Mass casualty incidents in the underground mining industry: applying the Haddon Matrix on an integrative literature review
2018 (English)In: Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness, ISSN 1935-7893, E-ISSN 1938-744X, Vol. 12, no 1, p. 138-146Article in journal (Refereed) Published
Abstract [en]
OBJECTIVE: Underground mining is associated with obvious risks that can lead to mass casualty incidents. Information about such incidents was analyzed in an integrated literature review.
METHODS: A literature search (1980-2015) identified 564 modern-era underground mining reports from countries sharing similar occupational health legislation. These reports were condensed to 31 reports after consideration of quality grading and appropriateness to the aim. The Haddon matrix was used for structure, separating human factors from technical and environmental details, and timing.
RESULTS: Most of the reports were descriptive regarding injury-creating technical and environmental factors. The influence of rock characteristics was an important pre-event environmental factor. The organic nature of coal adds risks not shared in hard-rock mines. A sequence of mechanisms is commonly described, often initiated by a human factor in interaction with technology and step-wise escalation to involve environmental circumstances. Socioeconomic factors introduce heterogeneity. In the Haddon matrix, emergency medical services are mainly a post-event environmental issue, which were not well described in the available literature. The US Quecreek Coal Mine incident of 2002 stands out as a well-planned rescue mission.
CONCLUSION: Evaluation of the preparedness to handle underground mining incidents deserves further scientific attention. Preparedness must include the medical aspects of rescue operations.
Place, publisher, year, edition, pages
Cambridge University Press, 2018. Vol. 12, no 1, p. 138-146
Keywords [en]
mass casualty incident, medical emergency, preparedness, rescue, underground mining
National Category
Nursing Public Health, Global Health, Social Medicine and Epidemiology
Identifiers
URN: urn:nbn:se:umu:diva-137579DOI: 10.1017/dmp.2017.31ISI: 000428215300023PubMedID: 28592339Scopus ID: 2-s2.0-85020658188OAI: oai:DiVA.org:umu-137579DiVA, id: diva2:1120105
2017-07-052017-07-052023-03-24Bibliographically approved