Focusing on Coal Workers’ Lung Diseases: A Comparative Analysis of China, Australia, and the United States
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. The Situation of Coal Workers’ Lung Diseases in China, Australia, and the USA
2.1. Coal Production in China, Australia, and the USA
2.2. Coal Miners in China, Australia, and the USA
2.3. The Pneumoconiosis of Coal Miners in China, Australia, and the USA
3. Comparative Analysis of China, Australia, and the USA
3.1. The Coal Dust Management
3.1.1. The Geological Conditions of Coal Mine
3.1.2. The Mitigation of Coal Dust
3.1.3. The Monitoring of Respirable Coal Dust
3.2. The Health Management of Coal Workers’ Lung Diseases
3.2.1. The Health Examination for Coal Workers
3.2.2. The Participants of Health Management
3.2.3. The Compensations of Coal Workers with Lung Diseases
4. Conclusions and Suggestions
- China is the primary coal-producing country in the world and also has the largest number of coal workers, which is more than five times the number of workers in the USA and Australia. This means that more people are at risk of exposure to coal dust. At the same time, the Chinese coal mines were characterised as consisting of more small and state-owned mines compared with the large, private coal mines in the USA and Australia. These small mines are reporting more serious diseases due to the absence of lung disease management.
- The number of cases of lung disease in coal workers is rising every year in China; more than 20,000 new cases of CWP and silicosis have been appearing per year since 2010. In contrast, the number of cases and deaths due to lung diseases generally declined or was kept at a stable, low level in the USA and Australia, where the prevalence of CWP in Australia was still lower than 0.5%.
- The geological conditions of China, when compared with the USA and Australia, fundamentally disadvantages the country for coal mining; most coal mines need to be underground coal mines that compete with complex fault systems, and the coal rank and soft host rock increase dust production.
- Methods and standards for the mitigation of coal dust, including the main mining methods, engineering controls, and respiratory protective equipment, are weaker and less implemented in China compared with the USA and Australia, especially within the small coal mines. Meanwhile, the USA is the leading developer of new mitigation methods.
- A disparity in the occupational exposure limit existed among the three countries, where China and Australia have relatively low requirements compared to the USA. China was lagging behind the USA and Australia in terms of physical monitoring devices usage of respirable dust and inspection implements.
- The examination and diagnosis of lung diseases in China were less effective due to the lack of access to medical support such as mobile units or integrated health services compared with the USA and Australia. Likewise, there was a gap between the training of B readers/medical practitioners in the USA and China, which affects the precision of lung disease diagnoses. In addition, Australia has a more cooperative, integrated awareness of the examination and diagnoses of lung diseases than China.
- In China, the governance of occupational diseases occurred solely through the governments, which differed with the cooperative governance in the USA and Australia, where the government, industries, coal workers, unions, and so on had a higher degree of involvement and more effective issue resolution.
- Compared with the USA and Australia, the consequences for coal operators implicated in cases of occupational diseases were relatively lenient, and there is ineffective compensation for coal workers with lung diseases. Additionally, the health coverage for retired coal workers was not adequate in China.
- To increase health awareness, keeping pace with safety management.
- To accelerate technological control of mitigation of coal dust.
- To update and popularise the monitoring devices of coal dust and perfect inspection management.
- To strengthen the health examinations for coal workers.
- To advocate cooperative governance for occupational diseases.
- To reform regulation, simplify the process, and enhance the implementation of compensations for coal workers with lung diseases.
- To improve the health management of retired coal workers.
- To establish a complete and efficient data system for the health assessment of occupational diseases
Author Contributions
Funding
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Years | Occupational Diseases | Pneumoconiosis | Coal Workers’ Pneumoconiosis | Silicosis | Lung Disease of Coal Workers | The Proportion of CWP and Silicosis among Pneumoconiosis |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2003 | 10,571 | 8361 | 4255 | 2836 | 4561 | 84.81% |
2004 | - | 8743 | - | - | - | - |
2005 | 12,212 | 9173 | 4358 | 3967 | 4477 | 90.76% |
2006 | 11,519 | 8783 | 3503 | - | - | - |
2007 | 14,296 | 10,963 | 5351 | 4447 | 6554 | 89.37% |
2008 | 13,744 | 10,829 | 4924 | 4748 | 5471 | 89.32% |
2009 | 18,128 | 14,495 | 7397 | 5922 | 7502 | 91.89% |
2010 | 27,240 | 23,812 | 12,564 | 9870 | 13,968 | 94.21% |
2011 | 29,879 | 26,401 | 14,000 | 11,122 | - | 95.16% |
2012 | 27,420 | 24,206 | 12,405 | 10,592 | 13,399 | 95.01% |
2013 | 26,393 | 23,152 | 13,955 | 8095 | 15,078 | 95.24% |
2014 | 29,972 | 26,873 | 13,846 | 11,471 | 11,396 | 94.21% |
2015 | 29,180 | 26,081 | 14,152 | 10,343 | 11,625 | 93.92% |
2016 | 31,789 | 27,992 | 16,658 | 10,072 | 13,070 | 95.49% |
Category | Countries | China | The USA | Australia |
---|---|---|---|---|
Coal mine type (numbers) | Surface coal mine (N) | 439 (in 2017) | 1055 (in 2015) | NSW (22); QLD (37) (2017) |
Underground coal mine (N) | 7223 (in 2017) | 405 (in 2015) | NSW (20); QLD (13) (2017) | |
Geological condition | Structural geology |
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Rank of reserved coal |
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Mitigation of coal dust | Main mining methods |
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Main engineering control methods |
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Respiratory protective equipment | Particulate respirators: (GB2626-2006)
| Particulate respirators: (42 CFR Part 84)
| Particulate respirators: (AS/NZS 1715 and 1716)
| |
Monitoring of coal dust | Occupational exposure limit |
|
| Two main states of a coal mine (TWA)
free silica: 0.1 mg/m3
free silica: 0.1 mg/m3 |
Monitoring devices |
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Common sampling methods |
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Category | China | The USA | Australia |
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Periodic health examination |
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Participants |
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Pattern of governance | Government-dominated governance | Co-governance | Co-governance |
Standard of radiograph | Chinese National Diagnosis Criteria of Pneumoconiosis (GBZ 70-2009) | International Labour Office (ILO) International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconiosis | International Labour Office (ILO) International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconiosis |
Insurance |
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Compensation |
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Retiring coal mine workers |
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Penalty of Violation | If coal mines conceal the occupational diseases, punish the coal mines fine of 10,000 to 50,000 RMB, warning or order date of expiration correction, or demotion or dismissal of operators | Operators who knowingly conceal or dispose of any property to avoid the payment of benefits under the Act may be guilty of a misdemeanour and, if convicted, subject to a fine of $1000, imprisonment for up to one year, or both. | The penalty for the discharge of obligations for operators involving exposure to a harmful substance (update 2018): fine of 750 penalty units, to be consistent with the existing maximum penalty unit amount 126,000 AUD and have right of prosecuting an operator or shut down a mine or suspend or cancel statutory certificates of competency (QLD) |
Health assessment methods |
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© 2018 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Share and Cite
Han, S.; Chen, H.; Harvey, M.-A.; Stemn, E.; Cliff, D. Focusing on Coal Workers’ Lung Diseases: A Comparative Analysis of China, Australia, and the United States. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2018, 15, 2565. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112565
Han S, Chen H, Harvey M-A, Stemn E, Cliff D. Focusing on Coal Workers’ Lung Diseases: A Comparative Analysis of China, Australia, and the United States. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2018; 15(11):2565. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112565
Chicago/Turabian StyleHan, Shuai, Hong Chen, Maggie-Anne Harvey, Eric Stemn, and David Cliff. 2018. "Focusing on Coal Workers’ Lung Diseases: A Comparative Analysis of China, Australia, and the United States" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 15, no. 11: 2565. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph15112565