Fatality #16 & 17 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2013

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ftl2013m1617On November 17, 2013, a 33-year old powderman trainee with 5 weeks of experience and a 59-year old shift supervisor with 36 years of experience were killed at a silver mine. The two miners were in an area of the mine where explosives had been detonated the day before. Other miners working in the area were able to evacuate. Mine rescue teams entered the mine, found the two victims, and brought them to the surface. During the recovery operation, rescue teams detected fatal levels of carbon monoxide. Twenty miners were taken to the hospital and three were kept overnight.

Best Practices

  • Conduct effective workplace examinations. Identify all hazards and take action to correct them.
  • Ensure all active working areas are ventilated prior to allowing miners to work in those areas.
  • Monitor gasses as frequently as necessary to determine the adequacy of control measures.
  • Use properly maintained and calibrated gas detection instruments with alarms for concentrations outside of safe limits that are audible and visual.
  • Ensure all miners are trained to recognize all potential hazards and emergency procedures, including evacuation procedures.
  • Dispose of damaged or deteriorated explosive material in a safe manner in accordance with the instructions of the manufacturer.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf)

Fatality #19 for Coal Mining 2013

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ftl2013c19

On November 4, 2013, a 36 year-old longwall chief, with 16 years of experience, was killed while shoveling loose coal and rock between the coal face and the pan line on a longwall section. The victim received crushing injuries when a solid piece of coal and cap rock fell from the coal face, striking and pinning him against the face side of the pan line. The coal/rock combination measured approximately 4 feet and 10-inches long, by 2 feet and 3 inches wide, and up to 24 inches thick.

Best Practices

  • Conduct a thorough examination of the roof, face, and ribs, including a visual examination and a sound and vibration test prior to miners being assigned to work or travel through an area.
  • Correct hazardous roof, face, or rib conditions before any work or travel is permitted in the affected area.
  • Use a bar of suitable length and design for removing loose or unconsolidated material.
  • Support the exposed longwall roof, face, and ribs by mechanical means in the immediate work area.
  • Train all miners in hazard recognition and safe work practices that are assigned to perform work on the longwall face.
  • Apply additional safety precautions in areas where geological changes and anomalies in strata are present.
  • Post a certified foreman at the work area when maintenance is being performed.
  • De-energize the face conveyor, notify the headgate operator, and disconnect power at the control station while work is being performed on the face conveyor (pan). Do not energize the conveyor until all persons are off the face side of the conveyor and the conveyor is supported adequately from inadvertent movement.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf)

Fatality #15 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2013

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ftl2013m15On November 7, 2013, a 46-year old equipment operator with 27 years of experience was killed at a granite mine. The victim was operating a haul truck when it veered off the left side of a haul road and traveled through a berm. The haul truck went over an embankment and overturned in a settling pond.

Best Practices

  • Provide and maintain adequate berms or guardrails on the banks of roadways where a drop-off exists.
  • Conduct pre-operational checks to identify and correct any defects that may affect the safe operation prior to operating mobile equipment.
  • Always wear a seat belt when operating self-propelled mobile equipment.
  • Maintain control of self-propelled mobile equipment while it is in motion.
  • Operate mobile equipment at speeds consistent with the conditions of roadways, tracks, grades, clearance, visibility, curves, and traffic.
  • Stay alert while operating mobile equipment.
  • Ensure traffic rules, signals, and warning signs are posted and obeyed.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #14 for Metal/Nonmetal Mining 2013

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ftl2013m14On October 17, 2013, a 52-year old electrician with 5 years of experience was injured at a cement operation. The victim was standing on a step ladder, pulling cable in a cable tray. The mounting bracket for the tray broke loose from the wall and the tray struck the step ladder. The victim fell 5 feet from the ladder, striking his head on the concrete floor. The victim was transported to a hospital where he died on October 19, 2013.

Best Practices
 

  • Follow the manufacturer’s recommendations when installing a cable tray on a supporting structure.
  • Ensure that the correct anchors are used and that the supporting structures are adequate when installing a cable tray.
  • Always be aware of your surroundings and any hazards that may be present.
  • Properly position ladders used to reach elevated areas.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf), Overview (powerpoint), Overview (pdf).

Fatality #18 for Coal Mining 2013

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ftl2013c18On Friday, October 11, 2013, a 59-year-old shuttle car operator, with approximately 22 years of mining experience, was killed when a shuttle car struck him. The victim was in the crosscut between the No. 6 and No. 7 entries. This crosscut and adjoining entries were being used to gain access to rooms being mined on the right side of the section.

Best Practices

  • Use proximity detection systems to protect personnel from accidents of this type. See the proximity detection single source page on the MSHA web site.
  • Always ensure that visibility is not obstructed in the direction of travel and across the equipment being operated.
  • Use transparent curtain for check and line curtains in the active face areas.
  • Sound audible warnings when the equipment operator’s visibility is obstructed, such as when making turns, reversing direction, or approaching ventilation curtains.
  • Come to a complete stop and sound an audible warning before proceeding through ventilation controls.
  • Ensure the sound level of audible warnings is significantly higher than that of the ambient noise.
  • Shine equipment lights in the direction of travel when operating haulage equipment.
  • Never position yourself in an area or location where equipment operators cannot readily see you.
  • Always communicate your position and intended movements to mobile equipment operators.

For more information related to struck-by equipment accidents, view the following link: MSHA – Safety Targets Programs – Hit By Underground Equipment at www.msha.gov

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf).

Fatality #17 for Coal Mining 2013

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ftl2013c17On Sunday, October 6, 2013, at approximately 2:30 a.m., a 44-year old bulldozer operator, with approximately 10 years of experience, sustained fatal injuries when the dozer he was operating went over the edge of a highwall.

Best Practices

  • Task train miners adequately on the equipment they will operate.
  • Train all employees on safe work procedures, hazard recognition, and hazard avoidance.
  • Maintain a safe distance from the edge of the highwall.
  • Ensure adequate berms are in place.
  • Be familiar with your work environment. Before beginning work, look at the area, walk around it, and plan the safest way to move the material and maneuver the equipment.
  • Ensure illumination is adequate when work is performed during non-daylight hours.
  • Maintain control of equipment at all times during operation.
  • Ensure that personnel operating mobile equipment always wear a seat belt.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf)

Fatality #16 for Coal Mining 2013

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ftl2013c16On Saturday, October 5, 2013, a 47-year-old laborer with approximately 15 years of mining experience, was killed when the battery powered personnel carrier he was driving overturned and pinned him underneath the vehicle.

Best Practices

  • Operate all powered haulage, along with trailers and sleds, at speeds consistent with conditions and the equipment used.
  • Control equipment so that it can be stopped within the limits of visibility.
  • Maintain off-track haulage roadways from bottom irregularities, debris, and wet or muddy conditions that affect the control of the equipment.
  • Sound audible warnings when making turns, reversing directions, approaching ventilation curtains, and any time the operator’s visibility is obstructed. Ensure the sound level of audible warnings is significantly higher than that of ambient noise.
  • Maintain mechanical steering and control devices to provide positive control at all times.
  • Provide all self-propelled rubber-tired haulage equipment with well-maintained brakes, lights, and warning devices.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf).

Fatality #15 for Coal Mining 2013

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ftl2013c15On Friday, October 4, 2013, a 62-year-old longwall maintenance coordinator, with 42 years of mining experience, was killed while supervising the face conveyor chain installation on a longwall set up. A battery-powered scoop was being used in conjunction with a sheave block and wire rope to pull the top conveyor chain through the pan line toward the tail drive. The chain became fouled and the victim positioned himself to observe the cause of the problem. As the scoop continued to tram, the sheave assembly and wire rope, which were under tension, came loose and propelled forward. The sheave assembly struck the victim.

Best Practices

  • Ensure that chains, wire ropes, and hooks are properly attached or rigged.
  • Ensure persons are positioned in a safe location before tension is applied when pulling or lifting with chains, wire rope, or other rigging. This includes staying out of a potential line of flight of components in case of an equipment failure.
  • Inspect devices for signs of wear such as rust, metallic loss, fraying of rope, broken strands in cables, elongation of metal, etc.
  • Never weld hooks on equipment in order to attach ropes or chains for towing or hoisting.

Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), MSHA Investigation Report (pdf).

TRAM Cancelled Due to Government Shutdown

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LOCKED_DOORThe premier conference for mine safety trainers from all over the country has been cancelled because of the Federal shutdown. It’s sad that this unmatched opportunity for the best trainers and safety professionals we have in the mining industry to share ideas and information will be missed at a critical time for the safety of our country’s miners. I received the following message today: (Randy)

“All activities at the National Mine Health and Safety Academy,including the TRAM Conference, have been canceled.  We anticipate returning to our schedule after the government returns to normal operations.”