The objective of this study was to determine if some jobs performed by miners are at an increased risk of severe hand injuries. A survey was administered to 184 miners at a deep underground mine. Results showed that 91 percent of the miners used powered hand tools and 95 percent used nonpowered hand tools. Overall, 14.2 percent had never received safety training on the use of powered hand tools, and 18.1 percent had never received safety training on the use of nonpowered hand tools. Nearly 48 percent of all miners surveyed had experienced a severe hand injury, that is, an injury requiring medical attention at some time during their mining careers. The most significant finding of this study was that mechanics were nearly three times more likely to have suffered hand injuries than miners in other mining jobs.
