A serious statistic from MSHA: Safety Information Recently Posted – Metal/Nonmetal October Fatal Alert
During
the last 10 years Metal and Nonmetal mines have experienced more fatal
accidents in the month of October than in any other month. Work
with MSHA to prevent more fatalities by focusing on working safely. Spread the word at your workplace with the following flyer that they provided.
Click here for the pdf of the October Alert and post it around your workplace.
A White House press release announced intentions to nominate a number of government officials yesterday including Joseph Main as Assistant Secretary for MSHA. The press release says the following about Mr. Main:
Joseph A. (Joe) Main, has vast mine health safety experience in the
U.S. and is internationally recognized as an expert in mining health
issues. A Greene County Pennsylvania native, now residing in
Spotsylvania, VA, Mr. Main began working in coal mines in 1967 and
quickly became an advocate for miners safety as a union safety
committeeman as well as serving in various local union positions in the
United Mine Workers of America (UMWA). He was employed by the UMWA in
1974 as a Special Assistant to the International President, and joined
the UMWA Safety Division in 1976, serving as Safety Inspector,
Administrative Assistant, and Deputy Director. In 1982 he was appointed
Administrator of the UMWA Occupational Health and Safety Department, a
position he held for 22 years, managing the international health and
safety program and staff. He has considerable hands on experience
inspecting and evaluating mining conditions, plans and systems. Mr.
Main currently works as a self-employed mine safety consultant. His
recent work has focused on international mine safety, research and
analysis projects on preventing mining accidents, and development of
training programs and facilities to prepare miners and emergency
responders for mine emergencies. He was born in Waynesburg, PA, and is
a graduate of the National Mine Health and Safety Academy.
The winning team design their noise barrier in my Hearing Conservation Challenge workshop where I shared a hands-on activity to motivate workers to protect their hearing. In spite of the various technical issues at the start we had a good time.
John gets a much needed break from exhibiting at the Eduwhere booth after shaking hands with the Governor of West Virginia. There were more exhibitors than ever this year. Eduwhere provides the MSHA on-line training that I wrote, plus many other subjects on hazardous materials, osha, and more.
Greetings from the Mine Safety Academy. I arrived here yesterdayand settled in. I’ll try to post a report on what’s going on. I just returned from the breakfast at the cafeteria and registration hasn’t yet opened. I’ll check in later to get a schedule and see what slots I got for my presentation on Wednesday and Thursday. At 11 I have to attend a session on the new smartboards that have been placed in all the rooms. I’ll post more later.