fatalities injuries Mine Safety & Health Administration

MSHA 2014 data shows mining injuries reached all-time low

Allison Kral Published Apr 16, 2015

The U.S. Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) released its 2014 preliminary mine safety data, which includes information on inspections, violations, mines, and fatality and injury rates for the mining industry.

The data showed that the overall 2014 operator-reported injury rate reached a historical low, while the number of deaths increased by 2 from 2013. There were a total of 44 deaths in 2014, with 16 deaths occurring at coal mines and 28 deaths occurring at metal and nonmetal mines.

Overall, 121,646 citations and orders were issued in 2014, an increase compared to the 118,279 that were issued in 2013. According to MSHA, this increase correlates with the administration’s increased enforcement efforts. Some of MSHA’s efforts to improve compliance include the revised Pattern of Violations enforcement program and the Rules to Live By initiative.

In 2014, the total number of mines decreased from 13,761 in 2013 to 13,588.

MSHA will release the final data by the end of July.

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News Safety fatalities injuries Mine Safety & Health Administration MSHA pattern of violations Rules to Live By violations

Allison Kral

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.