Mine Safety

Joe Main says congress can do more to improve mine safety. 

WASHINGTON –  The head of the Mine Safety and Health Administration says his office has made great strides to improve mine safety … but more is needed from lawmakers.

MSHA Director Joe Main was one of several called to Capitol Hill Thursday to update the U-S senate on mine safety progress. Main listed a number of improvements in the system, including targeting mines with poor compliance, issuing emergency standards and imposing injunctive authority to stop hazardous mining.        

SOMERSET, Colo., March 23, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Arch Coal, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) today announced that Mountain Coal Company’s West Elk mine employees were honored with a Colorado state safety award and two state environmental awards at the 113th National Western Mining Conference and Exhibition in Denver.

“West Elk turned out an outstanding 2010 performance, and garnered three statewide awards as a result,” said John W. Eaves, Arch’s president and chief operating officer.  ”We commend West Elk’s employees for their significant accomplishments, which underscore their dedication to excellence and continuous improvement in safety and environmental performance.”

ST. LOUIS, March 16, 2011 /PRNewswire/ — Peabody Energy today announced that its Twentymile Mine in Colorado has earned the Top Safety Innovation Award from the Colorado Mining Association for a device that makes moving longwall equipment safer and more efficient at the underground mine.

The award is given annually to recognize an innovation that leads to improved safety performance of Colorado miners. With a brief investment of materials and time, the Twentymile longwall crew invented and assembled a staple-lock tool that uses hydraulics to remove portions of each longwall panel, minimizing incident risk. The association also recognized members of the mine’s workforce for significant safety achievements.

International Practices/Recent Experiences and Emergency safety technologies will be among the topics discussed at Wheeling Jesuit University’s 4^th Annual International Mining Health & Safety Symposium.

Other issues to be discussed include:

–  Mine Disaster Response (mine rescue notification & coordination, incident command center, mine rescue teams, rescue equipment, communications, lighting/visualization equipment, gas detection & monitoring, robotics)

–  Overlaying Resource Extraction – Coal, Oil & Gas: Implications, Mine Safety & Mining Development

The Symposium will be held:

April 7-8, 2011
Charleston Civic Center
Charleston, WV

To register, click here.

Department of Labor Assistant Secretary Main called for legislation to provide additional enforcement authority.

In his testimony, the head of MSHA said,

To make MSHA truly effective in cracking down on serial violators who seem indifferent to miners’ health and safety, MSHA needs additional tools that only Congress can provide. We need to change the culture of safety in some parts of the mining industry, so that they are as concerned about the safety of their miners when MSHA is not looking over their shoulders as when MSHA is there – because MSHA cannot be there all the time. The Administration supports legislation that gives MSHA the enforcement tools it needs to ensure that all mine operators live up to their legal and moral responsibility to provide a safe and healthful workplace for all miners.