METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY - On October 7, 2008, a 56 year-old lead man with 18 years of experience was fatally injured at a crushed stone operation. The victim was in a chute of an underground surge tunnel when material from above sloughed off and engulfed him.
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Best Practices
Identify potential hazards and establish safe work procedures for any work conducted in a surge tunnel. Never work under material feeding into bins, hoppers, chutes, and surge tunnels. Remove or prevent all material from falling if repairs are required in chutes or hoppers. Disconnect and lock out the circuits controlling the feed before entering.
This is the 17th fatality reported in calendar year 2008 in the metal and nonmetal mining industries. As of this date in 2007, there were 28 fatalities reported in these industries. This is the 1st Falling Material fatality in 2008. There were 2 Falling Material fatalities in the same period in 2007.
The information provided in this notice is based on preliminary data ONLY and does not represent final determinations regarding the nature of the incident or conclusions regarding the cause of the fatality.
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