§ 37.2 - Definitions.

§ 37.2 Definitions.

Any term defined in the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801 et seq., Pub. L. 95-164, as amended) and not defined below will have the meaning given it in the Act. As used in this subpart:

Act means the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 (30 U.S.C. 801, et seq., Pub. L. 95-164, as amended).

B Reader means a physician certified by NIOSH as able to classify chest radiographs using the ILO Classification system, pursuant to § 37.52(b).

Chest radiograph means a single posteroanterior radiographic projection or radiograph of the chest at full inspiration recorded on either film or digital radiography systems.

Convenient time and place means that an examination conducted pursuant to this part must be given at a reasonable hour in the locality in which the miner resides or a location that is equally accessible to the miner. For example, examinations at the mine during, immediately preceding, or immediately following work and a “no appointment” examination at a medical facility in a community easily accessible to the residences of a majority of the miners working at the mine will be considered of equivalent convenience for purposes of this definition.

Digital radiography systems, as used in this context, include both Digital Radiography (DR) and Computed Radiography (CR) systems.

(1) Computed radiography (CR) is the term for digital radiographic image acquisition systems that detect radiographic signals using a cassette-based photostimulable storage phosphor. Subsequently, the cassette is processed using a stimulating laser beam to convert the latent radiographic image to electronic signals which are then processed and stored so they can be displayed.

(2) Digital radiography (DR) is the term used for digital radiographic image acquisition systems in which the radiographic signals received by the image detector are converted nearly instantaneously to electronic signals without movable cassettes.

Facility means a facility or organization licensed to provide health care by the State or Territory in which services are provided, such as a hospital, a clinic, or other provider that performs medical examinations.

ILO Classification means the classification of radiographs using the International Classification of Radiographs of Pneumoconioses, a system devised by an international committee of the International Labour Office (ILO), including a complete set of standard film radiographs or digital chest image files available from the ILO or other set of chest image files approved by NIOSH as equivalent. The ILO Classification is incorporated by reference into §§ 37.50(a) and (c) and 37.51(b).

MSHA means the Mine Safety and Health Administration, Department of Labor.

Miner means any individual working in a coal or other mine.

NIOSH means the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), located within the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Within NIOSH, the Respiratory Health Division (RHD), 1095 Willowdale Road, Morgantown, WV 26505, is the organizational unit that has programmatic responsibility for the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program.

NIOSH representative means employees of CDC/NIOSH and employees of CDC contractors.

Operator means any owner, lessee, or other person who operates, controls, or supervises a coal or other mine or any independent contractor performing services or construction at such mine.

Panel of B Readers means the group of physicians that are currently certified by NIOSH as B Readers and who classify or otherwise evaluate radiographs for the Coal Workers' Health Surveillance Program.

Pre-placement physical examination means any medical examination that includes a chest radiographic examination given in accordance with the specifications of this Part to a person not previously employed by the same operator. Such examinations should be conducted consistent with applicable law, including the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, which provides that pre-placement examinations take place only after an offer of employment has been made and subject to certain restrictions (42 U.S.C. 12112(d)).

Qualified medical physicist means an individual who is trained in evaluating the performance of radiographic equipment including radiation controls and facility quality assurance programs, and has the relevant current certification by a competent U.S. national board, or unrestricted license or approval from a U.S. State or territory.

Radiographic technique chart means a table that specifies the types of cassette, intensifying screen, film or digital detector, grid, filter, and lists X-ray machine settings (timing, kVp, mA) that enables the radiographer to select the correct settings based on the body habitus or the thickness of the chest tissue.

Radiologic technologist means an individual who has met the requirements for privileges to perform general radiographic procedures and for competence in using the equipment and software employed by the examining facility to obtain chest radiographs as specified by the State or Territory and examining facility in which such services are provided. Optimally, such an individual will have completed a formal training program in radiography leading to a certificate, an associate degree, or a bachelor's degree and participated in the voluntary initial certification and annual renewal of registration for radiologic technologists offered by the American Registry of Radiologic Technologists.

Secretary means the Secretary of Health and Human Services and any other officer or employee of the Department of Health and Human Services to whom the authority involved may be delegated.

Soft copy means the image of a coal miner's chest radiograph acquired using a digital radiography system, viewed at the full resolution of the image acquisition system using an electronic medical image display device.

[77 FR 56726, Sept. 13, 2012, as amended at 79 FR 45118, Aug. 4, 2014; 81 FR 73279, Oct. 24, 2016]