SafeMiners.com

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 321 citations and orders during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and three metal/nonmetal mines last month. The coal mines were issued 174 citations and 19 orders, while the metal/nonmetal operations were issued 112 citations and 16 orders.

Click here for: MSHA spreadsheet (pdf).

Registration is now open for the 2012 PACA-MSHA Metal/NonMetal Spring Thaw in State College, PA.

Tuesday, February 28, 2012
8:00 am-4:30 pm
Nittany Lion Inn, State College, PA

Sponsored by:

Pennsylvania Aggregates and Concrete Association
Mine Safety and Health Administration
Pennsylvania Mining Professionals

Cost to attend is $10 per person which includes lunch and meeting related expenses.

EARN 6 PDH Credit Hours by attending this event!

Click here for: More information and Registration (web).

On December 15, 2011, a 22 year-old laborer with 3 months of experience was killed at a surface stone operation. The victim, who was last seen on a control tower, fell into an operating jaw crusher.

• Always use fall protection when working where a fall hazard exists.
• Establish policies and procedures for safely clearing plugged material in a jaw crusher.
• Ensure that persons are task trained and understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
• Deenergize and Lock-out/tag-out all power sources before working on crushers.
• Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards.
• Monitor personnel routinely to determine that safe work procedures are followed.

On Wednesday, November 2, 2011, a 28 year old bulldozer operator, with approximately 8 years of mining experience, was injured at a surface mine. The victim was conducting reclamation work on top of a graded slope when he lost control of the bulldozer and it rolled over several times, approximately 250 feet to the bottom of the slope. The operator was wearing a seat belt, but sustained serious injuries. He was hospitalized and died subsequently on November 14, 2011.

Best Practices

• Task train miners adequately on the equipment they will operate.
• Train all employees on proper equipment operation procedures, hazard recognition, and hazard avoidance.
• Establish and follow safe work procedures and ensure that personnel are trained to recognize hazardous work procedures or activity.
• Be familiar with your work environment. Before you start grading an area, look at it, walk around it, and plan the safest way to move the material and maneuver the equipment.
• Install tilt gauges in dozers and do not exceed the equipment’s maximum operating angles.
• Maintain control of equipment at all times during operation.
• Ensure that personnel operating mobile equipment always wear seat belts.

On Monday, November 7, 2011, a 47 year old mine foreman, with approximately 26 years of mining experience, was killed when he was pinned between a battery-powered, rubber-tire personnel carrier and a coal rib. The personnel carrier had become stuck in reverse and the victim was positioned on his knees in front of the personnel carrier. When the operator placed the directional switch in forward, the personnel carrier traveled forward, striking the victim. A wooden crib block had fallen onto the control pedals and restricted their use.

Best Practices

• Never transport supplies or extraneous materials in a vehicle or on top of equipment that is not appropriate for the task.
• Never obstruct the vision of the equipment operator with the load.
• Do not operate a vehicle with debris, loose material, or trash in the operator’s compartment.
• Never position yourself in an area or location where equipment operators cannot readily see you.
• Be aware of your location in relation to movement of equipment, especially in lower coal seams.
• Train miners to use effective means of communication between themselves and equipment operators.
• When operating mobile equipment, ensure that other workers are in a safe area before moving the equipment.v
• Conduct Task Training for each type of personnel carrier or equipment being operated.
• For more information on preventing these types of accidents:
  http://www.msha.gov/Safety_Targets/UGEquipCoal/EquipOpUGCoal.asp

March 20 and 21, 2012 - Pittsburgh, PA

The theme of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health’s (NIOSH) Personal Protective Technology Program’s 2012 Stakeholder Meeting and Workshop is: Personal Protective Equipment Selection, Use, and Expectations.

The objective of the PPT Stakeholder Meeting is to disseminate up-to-date information about PPE and the NIOSH PPT Program to stakeholders through breakout sessions, workshops, posters, and presentations. In addition, the PPT Program wants to obtain stakeholder input and feedback on NIOSH PPT program activities and actions to enhance worker safety and health by closing PPE research, standard, and certification gaps.

Click here for: More information and Registration (web).

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced that federal inspectors issued 315 citations, orders and safeguards during special impact inspections conducted at 10 coal mines and six metal/nonmetal mines in November 2011. The coal mines were issued 200 citations, 50 orders and one safeguard, while the metal/nonmetal operations were issued 62 citations and two orders.

These 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, including high numbers of violations or closure orders; frequent hazard complaints or hotline calls; plan compliance issues; inadequate workplace examinations; a high number of accidents, injuries or illnesses; fatalities; and adverse conditions such as increased methane liberation, faulty roof conditions and inadequate ventilation.

Click here for: MSHA Notice including spreadsheet (pdf).

On December 8, 2011, a 41 year-old crusher operator with 8 years of experience was killed at a surface stone operation. A set of wheels was to be placed on a conveyor to transport it from the mine. A front-end loader was being used to lift the conveyor when the loader bucket suddenly dropped, allowing the frame of the conveyor to strike one of the tire assemblies. The tire assembly then shifted, striking the victim.

• Inspect mobile equipment before placing it in operation for the shift.
• Correct safety defects on equipment in a timely manner to prevent the creation of a hazard to persons.
• Establish safe work procedures and identify and remove hazards before beginning a task.
• Ensure that persons are task-trained and understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
• Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
• Monitor personnel routinely to determine that safe work procedures are followed.

On Friday, October 28, 2011, a 47-year old lead blaster and 23-year old blaster helper were killed when the 1-ton truck they were riding was struck and completely covered by fallen rock from a failed highwall. The victims were driving in the pit, past a trackhoe loading coal as they approached their work area. The rock reached approximately 80′ across the 100′ wide pit and struck the trackhoe and a haulage vehicle being loaded at the time of the accident.

Best Practices

• Train all miners to recognize hazardous highwall conditions.
• Look, Listen and Evaluate your highwall and pit conditions daily, especially after each rain, freeze, or thaw.
• Be your own examiner and find hazards before they find you.
• Maintain adequate lighting to aid in examinations of highwalls and pit during no light or low light situations.
• Observe and communicate highwall hazards immediately.
• Insure appropriate action is taken to remove the hazards associated with any anomaly that may appear in the highwall or pit.
• Ensure that personnel’s work or travel areas and mining systems or equipment are operating are a safe distance from the toe of the highwall.
• Follow safe job procedures.

On November 17, 2011, a 26 year-old contract underground miner with 3½ years of experience was seriously injured in a silver mine. He died at a hospital on November 19, 2011. The victim and a coworker were attempting to dislodge muck in a bin excavation when the muck they were standing on started to flow. The victim was wearing a safety harness attached to a self-retracting lanyard; however, the lanyard extended and did not lock before he became engulfed. The other miner was freed immediately, treated, and released from the hospital.

• Wear a safety harness and attach it to a securely anchored lanyard, where there is a danger of falling.
• In applications where the danger is not limited to a free-fall, do not use lanyards that depend on free-fall speed to lock. Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations.
• Ensure that persons working on material in bins, silos, hoppers, tanks, and surge piles are properly tied-off, with one line tender per person. No persons should enter the facility until the supply and discharge equipment are locked out.
• Establish policies and procedures for safely clearing muck in a bin excavation and ensure that persons follow these safe procedures.
• Ensure that persons are task-trained and understand the hazards associated with the work being performed and the proper use of their personal protective equipment.