Work Accidents and Coal Mining in Turkey

Open Access Int. J. Econ. Environ. Geol. Vol. (1)Şensöğüt 01-04, 2022 Çınar13and /Int.J.Econ.Environ.Geol.Vol. 13(1) 01-04, 2022 Journal home page: www.econ-environ-geol.org ISSN: 2223-957X c Work Accidents and Coal Mining in Turkey Ibrahim Çınar,1 Cem Şensöğüt2* 1 2* Konya Technical University, Mining Engineering Department, Konya,Turkey Kütahya Dumlupinar University, Mining Engineering Department., Kütahya,Turkey * Email: cem.sensogut@dpu.edu.tr Received: 06 March, 2022 Accepted: 27 March, 2022 Abstract: In this study, an up-to-date evaluation of work accidents and occupational diseases in hard coal and lignite mining in Turkey has been made using the Social Security Institution (SSI) of Turkey statistics between 2013-and 2020. For this purpose, the number of insured employees who had work accidents and occupational diseases, the number of insured people who lost their lives as a result of work accidents, and the total temporary incapacity for work (standing + inpatient) were examined. Although the number of people who had work accidents, the number of deaths after work accidents, and the total duration of temporary incapacity in the lignite mining field of activity are higher than in the field of activity in hard coal mining, it is seen that the number of occupational diseases is lower. Keywords: Coal mining, work accidents, occupational disease, occupational health, and safety. Introduction (TCB, 2021). Coal has been used as an energy source for many years in the fossil fuel class because it is widely available in large reserves in the world. Hard coal in Turkey is located in the Zonguldak Basin and all of it is under the license of the Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises (THCE). Studies have been carried out to a depth of -1200 m in the basin, and approximately 48% of the total 1.52 billion tons of geological reserves identified are visible reserves. The share of coking coal in the total resource is around 57% (THCE, 2020). Although renewable energy sources have made great progress in terms of technology and cost in recent years, fossil fuels still maintain their position in the first place. Although the share of oil in the world decreased from 46.2% to 34% between 1973 and 2017, the share of coal increased from 24.5% to 28% (TCME, 2020). Mining work continued during the epidemic in 2020, and the run-of-mine-coal production in Turkey decreased by only 3 million tons compared to 2019 and amounted to 87.5 million tons (85.9 million tons of lignite-asphaltite, 1.6 million tons of hard coal) (TCB, 2021). While the USA ranks first in the world in terms of coal reserves, the Russian Federation, China, Australia, India, Germany, Ukraine, Kazakhstan, and the Republic of South Africa are other countries with large coal reserves. Although the heating values of Turkish lignites vary between 1000 kcal/kg and 4200 kcal/kg, approximately 90% of them are below 3000 kcal/kg. As of the end of 2018, 73% of the lignite resources are in three public institutions and the remaining 27% are within the license limits of the private sector, but it is thought that this distribution has changed towards the private sector with the privatizations and license transfers made in recent years. Again, approximately 48% of lignite production in 2018 was carried out by the private sector in Turkey (TCME, 2020). As of the end of 2019, coal reserves worldwide were 1.07 trillion tons, of which 749.17 billion tons of anthracite and bituminous coal, 320.47 billion tons of sub-bituminous and lignite. The distribution of world coal reserves is given in Figure 1 (BP, 2020). Hard coal constitutes a large part of the world coal trade. The main purpose of hard coal are electricity generation and coke production. Due to low quality of lignite coal, its trade is not economical in today's conditions. While Indonesia, Australia, and Russia come first in world coal exports, Turkey, China, India, Japan, and South Korea are among the countries that import coal. Turkey has approximately 2.1% of the world's coal reserves. Since 79% of lignite reserves are below 2500 kcal/kg calorific value, it is mostly used in thermal power plants (TCB, 2021). However, the share of domestic coal in electricity installed power and gross electricity generation is also decreasing rapidly in Turkey. The share in the installed power, which was 37.3% in 1986, decreased to 18.4% in 2004 and increased to 21% again with Çanakkale-Çan and Afşin-Elbistan B power plants commissioned in 2005 and 2006. Its share in power production was 13.5% Coal Mining in Turkey In Turkey, the policy of using domestic resources in energy in recent years has been included. Thus, by the end of 2020, the coal reserve has been updated as 20.84 billion tons, and 19.32 billion tons of lignite 1 Copyright © SEGMITE Çınar and Şensöğüt /Int.J.Econ.Environ.Geol.Vol. 13(1) 01-04, 2022 and in 2014 it was 12.5%. In 2015, with two new thermal power plants commissioned in Adana and Bolu, the share of domestic coal-based power plants in the total installed power increased to 12.9%, and as of the end of 2019, the share of domestic coal-based power plants is 12.4% in Turkey (Tamzok, 2020). According to SSI data, 30154 occupational accidents occurred in coal mining enterprises in five years, and they constitute approximately 8% of total occupational accidents in all sectors (SSB, 2011). The number of insured employees who had a work accident in the fields of hard coal and lignite mining activities in Turkey between 2013 and 2020 is given in Figure 2, and the number of insured employees who had an occupational disease is given in Figure 3 (SSI, 2022). Fig. 1 Total proved reserves of coal in the world at the end of 2019 Evaluation of Accidents at Work in Coal Mining in Turkey Coal mining around the world is an area of activity where work accidents that can cause mass deaths due to spontaneous combustion, mine fire, roof collapse, and slope shift can occur (Chunli et al., 2014; Wang et al. 2014; Fu et al., 2017; Wang and Meng 2018; Zhu et al., 2019). Fig. 2 Number of insured employees who had work accidents in the fields of hard coal and lignite mining Occupational Health and Safety Law entered into force on 20/06/2012 in order to reduce occupational accidents and ensure occupational health and safety in Turkey. With this law, there are obligations on many issues from education to health, from risk assessment to the supervision of the worker (Official Gazette, 2012). The largest occupational accidents that have occurred in mines in Turkey since 1983 are given in Table 1. It is seen that almost all of these accidents occur in coal mining (Yaşar et al. 2015; TCME, 2021, Çınar et al. 2021). Fig. 3 Number of insured employees who had occupational diseases in the fields of hard coal and lignite mining. Armutçuk Kozlu 1983 1983 Methane Methane 103 10 Yeni Çeltek 1983 Methane Kozlu 1987 Amasra Yeni Çeltek Dursunbey Karadon 2010 2010 5 Keşan 2010 8 Elbistan 2011 1990 1990 Roof collapse Methane Methane 5 68 Kozlu Soma 2013 2014 Number of Fatality Reason of Accident Date of Accident Place of Accident Number of Fatality Reason of Accident Date of Accident Place of Accident Table 1. Some mining accidents and their causes occurred in Turkey Methane Methane Roof collapse Slope shift Methane Mine fire 8 301 18 17 30 3 11 Kozlu 1992 Methane 263 Ermenek 2014 Flooding Sorgun 1995 Methane 37 Yeşilova 2015 Poisoning 2 Aşkale 2003 Methane 8 Şirvan 2016 Landslide 16 Ermenek 2003 Kemer 2017 Methane 2 2004 Methane Mine fire 10 Küre 19 Şırnak 2017 Landslide 7 Bayat 2004 Methane 3 Kilimli 2017 Gediz 2005 Methane 18 Milas 2019 Dursunbey Mustafa Kemalpaşa 2006 Methane 17 Ağlı 2019 2009 Methane 19 Soma 2020 Roof collapse Block sliding Stone fall Roof collapse When it is looked at the data of the last 8 years, an average of 3670 employees per year have had occupational accidents in hard coal, while this number is 5246 employees in lignite mining. However, this situation differed in the number of people who had an occupational disease, while an average of 49 workers in the hard coal industry were diagnosed with the occupational disease, while in the lignite mining the annual average was 5.5 employees. The reason why occupational disease is seen at a very low level compared to occupational accidents in lignite mining, the deficiencies in the diagnosis and notification of occupational diseases make us think that the real picture cannot be accurately reflected. However, according to the literature, although the number of occupational diseases is between 4-12 per thousand of employment, it is seen that this number is well below the number in the records (GDLSST, 2013). 2 3 2 3 The number of insured persons who lost their lives as a 2 Çınar and Şensöğüt /Int.J.Econ.Environ.Geol.Vol. 13(1) 01-04, 2022 result of work accidents in the fields of hard coal mining and lignite mining activities in Turkey between 2013 and 2020 is given in Figure 4, and the total temporary incapacity periods (standing + inpatient) are given in Figure 5 (SSI, 2022). It is seen that the number of insured employees in the fields of hard coal mining and lignite mining activities is close to each other, and the number of insured employees who have occupational diseases is very low in lignite mining. Considering the fact that hard coal is under the responsibility of the Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises (THCE) of which the complete records are kept, and the fact that the mines operated under the responsibility of the Turkish Coal Board (TCB) in lignite mining are very low compared to the private sector activities. It reveals the idea that there may be problems in reporting the records to the SSI. This indicates that occupational safety and the records kept accordingly will be healthier in institutionalized enterprises. The occupational safety approach against the risk of work accidents and occupational diseases should take a proactive approach rather than a reactive one. The detection of occupational diseases, which is encountered as a problem throughout the world, can only be solved by expanding occupational diseases hospitals, making them suitable for their functions, and working in coordination with all workplaces in order to detect occupational diseases. Fig. 4 Number of insured employees who lost their lives in the fields of hard coal and lignite mining References BP (British Petroleum), (2020). Statistical review of world energy outlook 2020, 69th Edition, https:// www.bp.com/content/dam/bp/business-sites/en/gl obal/corporate/pdfs/energyeconomics/statisticalreview/bp-stats-review-2020-full-report.pdf, Date of Access: 17.01.2022 Fig. 5 The total temporary incapacity periods in the fields of hard coal and lignite mining Çınar, İ., Şensöğüt, C. (2021). Determination of impact of mining operations on accidents and diseases at work in Turkey, Int. J. Econ. Environ. Geol. 12 (1) 20-26. With the exception of the Soma disaster in 2014, in which 301 employees lost their lives, the average annual number of insured persons who died as a result of work accidents in hard coal and lignite mining were determined as 10.13 and 10.85, respectively. Chunli, Y., Xiangchunb, L., Yanbinc, R., Yiliangb, Z., Feifeib, Z. (2014). Statistical analysis and countermeasures of gas explosion accident in coal mines. Procedia Eng. 84, 166–171. https://doi.org /10.1016/j. proeng.2014.10.422. When the total duration of temporary incapacity for work (standing + inpatient) is considered, the annual average is 43180.38 in hard coal mining, while this value is 69766.75 days in lignite mining. GDLSST, (2013). Occupational diseases, general directorate of labor and social security of Turkey, Ozyurt Printing, Ankara (in Turkish), 48 pages. Results and Discussion SSB (State Supervisory Board), (2011). Research & examination report, no: 2011/3, 08.06.2011, Ankara (in Turkish) Leaving coal mining activities, which is within the scope of heavy and very dangerous work for the private sector and subcontractors, pressures to increase production, and the failure to provide the necessary conditions for occupational health and safety are seen as the main cause of major accidents in the sector. Employing fewer, inexperienced, untrained, and temporary workers, in order to reduce the cost causes non-uasge of personal protective equipment and moving away from the occupational safety culture. Fu, G., Cao J., Wang, X. (2017). Relationship analysis of causal factors in coal and gas outburst accidents based on the 24 Model. Energy Procedia, 107, 314–320. https://doi.org/10.1016/ j.egypr o.2016.12.160. Official Gazette of Turkey, (2012). OHS Law, No. 28339, 20.06.2012 (in Turkish). 3 Çınar and Şensöğüt /Int.J.Econ.Environ.Geol.Vol. 13(1) 01-04, 2022 SSI (Social Security Institute of Turkey), (2022). Social security institution statistical yearbooks, http://www.sgk.gov.tr/wps/portal/sgk/tr/kurumsal /istatistik/sgk_istatistik_yilliklari, Date of Access: 23.01.2022. Tamzok N. (2020). Coal in the world and Turkey2019, Turkey’s energy outlook, Mechanical engineers chamber of Turkey, 217-236, Ankara/ Turkey (in Turkish). TCB (Turkish Coal Board) (2021). Activity Report for the Year 2020, April 2021, Ankara/Turkey (in Turkish), 150 pages. TCME (Turkish Chamber of Mining Engineers), (2020). Report of coal and energy, 48p., Ankara/Turkey (in Turkish). TCME (Turkish Chamber of Mining Engineers) (2021). Report of Occupational Accidents in Mines between the years 2010-2020, Ankara/ Turkey (in Turkish), 80 pages. THCE (Turkish Hard Coal Enterprises) (2020). Activity Report for the Year 2020, Zonguldak/ Turkey (in Turkish), 106 pages. Wang, X., Meng, F. (2018). Statistical analysis of large accidents in China’s coal mines in 2016, Natural Hazards 92, 311–325. https://doi.org/10.1 007/s11069-018-3211-5. Wang, L., Cheng, Y. P., Liu, H. Y. (2014). An analysis of fatal gas accidents in Chinese coal mines. Safety Sciences, 62, 107–113. https://doi.org/10. 1016/j.ssci.2013.08.010. Yaşar, S., İnal, S., Yaşar, Ö., Kaya, S. (2015). Major mining accidents from past to present. Journal of Mining, 54 (2), 33-43, (in Turkish). Zhu, Y., Wang, D., Shao, Z., Xu, C., Zhu, X., Qi, X. Liu, F. (2019). A statistical analysis of coal mine fires and explosions in China. Process Safety & Environmental Protection, 121, 357–366. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.psep.2018.11.013. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. 4