MSHA « USW TMC

Posts Tagged ‘MSHA’

MSHA Reaches Settlement With Mining Company

Tuesday, February 8th, 2011

SDC-Mineral del Puerto Rico Nov2008 069

The Department of Labor has announced that it has reached a settlement with Comunidad Agricola Bianchi Inc., a Puerto Rican mining company. Comunidad Agricola Bianchi Inc. had recently terminated an employee who reported unsafe working conditions to MSHA and were subsequently fined for wrongfully terminating that employee.

From the DOL release:

In August 2009, MSHA received an anonymous hazard complaint raising concerns about safety issues at the mine, including details about an unreported June 2009 accident at the mine involving Chaparro. As a result, MSHA launched a hazard complaint investigation. The same day that MSHA spoke with Chaparro about his accident, the mine superintendent fired him.

In a complaint filed with the Mine Safety and Health Review Commission, MSHA sought a finding that Chaparro was unlawfully discriminated against and discharged in violation of Section 105(c)(1) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, which states that miners, their representatives and applicants for employment are protected from retaliation for engaging in safety and/or health-related activities, such as identifying hazards, asking for MSHA inspections or refusing to engage in an unsafe act. The complaint also sought Chaparro’s reinstatement to his position or a comparable one, $6,000 in back pay, all employment benefits, all medical and hospital benefits, and any and all other damages suffered and incurred by Chaparro as a result of the discriminatory discharge, as well as a $15,000 civil money penalty.

“The Mine Act is clear,” said Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Miners have a right to participate in an MSHA investigation, and they may not be fired, demoted, harassed, transferred, refused employment or suffer any loss of wages for exercising their right. Meanwhile, my department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration will continue to vigorously investigate all discriminatory complaints.”

MSHA Extending Comment Period for Proposed Black Lung Regulations

Friday, February 4th, 2011

2009logo

MSHA has announced the extension of the comment period for their proposed rule to May 2. The proposal was published on October 19, and comes during Phase II of the regulator’s campaign called ‘End Black Lung: Act Now’.

From MSHA:

Respirable coal mine dust can cause lung diseases such as coal workers pneumoconiosis (CWP), emphysema, silicosis, and bronchitis—known collectively as black lung. Black lung can lead to lung impairment, permanent disability, and even death. While there is no cure for black lung, there are important and potentially life-saving measures that MSHA requires to be undertaken to reduce exposure to respirable coal mine dust and prevent disease. Even though these measures have been required for many years, new cases of black lung continue to occur among the nation’s coal miners, even in younger miners.

Studies conducted by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and MSHA in 2005, 2006, 2007 of chest x-ray surveillance by NIOSH indicated that the prevalence rate of CWP is increasing in our Nation’s coal miners. Even more disturbing is that advanced and seriously debilitating cases of CWP are now seen in younger and younger miners.

A moving video of the effect of black lung on miners can be viewed here.

Submitted by Patrick McQueen

Tags: Black Lung, MSHA
Posted in MSHA | No Comments »

Main Demands More Safety For W. Va. Mines

Friday, February 4th, 2011

0406-massey-energy-west-virginia-mine-explosion_full_600 MSHA chief Joe Main charged West Virginian Coal Mining Companies with striving for better safety in the mines, yesterday, saying that more must be done to ensure workers’ safety.

From BusinessWeek:

“We know how to prevent these deaths,” Main said. “Mines all across this country operate every day while adhering to standard health and safety programs. We all know that and there’s no reason that all mines shouldn’t.”

MSHA is in the process of amending several sets of safety regulations in response to the rule. But Main said surprise inspections at mines with poor safety records and hazardous conditions since the explosion have been highly successful. Through December, the so-called impact inspections resulted in more than 4,100 citations at nearly 200 mines nationally.

Main said MSHA is trying to improve its own performance by training managers to make inspections more consistent and is evaluating pilot programs to test a simplified process for penalizing mines cited for violations.

“MSHA’s trying to improve our own consistency in what we do,” Main said.

MSHA Proposes New Pattern of Violation Rule

Thursday, February 3rd, 2011

23coal-600

MSHA announced yesterday that they’re proposing a new pattern of violation rule. The proposed rule will make it easier to identify companies who repeatedly put their employees at risk and prosecute them adequately.

From the DOL:

“As I’ve said many times before, the current POV system is broken, and this regulation is the next critical step in reforming the enforcement program under the existing statute,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “It would require mine operators to be much more proactive in monitoring their compliance performance and would eliminate two provisions in the existing regulation: the potential POV procedure and the requirement regarding final orders.

“Congress enacted this law 33 years ago, and not one mine has ever been placed on a POV,” Main added.

“This proposed rule is designed to meet Congress’ intent.”

“Congress enacted this law 33 years ago, and not one mine has ever been placed on a POV,” Main added.

“This proposed rule is designed to meet Congress’ intent.”

Second Blast Dashes Hopes for New Zealand Mine Rescue

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

With the ordeal of the 33 Chilean miners still fresh in their memory, the families of 29 New Zealand miners trapped in a collapsed coal mine held out hope that a rescue was possible, even though they had not heard from anyone trapped since an explosion occured nearly two weeks ago. Those hopes were dashed last Wednesday when a second explosion, again caused by methane gas swirling over burning coal fires, led New Zealand authorities to declare that survival was an impossibility and call off the rescue efforts.

New Zealand has a relatively safe track record in the mining industry, with the last major incident involving the death of 19 workers in 1967. While family members urged the rescue teams to enter the mine immediately upon the first explosion, officials insisted that conditions within the mine were initially too dangerous for a rescue attempt. Progress was made four days later when teams connected a small shaft to the mine, allowing robots to enter and provide a look inside the mine. A day later, the second blast doomed these efforts.

Two more blasts have rocked the mine in recent days, bringing the total to four. With the emphasis now on recovering the bodies of the miners, officials are considering temporarily sealing the mine to cut off the supply of oxygen fueling the fires.

From the Associated Press:

Police superintendent Dave Cliff said the latest explosion demonstrates the volatility of the mine environment, which has prevented any rescue workers from entering the mine since the first blast.

“We are doing all we can to progress the recovery operation, however the explosion reinforces the risks involved in working in this environment and the requirement to put people’s safety first,” he told reporters.

Prime Minister John Key said Sunday that a Royal Commission of Inquiry will be held into the disaster — showing that the government was taking the inquiry seriously and was determined to find answers for the dead miners’ families.

The incident serves as a tragic reminder of the dangers facing mine workers every day they do their jobs. We salute the work of MSHA here at home to ensure that our nation’s mines be as safe as they possibly can.

Submitted by Patrick McQueen

Tags: deaths, explosion, Health & Safety, Mine, MSHA
Posted in Health and Safety | No Comments »

MSHA Threatens To Close 13 Mines

Tuesday, November 30th, 2010

MSHA has put 13 mines on notice due to their persistent record of violations. The mines have repeatedly put their workers at risk and, for the first time since the new Pattern of Violations regulations have been put in effect, MSHA is invoking it’s power to pressure the mines to act. From the MSHA release:

“I have been saying since I arrived at MSHA that the POV (pattern of violations) system is broken,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “This screening represents a positive step forward, but it won’t be the only step. POV is on MSHA’s rulemaking agenda, and there are also statutory changes pending before Congress that would further improve the system.”

Main also noted that the review process is not finished. “Once MSHA completes a thorough auditing, there may be more mines put on notice for a potential POV,” he said. Audits are being conducted at mine operations that appear close to qualifying for a potential POV to track any underreporting of mine accidents and injuries.

The mines have a few options to postpone their punishment:

- Mine operators can choose to institute a corrective action program with concrete, meaningful measures to reduce their S&S violations

- Establish achievable benchmarks and milestones for implementing the program

- Establish management oversight to ensure the program is being instituted and followed

- And implement measures to find and fix the mine’s specific compliance problems.

Mines that implement a corrective action program will be required to meet the prescribed goals within a maximum of 110 days of receiving potential POV notification, depending upon when a corrective action program is submitted to MSHA. If the mines choose not to follow these guidelines, they will have only 50 days to correct all violations before being subjected to restrictions up to closure.

“Along with impact inspections and injunction actions, POV represents an important enforcement method for MSHA to change the behavior of mine operators who don’t take seriously the health and safety of miners,” said Main.

What more do you think MSHA should be doing to punish mines that repeatedly put workers at risk? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Submitted by Andrew Fatato

Tags: mines, MSHA
Posted in Health and Safety, MSHA | 1 Comment »

Life in a Mining Town

Wednesday, November 17th, 2010

Originally posted in the USW Media Center, this video is especially timely in the wake of MSHA injunctions against Massey Energy.

International President Leo W. Gerard recalls his life growing up in the mining town of Sudbury, Ontario in this United Steelworker video, “Life in a Mining Town.”

He speaks about the working conditions, the fears and the health and safety concerns in a company town.

This video was shown for the first time at the 2010 Health Safety and Environment Conference in Pittsburgh, Pa.

Tags: Health & Safety, massey, MSHA
Posted in Health and Safety, MSHA | No Comments »

MSHA Schedules Black Lung Hearings

Friday, November 12th, 2010

Black lung has killed more than 10,000 miners in the last 10 years, and MSHA is hoping to do something further to prevent this number from growing. They’re holding hearings to discuss new black lung rules. From this Bloomberg News report:

“The agency says the meetings start Dec. 7 in Beaver, W.Va., and run through Jan. 27 at its headquarters in Virginia. Meetings also are planned for Pennsylvania, Indiana, Alabama and Utah.

The meetings will be held to take testimony on a proposal to cut existing limits for breathable dust in coal mines in half, among other things. The aim is to better protect the nation’s 73,000 coal miners from black lung disease, which is caused by inhaling dust.”

MSHA has an extensive outline on their website detailing their efforts to end black lung, and you can go there to follow their progress. From the website: “While considerable progress has been made in reducing miners exposure to respirable coal mine dust, miners continue to develop black lung and silicosis. MSHA is implementing a comprehensive strategy that includes rulemaking, enhanced enforcement, collaborative outreach and education and training. The risk to a miner’s health can be reduced by controlling respirable coal mine dust exposures. It’s time to End Black Lung! ACT NOW!”

You can also visit the website to watch a compelling video in support of the proposed rules.

The rules are lengthy, and you can read the full text here, but the essential details are as follows:

- New limits for the amounts of respirable coal dust allowed in the work environment.

- Make the use of Continuous Personal Dust Monitor mandatory.

- Compliance will be measured on the basis of a full shift.

- Expand medical surveillance of workers exposed to coal dust.

Are you in the area of the meetings? Will you attend? What else needs to be done to prevent black lunch in your mine? Let us know what you think in the comments below.

Submitted by Andrew Fatato.

Tags: Black Lung, MSHA
Posted in Health and Safety, MSHA | No Comments »