MSHA: Spring the time to remind employees about safety

Fifty-eight hundred of the 12,000 metal and non-metal mines MSHA oversees close in the winter when snow and freezing temperatures make operations difficult or impossible. Most of these intermittent mines are crushed stone operations, the agency says, but the operations also include limestone, granite and other stone operations.

The arrival of spring means many of these surface mines are about to reopen. To prepare these mines for the coming year, MSHA issued a safety-related reminder today, pointing out that spring is a busy yet potentially dangerous period because employees are returning to work and preparing equipment for use after a few months away from the job.

So, MSHA says, there’s no better time than now to brush up on procedures that will carry operations through the summer and keep employees safe. And although overall injury rates have declined over the years, MSHA reminds operators that annual injury rates typically peak around this time of the year. See the chart for further details.