• Oft. due to machine and tool mishandling

The incidence of occupational injuries among tunnel gem miners who work long hours in extreme temperatures underground is relatively high and often due to machine and tool mishandling. 

These findings were made in an oral presentation on the ‘Occupational injuries and associated factors among tunnel gem-miners in Nivitigala’ which was authored by D.O. Mirissage, A.P.S. Minthaka, B.D. Mohotti and M.A.M.A. Moragoda (all four attached to the Colombo University's Medical Faculty) and A.O.P. Gallage (attached to the same University's Community Medicine Department) and made at the 29th Annual Academic Sessions of the College of Community Physicians of Sri Lanka and published in the 30th Volume of the Journal of the College, last month (August). 

Sri Lanka’s gem industry plays a pivotal role in the country’s economy. Yet, it battles with occupational injuries.

Mirissage et al.'s descriptive, cross-sectional study was carried out in Nivithigala, from March of last year (2023) to November, 2023. The cluster sampling method was used to select 110 tunnel gem miners aged 18-70 years, without severe co-morbidities and with work experience exceeding six months at tunnel gem mines. An interviewer administered questionnaire was used to collect the data.

The response rate was 110/100%. More than half (57/52.7%) experienced occupational injuries in the preceding six months, mainly due to machines and tools (79/73.8%). Most injuries were abrasions (65/60.8%) commonly affecting the lower limbs (68/63.7%). Occupational injuries were significantly associated with working more than eight hours per day, experiencing excessive heat and cold during underground work, and the paucity of the identification and addressing of safety issues in the workplace, but were not associated with mining experience and working under the influence of alcohol or tobacco.

Measures should be taken to reduce long working hours and extreme temperatures during underground work. Increasing the use of personal protective equipment remains a potential target for improving mine workers’ safety, as noted by Mirissage et al.