National Miners Day celebrated

By |  December 6, 2016

Mining_helmetThe Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) and National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) are recognizing National Miners Day today.

In 2009, Congress designated Dec. 6 as National Miners Day to honor the contributions of miners both past and present. The date represents when 362 men and boys died in a massive underground explosion at the Fairmont Coal Co.’s No. 6 and No. 8 mines in northern West Virginia.

“Miners are vital to our economy and a critical component of our nation’s identity, representing fortitude, determination and spirit,” says Joe Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “They work in often dangerous conditions so that our lives may be more comfortable. They deserve our utmost respect, gratitude and, most of all, a safe and healthy workplace. Not just on Dec. 6, but every single day.”

Each day, about 366,000 men and women go to work in the more than 13,000 underground and surface mining operations throughout the nation, MSHA reports.

Last year represented the safest in mining history, in terms of the number of deaths and fatal and injury rates. According to MSHA, 28 miners died in mining accidents, which is down from 45 in 2014. NSSGA reports that the 2016 fatality numbers are lower than the 2015 numbers so far.

“The people in this industry produce the building blocks of America, and this workforce is the aggregates industry’s most precious resource,” says Mike Johnson, president and CEO of NSSGA. “We are proud to celebrate the end of the safest year in the history of the industry.”

Allison Kral

About the Author:

Allison Kral is the former senior digital media manager for North Coast Media (NCM). She completed her undergraduate degree at Ohio University where she received a Bachelor of Science in magazine journalism from the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. She works across a number of digital platforms, which include creating e-newsletters, writing articles and posting across social media sites. She also creates content for NCM's Portable Plants magazine, GPS World magazine and Geospatial Solutions. Her understanding of the ever-changing digital media world allows her to quickly grasp what a target audience desires and create content that is appealing and relevant for any client across any platform.

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