Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)
MSHA Administrator: The Nation's Mine Safety Is Improving
In a Feb. 2 speech, MSHA Administrator Joseph A. Main said the agency's enforcement efforts, combined with increased compliance within the industry, "are making a difference and making mines safer for the nation's miners"...
Hepburnia Coal Co. Agrees to Pay Fine, Provide Special Training in Discrimination Settlement
To settle charges of discrimination against an employee, Hepburnia Coal Co. Inc., a Pennsylvania surface mine operator, agreed to pay a $3,750 civil penalty and provide its miners with training surrounding their rights to report safety hazards or request MSHA inspections without retaliation...
MSHA Says Corporate Culture Led to Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion, Issues $10 Million Fine
MSHA issued the largest fine in its history – $10,825,368 – against the former Massey Energy Co. in connection to the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion. In its Dec. 6 fatal accident investigation report, MSHA attributed the root cause of the disaster to a corporate culture that valued production over safety...
Criminal Investigation of Upper Big Branch Mine Disaster Yields $209 Million Settlement
The criminal investigation of the April 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, which claimed the lives of 29 miners in Montcoal, W.Va., in the nation's deadliest mine disaster in 40 years, has resulted in a $209 million settlement. The agreement encompasses the corporate criminal liability of the former Massey Energy Co., which owned the mine, and not potential criminal charges for any individual. The criminal investigation of individuals associated with Massey remains ongoing...
MSHA’s Special Impact Mine Inspections Result in Hundreds of Citations
When MSHA conducted special impact inspections at 20 mines in September, the agency uncovered safety concerns that included accumulations of combustible dust, an open and unsupported excavation hole, nonworking self-contained self-rescuer units, inadequate pre-shift examinations, inadequate testing of electrical grounding systems and more. The inspections resulted in a spate of citations, orders and safeguards against the mines...
MSHA Publishes Proposed Rule to Equip Coal Mine Machines with Protective Technology
On Aug. 31, MSHA published a proposed rule in the Federal Register to require underground coal mines to equip continuous mining machines with proximity detection systems in order to protect miners from becoming crushed, pinned or struck by machinery...
R&D Mine Coal Co. to Pay $905,825 in Fines Related to Fatal 2006 Explosion
The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has ordered R&D Mine Coal Co. Inc. to pay $905,825 in penalties for violations related to a fatal 2006 explosive detonation. The mine operator, which ceased operations following the incident, agreed to withdraw its contests for the violations and the full penalty judgment...
Enhanced DOL Enforcement Database Offers Improved Access to OSHA, MSHA Violation Data
New updates and improvements to the U.S. Department of Labor’s enforcement database offer enhanced access to OSHA and MSHA violation data...
Deadline for MSHA’s Mine Safety Training Grant Applications is Aug. 31
On Aug. 3, MSHA announced that up to 20 Brookwood-Sago safety and training grants, totaling $1 million, are available to help maintain safe working conditions for miners. States or nonprofit entities may apply by Aug. 31...
Report Slams Massey Energy for Its Role in Upper Big Branch Mine Explosion
An independent investigative panel has released a report calling the fatal Upper Big Branch Mine explosion a “predictable result for a company that ignored basic safety standards and put too much faith in its own mythology.”...
Body of Missing Idaho Miner Recovered
The body of miner Larry Marek, who on April 15 was trapped 6,150 feet below ground in a collapse at the Lucky Friday silver mine near Mullan, Idaho, has been recovered by a search and rescue team. Another miner who was working in the same section of the mine and who is reported to be Marek’s brother, escaped from the mine...
New Online Tool Helps MSHA Detect Flagrant Violations
MSHA announced that its Inspectors’ Portable Application for Laptops (IPAL) is now equipped with an online tool to alert federal inspectors that certain violations will be reviewed for special assessment as flagrant violations. MSHA Administrator Joseph A. Main said this tool will help inspectors cite violations “efficiently and accurately.”...
MSHA Launches Online Monitoring Tool for Pattern of Violations Screening
On April 6, MSHA announced a new online service that enables mine operators, miners and others to monitor a mining operation to determine if it could be subject to a potential pattern of violations (POV)...
We Remember: One Year After Upper Big Branch Explosion
Within days of each other, two landmark workplace safety tragedies were commemorated: March 25 marked the 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Factory fire in New York, in which 146 garment workers died, and April 5 marks the one-year anniversary of the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia, in which 29 miners died...
House Hearing Scrutinizes MSHA Regulatory and Enforcement Actions
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) Administrator Joseph Main testified at a March 3 House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections hearing that examined recent regulatory and policy changes aimed at improving mine safety...
FY 2012 Budget Request Includes $583 Million for OSHA
In a landscape of budget cuts and heated debate, President Obama’s FY 2012 budget request includes modest increases for OSHA and MSHA – a requested $583 million for OSHA (an increase of more than $24 million from 2010 enacted levels) and $384 million for MSHA...
COSH Names Top 10 Workplace Tragedies for 2010
The year 2010 was a bad one for workers: An explosion on a an off-shore drilling rig killed 11 workers and triggered the worst oil spill in U.S. history; a catastrophic mine disaster killed 29 coal miners; and an oil refinery explosion caused multiple fatalities – and those were just the incidents you heard about...
OMB Watch: Obama Administration Stepping Up Enforcement of Labor Laws
In a report released Dec. 8, OMB Watch examined the regulatory enforcement actions of the Obama administration at its midterm point and revealed that executive branch agencies have stepped up enforcement of a number of important labor, consumer protection and environmental laws and regulations...
Loss of Lives in New Zealand Mine “a National Tragedy”
Tragedy has struck a second time for families and friends hoping for good news from the Pike River Mine in New Zealand, where 29 miners have been trapped since a blast on Nov. 19. A second explosion on Nov. 24 has led mining and rescue experts on the scene to say it is unlikely that any miners who might have survived the first blast were able to survive the second...
MSHA Kicks Off Annual Winter Alert Campaign
On Nov. 1, MSHA kicked off its 2010 Winter Alert campaign to warn miners and mine operators about the dangers colder weather can bring to the mining environment...
MSHA Issues Proposed Rule on Lowering Miners’ Exposure to Respirable Coal Dust
In the Oct. 19 Federal Register, MSHA published a proposed rule on lowering miners’ exposure to respirable coal dust in all underground and surface coalmines, with the aim to end black lung disease among miners. The proposed rule is the latest element of MSHA's “End Black Lung – Act Now” campaign...
Their Shift Is Over: Chilean Miners Safely Rescued!
In what only can be described as a tribute to modern technology and the unbreakable nature of the human spirit, all 33 miners trapped nearly one-half mile underground in a mine in northern Chile have been rescued. ...
NSC: OSHA, MSHA, NIOSH Leaders Discuss the State of Occupational Safety
In an Oct. 5 National Safety Council (NSC) Congress occupational keynote, OSHA Administrator David Michaels, NIOSH Director John Howard and MSHA Administrator Joe Main discussed their priorities and goals for occupational safety and health...
MSHA Publishes an Emergency Temporary Standard for Rock Dust
MSHA announced that on Sept. 23, the Federal Register is expected to publish an emergency temporary standard that revises the existing federal standard on maintenance of incombustible content of rock dust. The determination to create an ETS was based on MSHA’s review of accident investigation reports of mine explosions in intake air courses that involved coal dust...
MSHA Releases Inspection Results from Targeted Mines with Suspected Unsafe Conditions
MSHA announced Aug. 24 the outcome of recent impact inspections at four underground coal mining operations where unsafe practices and conditions were suspected. MSHA inspectors uncovered numerous safety violations, including failure to follow the mine’s approved ventilation plan, inadequate roof support and accumulation of combustible materials...
