Challenging the emerging narrative: Critical examination of coalmining safety in China, and recommendations for tackling mining hazards

The findings in this work, based on publically available official data, challenge this new safety narrative on several fronts. For example, we found evidence of significant under-reporting of fatality numbers in coal mining accidents. We also found that mining accidents are sometimes (mis)classified as “natural disasters”, and as a result, their fatality numbers are not tallied in the official statistics. We assessed that the official fatality statistics may underestimate the actual fatality numbers by a factor ranging from 3 to 5. More importantly, we found it doubtful that safety improvements have occurred in operating Chinese coalmines since 2000. We inferred that the reduction in total fatality and accident numbers could be explained by the closure of small mines or the exclusion of their fatality statistics. We concluded with some recommendations and a list of coal mining hazards prioritized for targeted safety interventions and improvements.