Occupational Exposure and Severity of Workplace Accidents in Mining Companies
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21662286Keywords:
occupational exposure, severity of accidents, human resourcesAbstract
Occupational exposure is a relevant factor for understanding the behavior of workplace accidents in the mining industry, as it reflects the size of the workforce and the cumulative amount of operational time. This study aimed to determine the relationship between occupational exposure and the severity of workplace accidents in Peruvian mining companies during 2025. A quantitative, correlational, non-experimental, and retrospective study was conducted through documentary analysis of 19,617 monthly records published by the Ministry of Energy and Mines. Descriptive results showed an average of 161.68 workers per record, 31,040.84 person-hours worked, and a contractor participation rate of 22.71%. During the study period, 1,264 disabling accidents, 22 fatal accidents, and 184,058 lost workdays were recorded. Considerable variability was also observed in both occupational exposure and accident severity indicators across the mining operations assessed. Inferential results showed positive and statistically significant relationships between occupational exposure and the severity index, with the highest coefficients corresponding to the total number of workers (ρ = 0.299) and person-hours worked (ρ = 0.296). Disabling accidents and lost workdays followed similar patterns, whereas fatal accidents showed statistically significant but very weak associations. It is concluded that greater occupational exposure tends to be associated with higher accident severity; however, the relationships were weak and should not be interpreted as causal.
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