On March 6, 2019, a 35-year-old contractor with 35 weeks of experience was fatally injured when he was struck by a relief valve that was ejected from a 500-ton hydraulic jack. The hydraulic jack was being engaged to make contact with the frame of a P&H 4100A shovel when the relief valve was ejected.
Best Practices:
- Inspect, examine, maintain, and evaluate all materials and system components used in the installation, replacement, or repair of pressurized systems to ensure they are suitable for use and meet minimum manufacturer’s specifications.
- Test systems at lower pressures to verify connections and flow rates prior to full pressure use.
- Position yourself in a safe location, away from any potential sources of failure, while pressurizing systems.
- Consult and follow the manufacturer’s recommended safe work procedures.
- 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.
Click here for: MSHA Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).
On Thursday, November 29, 2018, a mechanic with 29 years of mining experience was severely injured when hydraulic pressure propelled a piece of metal out of a hydraulic fitting that he was examining, and the metal penetrated his head. The miner died on December 30, 2018, as a result of his injuries.
On December 29, 2018, a 25-year old dredge operator, with 21 weeks of experience, was fatally injured at a coal mine. The victim drowned when the dredge he was operating sank.
On Friday, December 29, 2017, at approximately 12:57 a.m., a 34-year-old bulldozer operator with 10 years of mining experience was fatally injured. While pushing overburden toward the edge of a highwall, the bulldozer he was operating travelled over the edge, down an embankment, and came to rest approximately 400 feet from where it went over the highwall.
On October 17, 2017, a miner was fatally injured while operating a bulldozer on a downward slope. While pushing overburden to a rock bench below the top of the pit, he was ejected from the cab and run over by the left track. The machine continued to tram over the edge of the 58′ highwall.
On July 25, 2017, a 28-year-old bulldozer operator with 1 year and 9 months of mining experience was fatally injured at a surface facility. The victim was operating a bulldozer, pushing material off of a refuse bank before the accident occurred. He was found lying in the bulldozer’s push path at the top of an incline near the edge of the refuse bank. The bulldozer had run over the victim and continued over the edge of the incline, coming to rest at the bottom of the embankment.
On Tuesday, June 13, 2017, a 32-year-old continuous mining machine operator was fatally injured when he was pinned between the cutter head of a remote controlled continuous mining machine and the coal rib. The victim was backing the continuous mining machine from the working face when the accident occurred.