Serious Accidents

Safety Alert: Violations, Injuries & Fatalities

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As of April 1, 2025, 2,201 injuries were reported to MSHA since October 1, 2024. Fourteen were fatal injuries. For the remaining injuries, 1,523 were non-fatal and resulted in days lost or restricted duty (NFDL), 27 resulted in a permanent disability, and 637 resulted in no days lost or restricted duty. – MSHA

Click here for: MSHA Alert (pdf)

Electric Arc Flash – Safety Alert

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In the last six months, 11 miners received injuries due to electric arc flashes.

Best Practices

  • Establish safe procedures before beginning work and discuss the plan with all miners involved in the task.
  • Electricians must know how to de-energize and disconnect electrical systems and equipment.
  • Use properly rated electrical meters and personal protective equipment, such as electrically rated gloves, insulated blankets or mats, and polycarbonate barriers.
  • Lock out and tag out circuits before working on electrical equipment.
    • Identify and control all hazardous energy sources before conducting any task.
    • Open the circuit breaker or load break switch to de-energize the incoming power cables or conductors.
    • Open the visual disconnect to confirm incoming power is off.
    • Lockout/Tagout the visual disconnect.
    • Ground the de-energized conductors.

Click here for MSHA Alert (pdf).

Recent Vehicle Rollover Accidents

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Some recent accidents occurred when vehicles flipped over backwards, rolled over, and tipped over on their sides. Miners were operating haul trucks, excavators, bulldozers, front end loaders, and service trucks while working or traveling near the edge of dump sites, elevated roadways, embankments, ponds, and excavations.

Contributing factors included the non-use or unbuckling of seat belts; jumping from vehicles; brake failure; distracted driving; loss of vehicle control; traveling or working too close to unconsolidated roadways; inadequate berms; pushing through berms; and failure to perform workplace examinations. [MSHA]

Click here to download MSHA Alert. (pdf)

NFPA Annual Fireworks Warning Has Extra Meaning This Year

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The National Fire Protection Association has its usual warnings and safety materials available here this year, but they are even more relevant this year. The public display in my town and many others are canceled which may motivate even more people to create their own. The usual gang of fools in the emergency room each year is bad enough, but with extra precautions and in some case extra burdens on emergency and healthcare professionals just isn’t needed.

Find a great video and printable materials here.

Serious Accident: Chemical Explosion

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On June 3, 2019, a railcar exploded when incompatible materials stored inside the car reacted and approximately 20,000 gallons of liquid waste derived fuel – fuel derived from hazardous waste – spewed from the railcar for 34 seconds. The eruption sent waste fuel several hundred feet into the air and ripped the manway hatch from the railcar. The hatch came to rest approximately 370 yards from the railcar. Droplets of waste fuel traveled more than 1/3 of a mile, landing on buildings, structures and vehicles near the facility. Agitators in several tanks were not maintained in functional condition. The facility was blending and storing incoming loads of waste fuel in railcars. A system of analysis was not in place to ensure compatibility of the blended waste fuel.

Best Practices: 

  • Evaluate work processes and develop acceptance and processing procedures to eliminate and mitigate hazards.
  • Use the proper container type (one that does not react with the hazardous material).
  • Make sure hazardous material storage containers are located in a safe area.
  • Review the uniform hazardous waste manifest and safety data sheets (SDSs) and regularly conduct chemical compatibility analyses. Don’t store incompatible materials together.
  • Do not reuse unwashed storage containers.
  • Regularly inspect equipment for proper operation. Remove damaged containers and equipment from service.
  • When handling hazardous material, use a properly designed, installed, and maintained ventilation system.
  • Provide warning signs that display the nature of the hazards and the required personal protective equipment.
  • Provide, use, and maintain fixed and portable gas detectors in areas where hazardous gases or vapors can accumulate.
  • Train miners on chemical hazards, emergency response procedures, and material handling activities including storage, loading, unloading, and transporting. Have SDSs accessible and ensure that all employees know how to read them.

Click here pdf of alert.

Loader Close Call Alert

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On June 17, 2019, a front-end loader backed over a highwall, and the fall projected material from the loader bucket through the windshield. The operator was able to climb out of the cab and only suffered minor injuries. The operator was wearing a seat belt.

Best Practices: 

  • Always wear a seat belt when operating self-propelled mobile equipment.
  • Retrofit FELs, bulldozers, haul trucks, and other mobile equipment with operator’s seats that provide 3-point seat restraints, airbags, and other technologies to provide better protection to equipment operators. 
  • Always be attentive to changes in ground conditions and visibility when operating machinery.
  • Perform work a safe distance away from highwalls.
  • Maintain control of self-propelled mobile equipment while it is in motion.
  • Adequately task train mobile equipment operators.

M/NM Serious Accident Alert

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dec-21-2016A miner was trying to determine why clay was not flowing properly by examining a chute that discharged into a screw conveyor. Instead of using a ladder to look inside, he stood on top of the metal screw conveyor cover his foot slipped and he fell approximately three feet to the grating floor hitting his head and suffered serious injuries.

BEST PRACTICES 

  • Identify all potential tripping and falling hazards before working.
  • Look for fall hazards such as unprotected floor openings or edges, shafts, skylights, stairwells, and roof openings.
  • Select, wear, and use the appropriate fall protection equipment for the task.
  • Provide and use appropriate lighting in work areas after dark.
  • Use appropriate ladder for job task.

Download MSHA Alert HERE.

Serious Injury for Metal/Nonmetal Mining

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mnm-serious-accident-alert073015Potash Facility – A miner was entangled in the belt system while unloading a rail car into a belly dump haul truck using a portable conveyor system. The miner was released from the hospital without any apparent broken bones or lacerations. A similar accident occurred at a sand and gravel mine in 2014, however that accident resulted in a fatality. [2014 #12 MNM]

Best Practices

  •  Ensure that persons are trained, including task training, to understand the hazards associated with the work being performed.
  • 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.
  • Conduct work place examinations before beginning any work.
  • Position mobile conveyors to eliminate exposure of moving parts before operating.
  • Identify hazards around conveyor systems, design guards, and or emergency stop systems before putting into operation.
  • Always provide and maintain guarding sufficient to prevent contact with moving machine parts.
  • Do not wear loose fitting clothing when working near moving machine parts.
  • Do not place yourself in a position that will expose you to hazards while performing a task.
  • Provide and maintain a safe means of access to all working places.

Click here for: MSHA Alert for Posting (pdf)