Final Report added to 2019 Fatality #23 / MNM #13 (2/14/20)
Fatalities awaiting Fatality Alert to be posted:
- 2019 #17 MNM #7 (7/15/19)
- 2020 #2 Coal #1 (2/10/20)
News
OSHA @ 50
The U.S. Department of Labor’s Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has launched a new webpage marking the 50th anniversary of the Occupational Safety and Health Act of 1970, the landmark worker safety and health law that led to the creation of OSHA.
The webpage highlights transformative workplace improvements over the past half century, from OSHA’s first standards and whistleblower protections, to assistance programs for small businesses, and the creation of training centers and education grants to help everyone understand and comply with the law.
Visit www.osha.gov/osha50 to find 50th anniversary events and information on OSHA’s efforts to protect America’s workforce.
Recent Fatality Updates
Final Report added to 2019 Fatality #20 / MNM #10 (1/10/20)
Final Report added to 2019 Fatality #19 / Coal #10 (1/14/20)
Fatalities awaiting Fatality Alert to be posted:
- 2019 #23 Coal #11 (12/23/19)
- 2020 #1 MNM #1 (1/8/20)
Fatality Updates
All along I have updated Fatalities posted here to include Final Reports and other notices when available. This usually takes weeks until they are posted and lately months and months. Because the update appears on the initial posting they most likely go unnoticed by those following this blog. I’m going to start entering a separate post to notify of the update along with a link to take you to the original post now updated. I hope this helps to keep you in the know when it comes to the hazards that are costing miners their lives.
It is usually safe to assume that a Fatality post that is missing the Final Report then MSHA has yet to release it, but if you’re unsure or a link doesn’t work please notify me at randy@safeminers.com.
Because it also takes MSHA more than a week to post what we used to call Fatalgrams giving the basic information about a fatality I, I’ll also post notices of fatalities that are pending Fatality Alerts. This will be without any additional information since there is so little offered at this point. At this writing we’re still awaiting a Fatality Alert for a December 23 Coal Fatality and a MNM one that occurred January 8.
MNM Examination of Working Places
On September 30, 2019 MSHA published the latest revision of the MNM Examination of Working Places rule which changes the rule back to the originally published rule of January 23, 2017. A court ruled that changes to the published rule between then and when it went into effect in June of 2018 lessened the protection of the original rule which violates the “no-less protection” requirement of 101(a)(9) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977.
The reinstated rule goes into effect immediately and says:
(a) A competent person designated by the operator shall examine each working place at least once each shift before miners begin work in that place, for conditions that may adversely affect safety or health.
(1) The operator shall promptly notify miners in any affected areas of any conditions found that may adversely affect safety or health and promptly initiate appropriate action to correct such conditions.
(2) Conditions noted by the person conducting the examination that may present an imminent danger shall be brought to the immediate attention of the operator who shall withdraw all persons from the area affected (except persons referred to in section 104(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977) until the danger is abated.
(b) A record of each examination shall be made before the end of the shift for which the examination was conducted. The record shall contain the name of the person conducting the examination; date of the examination; location of all areas examined; and description of each condition found that may adversely affect the safety or health of miners.
(c) When a condition that may adversely affect safety or health is corrected, the examination record shall include, or be supplemented to include, the date of the corrective action.
(d) The operator shall maintain the examination records for at least one year, make the records available for inspection by authorized representatives of the Secretary and the representatives of miners, and provide these representatives a copy on request.
50th Anniversary of 1st Moon Landing
I couldn’t help but stick a post in here celebrating the landing of Apollo 11 on the Moon this past weekend. Is it mining related? I think the graphic, provided by NASA, confirms that it is. In fact over the course of the Apollo landings nearly a half ton of rocks were brought back to be studied. They provided much information to help us understand the Moon and our Solar System. There’s even more to be discovered as indicated in this recent article. Well done Buzz, Neil, and Mike.
Trench Safety Stand Down
Participate in the National Utility Contractors Association’s Trench Safety Stand Down Week or get all the great training materials that are provided at: https://www.nuca.com/tssd and use them whenever you have your Trench Safety training.
New MSHA Mine Data Retrieval System
As someone who used the old system often I’ll hold judgement on the new until I’ve used it awhile or at least until it works. That’s assuming it’s not doing what it’s supposed to now because when I enter my own ID I get someone else’s information or none at all depending on what report I ask for. Either way, if you use this information you may want to study the manual, yes unlike most software that you just intuitively click on what you’d like to see, you better study this one. It’s here.
Join the Stand Down to Prevent Falls
Whether you are involved in construction or another industry you can use the materials that OSHA has available to focus on fall prevention this week (and beyond of course). The OSHA page is here and features publications, posters, and more.
Inter-County Contractors Safety Day
I look forward to seeing members of the ICCA for Safety Day on March 13 where I will be speaking on the dangers of silica and how to use OSHA’s Table 1 from the Construction Silica Standard to protect workers.