MSHA announces results of February impact inspections

ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 210 citations, eight orders and one safeguard during special impact inspections conducted at nine coal mines and three metal and nonmetal mines in February. A safeguard is written when an unsafe haulage or hoisting hazard is observed and is an immediate risk to a miner.

The monthly inspections, which began in force in April 2010 following the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine, involve mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to their poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns.

Three coal mines each in Kentucky and West Virginia received impact inspections, along with one each in Illinois, Utah and Virginia. A surface gold mine in Nevada, along with an underground salt mine and a crushed limestone operation in Kansas, also received impact inspections.

Since April 2010, MSHA has conducted 726 impact inspections and issued 11,970 citations, 1,095 orders and 50 safeguards. MSHA's Monthly Impact Inspection List for February 2014 is now available online.