ABSTRACT
The U.S. Bureau of Mines has conducted research on the safety risk associated with the performance of vigilance tasks in surface mining occupations. Onethird of all surface mining occupations were judged to require high levels of vigilance for proper task performance. Through analysis of all mining accidents for the year 1986, it was determined that the occupational accident severity level for those employed in high-vigilance surface mining jobs was about twice that for low-vigilance surface mining occupations. It was shown that accident severity is higher for employees in high-vigilance jobs, even when their activities at the time of the accident only require low vigilance to perform. These findings support the conclusion that vigilance demands in mining represent a distinct safety risk which may persist for different types of tasks and activities.
