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FATALITY UPDATE
A Safety Alert for the Mining Industry
From Joseph A. Main
Assistant Secretary,
Mine Safety and Health Administration |
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While headlines focus on the disaster at West Virginia's Upper Big Branch (UBB) Mine that killed 29 miners, we cannot lose sight of the fact that other miners are losing their lives at mines around the country. To date, 28 other miners from all sectors of mining have died in fatal accidents since January 1, 2010. We must take action to prevent additional fatalities.
Eight miners are dead because they were struck-by moving or falling objects. Roof falls and rib rolls crushed 7 miners. Six miners were killed working in close proximity to mining or haulage equipment. Three more miners lost their lives in explosions and fires; another miner was killed when he was caught inside rotating machinery; a contract miner fell to his death, a contract truck driver was killed when his truck went through a berm and over a highwall, and a miner drowned. Eight of the dead miners were contractors. Each life lost is a tragedy for a family, a mining operation, and a community.
Fatalities can be prevented. They are not inevitable in mining. Effective safety and health management programs save lives. Workplace examinations for hazards - pre-shift and on-shift every shift - can identify and eliminate hazards that kill and injure miners. And effective and appropriate training will ensure that miners recognize and understand hazards and how to control or eliminate them. See More...
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