The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) introduced two online tools to assist operators, miners, MSHA and others in tracking violations of standards commonly associated with mining deaths and underground coal mines. These tools also allow users to monitor a mine’s compliance history, including its eligibility for a Pattern of Violations or the number of violations it has received.
The first tool allows users to identify the health and safety standards in MSHA’s “Rules to Live By” outreach and enforcement program, which consists of standards created to prevent common causes of mining facilities. Twenty-eight of the standards apply to coal mines, and 19 apply to metal and nonmetal mines, reports MSHA.
The “Rules to Live By” tool includes a page displaying the number of violations during the last inspection quarter for underground mines and the last 6-month inspection period for surface mines. It also lists the specific “Rules to Live By” standards cited by MSHA and the number of times cited for that inspection period.
The second tool tracks compliance of nine standards associated with hazardous conditions that pose risks to underground coal miners. According to MSHA, the nine standards address ventilation, methane, roof control, combustible materials, rock dust, equipment guarding and other safeguards.
The mine examination tool features a page displaying the number of violations of the nine examination rules during the last inspection for underground coal mines. It also lists the specific exam rule standards cited by MSHA and provides an average of exam rule violations based on MSHA inspection hours for that inspection period.
“These new web tools will enable mine operators to monitor their own compliance with specific safety and health standards that are commonly linked to mining deaths and frequently cited by MSHA,” says Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “Operators will be able to track their mine’s performance and take any corrective action that may be needed to improve compliance.”
