Eighteen miners died in work-related accidents at U.S. mines during the first half of 2013, according to MSHA. Of the 18, nine were killed in the metal and nonmetal mining sector.
One of the metal/nonmetal miners died in a fall of highwall; one was killed in a machinery accident; and one miner died in an accident involving explosives and breaking agents. Four miners were killed in powered haulage accidents, and two miners died in falling material accidents.
“The one recurring element in the fatalities we’ve seen this year is that they were preventable,” says Joe Main, MSHA’s assistant secretary of labor. “The final numbers released by MSHA earlier [in July] showed that 2012 had the lowest mining death and injury rates in the history of U.S. mining. Many mines operate every shift of every day, year in and year out, without a fatality or a lost-time injury. Mining workplaces can and must be made safe for all miners.”
