On July 25, 2017, a 28-year-old bulldozer operator with 1 year and 9 months of mining experience was fatally injured at a surface facility. The victim was operating a bulldozer, pushing material off of a refuse bank before the accident occurred. He was found lying in the bulldozer’s push path at the top of an incline near the edge of the refuse bank. The bulldozer had run over the victim and continued over the edge of the incline, coming to rest at the bottom of the embankment.
- Ensure that persons are trained, including task-training, to understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
- Maintain control of mobile equipment while it is in motion.
- Maintain equipment braking systems in good repair and adjustment. Conduct proper maintenance on safety related systems.
- Before leaving a bulldozer unattended, operators should follow manufacturer recommended operating procedures to ensure that the equipment is secured from movement. This could include disengaging the transmission, setting the parking brake, and lowering the bulldozer blade to the ground before dismounting the equipment.
- Do not depend on hydraulic systems to hold mobile equipment stationary.
- Establish and discuss safe work procedures before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and use methods to properly protect persons.
- Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).
September 13, 2017 8:30 AM – 4 PM
On July 14, 2017, a part time mine employee was moving irrigation pipe by hand and was electrocuted when the pipe came in contact with high voltage transmission lines overhead.
On June 8, 2017, a truck driver was operating a Caterpillar 777F haul truck, dumping a load of gravel, when the ground at the dump point collapsed. The truck went over the edge of the dump point, overturning and landing on its roof approximately 30 feet below. The victim was transported to the hospital, where he later died of his injuries.
On March 24, 2017, the victim exited his personal flatbed truck, which was left running in 6th gear, to turn off the genset (diesel generator). Prior to ascending the steps to the diesel generator, it appears the flatbed truck moved forward and pinned him against the genset trailer. The victim was found on Monday, March 27, 2017, and pronounced dead at the scene.
On June 19, 2017, a 32-year-old preshift examiner was fatally injured when he was thrown or jumped from a moving locomotive. Two locomotives (front and rear) were being used to transport three supply cars into the mine. The examiner was riding in the passenger seat of the front locomotive when the operators lost control on a grade and the front locomotive and the first two supply cars derailed.
On Tuesday, June 13, 2017, a 32-year-old continuous mining machine operator was fatally injured when he was pinned between the cutter head of a remote controlled continuous mining machine and the coal rib. The victim was backing the continuous mining machine from the working face when the accident occurred.
On Thursday, May 18, 2017, an outby utility miner received fatal injuries when his head hit the mine roof and/or roof support. He and another miner were travelling in a trolley-powered supply locomotive when the accident occurred. While the locomotive was still in motion, the trolley pole came off the trolley wire. The victim grabbed the pole to place it back on the trolley wire. In this slightly elevated position, the victim hit his head on the mine roof and was fatally injured.
On Saturday, May 6, 2017, a 62-year-old miner with 14 years of mining experience was fatally injured when the haul truck he was operating went over the highwall and fell approximately 150 feet. The victim was dumping overburden over the highwall when the accident occurred.
