Behavior-based safety programs in the US mining industry

Occupational injury and illness reporting, and other forms of surveillance of work-related exposures and harm, are fundamental to public health prevention programs. Public health researchers and worker safety advocates have been providing evidence on the influence of behavior-based safety (BBS) programs on injury reporting and related surveillance efforts. Problems include targeting individual behaviors rather than the upstream organizational factors, and reward programs that discourage incident reporting. Major employers in the U.S. mining industry have adopted and promote BBS as their primary occupational injury and illness prevention management system. Massey Energy, for example, the operator of the Upper Big Branch mine boasted of its BBS program to shareholders and the public. The company made claims about its exceptional safety record and peformance. In April 2010, the mine was the site of the worst U.S. mining disasters in 40 years; 29 workers were killed. Investigators identified serious deviations from fundamental safety practices and regulations which led to the disaster, as well as gross errors in injury and incident reporting. This presentation will describe some of the BBS programs in place at U.S. mining operations, and their potential consequences on public health prevention.