$8.4M awarded to provide safety and health training to miners in 47 states, Navajo Nation to reduce accidents, injuries and illnesses

ARLINGTON, Va. – Forty-seven states and the Navajo Nation will receive a total of $8,441,000 in funds to support safety and health training courses and other programs to reduce mining accidents, injuries and illnesses, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today.

Grant recipients will use the funds to provide miners with federally mandated training. The awards cover training and retraining of miners working at surface and underground coal and metal and nonmetal mines, including miners engaged in shell dredging or employed at surface stone, sand and gravel mining operations.

MSHA awarded these fiscal year 2016 grants based on applications from states and other eligible entities. State mine inspectors’ offices, state departments of labor, and state-supported colleges and universities administer the grants. Each recipient tailors its program to the needs of its mines and miners – including mining conditions and hazards miners may encounter – and provides technical assistance.

“This funding will enable educational, governmental and industry organizations across the country to develop training resources and train miners in an effort to ensure they return home – safe and healthy – after every shift,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.

Authorized by the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, the state grants program has received funds to provide safety and health training to miners since 1971.

In addition to safety and health training, some states use these grants to support their mine emergency response efforts and other statutory functions.

Editor’s note: A list of grantees follows this release.