MSHA’s ‘new era’ of mine safety

By |  May 23, 2017

The Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) reports that in 2016, 26 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation’s mines – down from 29 in 2015. The figure represents the lowest number of mining deaths ever recorded and only the second year that mining deaths dropped below 30. Currently, about 330,000 miners work in more than 13,000 U.S. mines.

A total of 17 deaths were reported in metal and nonmetal mines in 2016. Mississippi and Texas led with two, followed by one each in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa, Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington. The leading causes of death in these mines were machinery accidents and powered haulage, at four each. None of the 17 deaths occurred underground. In 2015, 17 miners died in the metal and nonmetal sector.

Joe Main, former assistant secretary of labor at MSHA, credited the agency’s use of strategic enforcement tools, including targeted impact inspections that address problem mines quickly; the pattern of violations regulation reigning in chronic violators; special initiatives aimed at preventing deaths that occur commonly; compliance assistance, training and outreach; along with improved compliance by the mining industry.

“While these deaths show that more needs to be done to protect our nation’s miners, we have reached a new era in mine safety in the past few years,” Main says. “Each year since 2009, injury rates have dropped, and the number of mining deaths and fatality rates were less than in all prior years in history except in 2010, when the Upper Big Branch mine disaster occurred.”



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