health evaluations of the
miners independently at regular intervals.

8. 820 34th ICSMRI 2011
• Active participation of professional agencies of medical community is required for dealing with
occupational health hazards of miners.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The Authors expressed their profound gratitude to the Dr. K. Prasanna Simha, CMO, Dr. M.N. Rama
Krishna, Dy. CMO and Dr. B.S.S.V. Prasada Rao, Medical Supdt., SCCL for providing the necessary data
and guidance. The views expressed by the authors are of their own and not the organization which they
belong.
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