Documented Case Studies:
Impacts of Drug / Alcohol, including Prescription Pain Relievers
Source: 2008, United States Department of Labor (DOL) – Federal Registry 

Unfortunately accident investigations do not routinely include an inquiry into the use of alcohol or drugs and
this is a failure of executive management, safety & risk management professionals, and unions.

Although there are limited data, data does exist demonstrating the linkage between
alcohol and drug use and accidents.    The below information specifically relates to the mining industyr,
however, can be transferred to most safety sensitive positions / occupations - construction, manufacturing,
transportation, oil & gas / utilities, ....

Incident #1

2003 after a blasting accident at an Eastern Kentucky coal mine (Cody Mining Co. in Floyd County) in which one miner was
killed and another seriously injured. Marijuana was found at the scene, and a witness reported having seen the miners
snorting crushed painkillers. An autopsy of the dead miner confirmed the presence of painkillers. The surviving miner
was not tested, and there was no federal or state requirement to do so. 

Incident #2
In December 2005, a 29-year-old miner (at No. 3 Mine of HandD Mining, Inc.) died
after an overloaded coal hauler severed his legs. Although no discussion was
included in the fatality report about whether drug use may have
contributed to the accident, the hauler's driver and the dead miner
both tested positive for painkillers and marijuana.
    
Incident #3
Another incident occurred at Langley Hill Quarry where a truck
driver apparently fell from a parked truck onto a concrete pad,
sustained facial and skull fractures and died sometime later. The
report noted that ``medical records showed a blood alcohol
concentration (BAC) level of 0.04 percent,'' but went on to conclude
``it could not be determined why or exactly from where [the driver]
fell. There was no apparent need to have climbed onto the handrail or
the rear of the truck.'' No explanation was given for why the BAC level
does not specifically appear in the conclusion as a causal or
contributing factor despite the fact that a 0.04 percent BAC, under the
DOT regulations, is considered high enough to cause impairment and is a
violation of the DOT drug rule.
    
Incident #4
At East Volunteer, a victim was operating a malfunctioning
telescopic lift and was pinned between the lift platform rail and part
of the ceiling infrastructure. The victim was noted in the report,
under the ``human factors'' section, as having a toxicology analysis
that ``revealed methamphetamine intoxication,'' but it was not
mentioned in the root-cause analysis or conclusion. It is reasonable to
question whether the victim's intoxication may have impacted his
observation skills as the malfunction was happening and possibly slowed
his decision-making on how to respond.

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