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Coal Mining And Nuclear Power Industries

Volume 981: debated on Friday 28 March 1980

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asked the Secretary of State for Employment, in respect of each of the last five years, how many deaths, serious injuries and non-serious injuries have occurred in the course of employment in the coal mining and nuclear power industries, respectively; and, in respect of the same period and the same industries, how many deaths have occurred from industry-related diseases such as silicosis.

The information requested is given in the following tables.There are no statistics of deaths from industrial diseases in the nuclear power industries, but I am assured that there have been no deaths which can be attributed with certainty to the effects of radiation at work.Deaths in coal mining from pneumoconiosis reflect conditions many years ago.

REPORTED ACCIDENTS 1975–79*
FatalSeriousOther
Coal mining
19756458653,421
19765053550,203
19774050148,774
19786349446,279
19794747341,444
FatalOther
Nuclear power industry
19751509
19761623
19771599
19781652
1979651
* Accidents resulting in more than three days' absence from work.
† Accidents to operators' employees at sites operated by the Central Electricity Board, British Nuclear Fuels Ltd. and establishments of the United Kingdom Atomic Energy concerned with nuclear research and development.
‡ Separate figures are not available for serious injuries.
DEATHS FROM INDUSTRIAL DISEASES ATTRACTING AWARDS OF DEATH BENEFIT 1975–78
Pneumoconiosis (Industrial Injuries and other schemes)Other diseases (Industrial Injuries scheme only)
19756401
19765973
19775353
1978*4982
* Incomplete figures including cases where death benefit had been approved by mid-1979.