Unfamiliar roles

By |  April 20, 2015

From the Mine Safety & Health Administration comes news that operator-reported injuries reached historic lows last year. That is great news for an industry that continues to place a high priority on safety. The bad news is that there are still too many fatalities, which are not only devastating to the families involved, but also a black eye for an industry trying to secure operating permits and recruit young workers.

A recent headline in The Charlotte Observer read: “Death near Charlotte highlights danger in quarries.” The story focused on the death of an aggregates worker at an operation southeast of the city, and noted that the death “illustrates a trend that has alarmed federal regulators: a rise in fatal accidents in quarries and other non-coal mines that produce stone, sand, gravel and other minerals. Last year, 28 miners in this segment died, the most since 2007 when there were 33, leading officials to step up education and enforcement efforts.”

The article brought the dangers of the job to the attention of the public, and suggested fatalities often result from sites operating with skeleton crews, placing some workers in unfamiliar roles. That is a common theme throughout workplaces in every industry, and in the mining/aggregates industry, it’s especially dangerous. Be safe out there.

About the Author:

Darren Constantino is an editor of Pit & Quarry magazine. He can be reached at dconstantino@northcoastmedia.net.

Comments are closed