Since last October, 20 miners have died in metal and nonmetal mining incidents, including six supervisors. Concerned by this increase in miner fatalities, MSHA is stepping up its efforts to counteract the trend. The agency held two mine stakeholder safety summits over the past 4 weeks, and as a result MSHA enforcement personnel will conduct safety "walk and talks" at mines across the country in an effort to increase miners' and operators' awareness of the fatalities, and to encourage them to apply their safety training and watch for unsafe conditions. The agency's visits will focus on several topics: task training, mine examinations, causes of mining fatalities and best prevention practices. MSHA says its inspectors will continue to look for the types of conditions that led to the recent mining deaths and will enforce regulations as needed.
"MSHA is using all of its tools--education and outreach, training and enforcement--to prevent these incidents," says Joseph Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. "But it will also take the efforts of those outside the agency--operators, miners and trainers--to turn this troubling trend around."
A Blog From the American Society of Safety Engineers