Metal/Nonmetal

Fatality #27 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2014

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m27On June 14, 2014, Kevin Lee Ames, a 35-year-old laborer, was using a propane torch to shrink-wrap pelletized gypsum when he received serious burns on 35% of his body. He was subsequently discovered by a co-worker and transported to a hospital. He died on July 28, 2014. The death certificate indicated that the cause of death was mucormycosis (fungal infection) due to burns, and that the manner of death was an accident. An autopsy was not performed. Based on the findings of the death certificate and the MSHA investigation, the Fatality Review Committee determined that the death should be charged to the mining industry.

[SafeMiners.com note: We’re posting these much later, catching up from late notice and even later pictures from MSHA for the reasons noted above.]

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf).

Fatality #26 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2014

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m26On June 17, 2014, Ronald Dwayne Dunn, Customer Truck Driver, age 41, parked his bulk tanker truck at a tanker top access platform, went to the top of the platform, and opened the bulk hatch on the trailer in preparation to get loaded with cement.  Another driver noticed the victim was not on top of the truck.  The driver found that the victim was inside the tank of the truck but could not get him out and called for help.  A responder team arrived and found the victim unresponsive.  He was transported to a hospital where he was pronounced dead.

On September 3, 2014, the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) referred the accident to the Chargeability Review Committee.  On February 2, 2015, the Chargeability Review Committee determined that this death should be charged to the mining industry.  The autopsy report indicated that the manner of death was accidental and that the cause of death was asthma exacerbated by environmental dust exposure. The toxicology screen detected levels of theophylline, the active ingredient in the asthma inhaler.  It appears Dunn may have accidentally dropped his asthma inhaler into the tank, proceeded to climb into the tank to retrieve it, and was unable to get out.

[SafeMiners.com note: We’re posting these much later, catching up from late notice and even later pictures from MSHA for the reasons noted above.]

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf)

Fatality #9 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2015

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m09On June 30, 2015, a 65-year old equipment operator with 19 years of experience was killed at a sand and gravel surface mine. The victim was operating a front-end loader and was removing material from a sand bank when the bank collapsed and engulfed the machine and entered the operator’s cab causing the victim to be asphyxiated.

Best Practices

  • Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and the methods to properly protect persons.
  • Task train all persons to recognize all potential hazardous conditions that can decrease bank or slope stability and ensure they understand safe job procedures for elimination of the hazards.
  • Observe and evaluate all pit, highwall, slope, and bank conditions prior to beginning work and throughout the shift to ensure safety. Be especially vigilant for these conditions after each rain, freeze, or thaw.
  • Provide equipment cabs strong enough to resist burial pressure.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #8 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2015

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m8On June 12, 2015, a 66-year old contract service mechanic with 42 years of experience was killed at a sand and gravel surface mine. The victim reported to several witnesses that he had hit his head earlier in the shift and afterward was found unconscious.  The victim was transported to the hospital where he died the next day.

Best Practices

  • Wear a hard hat to protect your head from injuries resulting from impact with other objects.
  • Maintain proper lighting in work areas.
  • Use the proper tools for the job.
  • Discuss work procedures; identify all potential hazards; and ensure the job is done safely.
  • Ensure that persons are trained, including task-training, to understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #7 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2015

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m07On May 28, 2015, a 61-year old water truck operator with 2 years of experience was killed at a surface gold mine. The victim was killed when a water truck ran over a portable toilet that was occupied by the victim.

Best Practices

  • Locate portable toilet facilities in areas inaccessible to mobile equipment.  Always be aware of equipment operating in close proximity to your area.
  • Ensure that all persons are clear before moving equipment.
  • Sound your horn to warn  persons prior to moving mobile equipment  and wait a few moments to give them time to get to a safe location.
  • Communicate with mobile equipment operators before getting on or off of equipment and ensure they acknowledge your presence.
  • Establish rules and use signs or signals warning of hazards at locations where pedestrians and mobile equipment are both performing tasks.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #6 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2015

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m06On March 23, 2015, a 48-year old mine operator with 20 years of experience was killed at a dimension stone operation.  The victim was operating a walk-behind masonry saw, positioned between the saw and a ledge, when he tripped and fell.  The victim and the saw went over the 4½-foot ledge, resulting in the saw falling on him.

Best Practices

  • Identify all hazards and use appropriate controls to protect miners prior to conducting any work.
  • Ensure that operators are in a safe position and have control of their equipment at all times.
  • Keep workplaces free of tripping hazards.
  • Use barricades or railings at edges of drop-offs where persons are in danger of falling.
  • Equip walk behind masonry saws with automatic shut off devices to stop the engine if the operator cannot maintain control of the equipment.
  • Design bench top stone cutting patterns to ensure the saw operator is not positioned between the saw and the drop off edge.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #5 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2015

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m05On March 17, 2015, a 44-year old haul truck driver with 4 days of experience was injured at a dredge operation. He was operating a loaded articulated haul truck along an elevated roadway next to a dredge pond. After traveling about 125 yards from the loading point, the haul truck drifted into the water. The victim was removed from the truck, transported to a hospital, and then transferred to a trauma center where he died on March 19, 2015.

Best Practices

  • Task train mobile equipment operators adequately and ensure each operator can demonstrate proficiency in all phases of mobile equipment operation before performing work.
  • Provide and maintain adequate berms or guardrails on the banks of roadways where a drop-off exists.
  • Conduct adequate pre-operational checks and correct any defects affecting safety in a timely manner prior to operating mobile equipment.
  • Always wear a seat belt when operating self-propelled mobile equipment.
  • Maintain control of self-propelled mobile equipment while it is in motion.
  • Operate mobile equipment at speeds consistent with the conditions of roadways, tracks, grades, clearance, visibility, curves, and traffic.
  • Conduct adequate work place examinations using competent persons and promptly correct hazardous conditions that adversely affect safety and health.
  • Ensure that all exits from cabs on mobile equipment are maintained and operable.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #4 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2015

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m04On January 26, 2015, a 57-year old heavy equipment operator with 36 years of experience was seriously injured at a phosphate mine.  He was operating an excavator near a water filled ditch when the excavator tipped forward and went in the water, submerging the cab.  The victim was removed from the cab and transported to a hospital where he died later that day.

Best Practices

  • Task train all persons to recognize all potential hazardous conditions and safe job procedures to identify and eliminate all hazards before beginning work, specifically the limited visibility of large equipment.
  • Discuss safe work procedures before beginning work.  Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and the methods to properly protect miners.
  • Provide traffic patterns and roads that minimize the danger of machines traveling near bodies of water.
  • Conduct examinations of travelways to evaluate hazards.
  • Install barriers, markers, or other warning devices to aid equipment operators where travelways are not recognizable or hazards are not apparent.  Limit travel of mobile equipment and inform mobile equipment operators of hazards.
  • Do not travel into areas where ground conditions can’t be verified.  If necessary, use the bucket of the machine to probe the travel/work area to check the ground conditions.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #3 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2015

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m03On January 21, 2015, a 54-year old miner (ground support) with 4 years of experience was killed at an underground lead mine.  The victim was operating a mechanical scaler in an intersection when a roof fall (55 feet long x 20 feet wide x 6 feet thick) occurred, covering the machine.

Best Practices

  • Establish safe work procedures that ensure a safe work location for miners conducting scaling operations, and train all miners to recognize and understand these procedures.
  • Discuss safe work procedures before beginning work.  Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and the methods to properly protect miners.
  • Always examine and test areas for loose ground before starting to work, after blasting, and as ground conditions warrant.
  • Identify and scale loose material from a safe position which will not expose miners to falling material.
  • Test for loose material frequently during work activities.  Be alert to any change of ground conditions.
  • Install ground support in roof and ribs where conditions warrant.
  • Use equipment with a reach that reduces the possibility of the equipment being struck by falling material.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #2 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2015

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2On January 11, 2015, a 53-year old contract shaft miner with 35 years of experience was killed at an underground gold mine.  The victim was positioned on a work platform on top of a skip traveling up the ventilation shaft.  He struck a steel cross member on a beam in the shaft.

Best Practices

  • Train all persons in hazard recognition, awareness of their surroundings, and safe positioning when riding skips.
  • To prevent hazard exposure, require safe positioning for personnel who ride skips.
  • Monitor all persons for safe positioning when riding skips.
  • Place warning signs on skip platforms to remind persons to keep body parts inside the handrails.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).