Miners, mine operators urged to take precautions during colder months

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration kicks off its 2010 Winter Alert campaign today to warn miners and mine operators about the dangers colder weather can bring to the mining environment. Historically, statistics show that most coal mine explosions occur during the colder months.

ARLINGTON, Va. The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 499 citations, 61 orders and three safeguards during special impact inspections conducted at 15 coal and 15 metal/nonmetal mine operations last month.

Aim is to end black lung disease among miners

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the release of a proposed rule on lowering miners' exposure to respirable coal dust in all underground and surface coal mines. The proposed rule is the latest element of MSHA's "End Black Lung – Act Now" campaign.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration Assistant Secretary Joseph A. Main released the following statement in response to the successful rescue of 33 Chilean miners who had been trapped in an underground copper mine for 69 days, following a massive cave-in on Aug. 5:

ARLINGTON, Va. The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the issuance of 11 closure orders to Elk Run Coal Co.'s Seng Creek Powellton Mine when federal inspectors last week discovered that the mine was taking illegal cuts into the coal seam, operating without proper ventilation and not completing required air readings, which are needed to assure there is sufficient air flow to prevent mine explosions. The mine is owned by Massey Energy Co. and located in Boone County, W.Va.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced it will hold public meetings in Arlington, Va., Sacramento, Calif., and Pittsburgh, Pa., to gather information about effective, comprehensive safety and health management programs at mines. The agency will use information gathered from these meetings to help develop a proposed rule for safety and health management programs for mines, which will enable miners and mine operators to be more proactive in their approach to health and safety matters.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the second phase in major reforms to its pattern of violations process, which includes tougher provisions for mines with chronic and persistent violations of significant health and safety regulations.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced it has signed a cooperative agreement with the United Mine Workers of America Career Centers Inc., in which the UMWACC will receive $1,450,000 to develop classroom and simulated rescue training programs for mine rescue teams.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration has announced new screening criteria for the pattern of violations enforcement program, which gives the agency additional enforcement tools to use at mines with a history of violating safety standards. This is a critical first step in reforming the current pattern of violations enforcement program.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration announced that an Administrative Law Judge with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has ruled in favor of MSHA in a legal challenge filed last June by Massey Energy's Performance Coal Co. The company had challenged MSHA's protocol guidelines in the underground accident investigation of the Upper Big Branch Mine, in which the agency prohibited Massey Energy investigators from using cameras, collecting evidence, mapping and conducting sampling.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that on Sept. 23 the Federal Register is expected to publish an emergency temporary standard that revises the existing federal standard on maintenance of incombustible content of rock dust.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that, from April through August, the agency conducted "impact inspections" at 111 coal and metal/nonmetal mines throughout the country designated by the agency as having safety or health issues. During that time, enforcement personnel issued 2,660 violations, 45 percent of which were classified as significant and substantial.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced it has awarded $500,000 in grant funds to six organizations that provide education and training within the mining industry. The Brookwood-Sago grants program was established through a provision in the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006. The focus of fiscal year 2010's grants will be on training and training materials for mine emergency prevention and preparedness for all underground mines.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the publication of comprehensive data regarding safety and health records of the nation's mines.

ARLINGTON, Va. The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the release of two new program information bulletins pertaining to the rights of miners who make hazardous condition complaints and request inspections, as well as miners' protections against discrimination.

Mining community urged to focus on safe work practices

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today issued a safety alert and fatality update to the mining industry to draw renewed attention to deaths that have occurred this year in mines throughout the country.

Southwestern Virginia coal mine fined in 2009 mining fatality

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced $542,400 in proposed penalties against Big Laurel Mining Corp. The mining operation, located in Wise County, Va., was cited for five contributory violations in the August 2009 death of an electrician/repairman who was fatally injured when a portion of mine rib collapsed upon him. Two of the violations have been assessed as flagrant.

ARLINGTON, Va. – As a result of troubling testimony heard in a recent field hearing regarding the explosion of Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the release of four new program information bulletins pertaining to ventilation issues in underground coal mines.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today filed a complaint with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission alleging that a miner was discharged from his job in retaliation for engaging in protected safety activities. Ricky Lee Campbell, who worked as a shuttle car operator and bolter for several mines operated by Massey Energy Co., was fired April 23, 2010, after working fewer than three weeks at Marfork Coal Co. Inc.'s Slip Ridge Cedar Grove Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that Kansas City Chiefs' running back Thomas Jones has become a spokesman for the agency's annual "Stay Out-Stay Alive" public safety campaign, launched in 1999 to warn outdoor enthusiasts, especially children, about the dangers of playing on mine property. Each year, dozens of people are injured or killed in recreational accidents at active and abandoned mine sites.