On April 9, 2016, a 25-year old plant operator with 4 years of mining experience was fatally injured at a surface copper ore mine. He was found unresponsive, kneeling with his face against a stainless steel flange that was connected to a high-density polyethylene pipe. The victim appeared to have received an electrical shock.
Best Practices
- Establish and discuss safe work procedures that include hazard analysis before beginning work. Identify and control all hazards associated with the work to be performed and use methods to properly protect persons.
- Train all persons to understand the hazards associated with working near energized electrical conductors.
- Use properly rated Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including Arc Flash Protection such as a hood, gloves, shirt, and pants.
- Ensure that all electrical systems are safely designed and properly installed and that all metal enclosing or encasing electrical circuits are grounded or provided with equivalent protection.
- Provide equipment grounding conductors, with a sufficiently low impedance to limit the voltage to ground, for metal enclosures. Use a properly rated meter to identify any stray electrical currents which may be present.
- Lock Out, Tag Out, and Try: Place your lock and tag on the disconnecting device and test for power.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (pdf).
On March 22, 2016, a 42-year old lead man with 6 years of mining experience was fatally injured at a surface limestone mine when he was struck by fly rock from blasting operations. The lead man was parked in his pickup truck at a location to prevent others from accessing the blasting site. He was approximately 1,200 feet from the blast area.
On March 8, 2016, a 54-year old miner with 5 years of mining experience was killed at a surface sand and gravel operation. The miner backed his haul truck over a dump site and the driver was found at the bottom of the embankment, 60 feet below. The victim was found unresponsive and partially submerged in water. CPR was attempted, but the victim was not able to be resuscitated.
On Friday, March 25, 2016, a 48-year-old continuous mining machine operator, with 30 years of mining experience, was fatally injured when an overhanging section of a rock rib fell and pinned him against the haulage equipment. The fallen rib was approximately 44 feet long, 4 feet wide, and 2 feet thick. The victim was remotely operating a continuous mining machine that was being used to excavate material during the construction of a coal transfer shaft. The area where the accident occurred had a depth of cover of approximately 1,950 feet and a height of approximately 17 feet.
On Tuesday, January 19, 2016, a 36-year-old continuous mining machine operator was fatally injured when he was pinned between the conveyor boom of the remote controlled continuous mining machine and the coal rib while positioning the trailing cable. The victim had trammed the continuous mining machine back out of the No. 6 Face into the last open crosscut between No. 6 and No. 5 Entries. The victim had 5 years and 6 months of mining experience, with 1 year and 17 weeks experience as a continuous mining machine operator.
On January 16, 2016, a 31 year old continuous mining machine operator with 12 years of mining experience was fatally injured when a section of coal/rock rib measuring 4.5 feet long, 3 feet high, and 3 feet thick fell and pinned him to the mine floor. The victim was remotely operating the continuous miner in the number 2 entry of the advancing section when the accident occurred.
On Monday, January 4, 2016, a 53 year-old belt foreman/fireboss with 34 years of mining experience was fatally injured when he came in contact with a moving underground belt conveyor. The victim was preparing to change out a hold up roller when he was caught by the moving belt and pulled into the roller.
On February 26, 2016, a truck driver delivering multiple sections of polyurethane pipe was struck by a section of pipe during the unloading process. A forklift removed two sections of pipe from the passenger side of the truck, and then left the area with the two sections. While the forklift was away, a single, unsecured section of pipe rolled off on the driver’s side of the truck and struck the victim. Each section of pipe was approximately 50’ long and weighed approximately 1,750 pounds. Miners began first aid but the driver was unresponsive. He was transported to the local hospital and later died.
On December 28, 2015, a 42-year old miner with 3 years of experience was killed at a surface gold mine. The operator of a loaded haul truck was attempting to have his truck climb a snow covered access road when his truck slid backwards striking the cab of the victim’s loaded haul truck, which was also recovering from sliding backwards down the same access road. Several minutes later, a third loaded haul truck also slid down backwards while attempting to climb the access road, colliding with the other wrecked haul trucks.
On December 15, 2015, a 75-year old tow truck laborer was killed at a cement plant. As the tow truck operator was lowering the truck’s boom it struck the victim. The victim suffered a severe head wound but was conscious when transported to a local hospital but later died of his injuries.