From awareness to action: Sudbury, mining and occupational disease in a time of change.
Desre M Kramer, D Linn Holness, Emily Haynes and 4 others
PMID 29036859WHAT IT FOUND
Interviewees said awareness of mining occupational disease has grown, but accident deaths still drew more attention.
They attributed reduced exposures mainly to modernization, foreign ownership, market cycles and legislation, not awareness alone.
Key findings
01Interviewees said awareness of occupational exposures has increased, but recent accident fatalities still drew more attention than long latency disease.
02They saw reductions in miners' exposures as linked more to modernization, foreign ownership, metal price cycles and legislation than to awareness alone.
03Unionized job losses and contract work were seen as new problems because contractors may do more dangerous exposed work and are harder to track.
STILL TO COME
How it was doneWhat they found
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What it does not show
The study looked at one mining community and selected key informants, so its themes may not apply to other workplaces. The analysis used only part of the interview set, and those views were not necessarily reflective of the full dynamic of change in Sudbury. It is a qualitative study, so it describes what people said and cannot show that awareness caused safer conditions.
Declared interests
No conflicts of interest were reported.
The easy way to misread this
Do not conclude that awareness of occupational disease made mining safer. The interviewees said accident deaths still drew more attention, and the study attributed a greater impact to modernization, foreign ownership, metal price cycles, and legislation. It is a case study of selected key informants in one community, so it cannot show what will happen in other workplaces.