A Comparative Perspective on Miners' Risk Management. Kavian Lanjani and K. Ohlsson, Division of Technical Psychology, department of Human Work Sciences. Lulea University of Technology, S-975 87 LULEA, Sweden
The focus of the present study is the miners' different risk management in the Laisvall led mine in Sweden compared to their fellows in the Appalachian coal district in US. The miners' behavior in Laisvall is subjected to retrospective analyses by means of interviews, safety committee protocols and other written material. A dialogue between the safety committee and the employer, with scientific back up, was maintained during a decade before the final solution of the Silicosis problem in Laisvall. Historically there are a number of documents, books, etc., about the solution of lung diseases in the Appalachian area, which could be used as reference points. Appalachian miners furiously engaged in strikes and riots were led by retired and afflicted miners and supported by medical scientists and lawyers.
The comparison of Silicosis with analogous occupational diseases in Sweden demonstrates a chronological generic pattern of the emergence, rejection, doubt, evidence and final solution of the problem. This pattern is also found at present in many developing countries, where known occupational diseases still have a large number of victims. The aim of the current research is to assess the role of human factor principles in technological development, when a new mining production technology is introduced in an industrialized country or in a pre-industrial developing country. *The present projected has been supported by the National Work Environment Foundation.