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COAL MINE FATALITY - On August 13, 1998, a 37-year-old section foreman was operating a scoop, cleaning up rock where a boom hole had been established. Earlier, the intersection had been drilled, the bolt heads and plates cut off, and the roof shot down with explosives. No temporary support was set in the area. The scoop was not equipped with a canopy in the 34-inch coal seam. The foreman had driven the scoop 13 feet into the unsupported area where a section of the roof, 3 feet wide x 8 feet long x 6 inches thick, fell onto the scoop and into the operator's compartment killing the foreman.

BEST PRACTICES

  • Never work or travel under unsupported roof, except when necessary to set temporary support.

  • When establishing boom-hole or overcast sites, a rehabilitation plan must be developed. The plan shall specify the procedures to be followed in performing this work including an orderly method to support and clean up the area. All persons working at the site shall be instructed in the procedures of the plan.

This is the 19th fatality reported in calendar year 1998 in the coal mining industry. As of this date in 1997, there were 21 fatalities. This is the ninth fatality classified as ROOF FALL in 1998.

For more information:
Fatal Alert Bulletin Icon MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report [FTL98C19]




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