District 5 - Coal Mine Safety and Health
A Near Miss
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On Thursday, December 28, 2000, a miner was seriously injured at a stacker belt drive while using a shovel to apply dust between the drive roller and the belt to gain traction. The shovel was caught between the roller and belt, jerking him violently against the drive roller. He received a fractured cheekbone, arm and ribs.
On Friday, January 26, 2001, an outside worker was injured while performing maintenance on the stacker belt. While removing accumulations from the belt structure with a roof bolt between two stationary rollers of the counterweight system, the victim was pulled between the top belt and a roller. The victim was transported to the hospital where he was treated for a broken arm, six broken ribs, cuts, and scrapes.
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Best Practices
- Maintenance or repair may be performed on machinery only after it has been de-energized and blocked against motion as required by law.
- While the belt is in motion, do not attempt to manually apply belt dressings.
- Do not clean or remove rocks from moving conveyor pulleys.
- Do not use a shovel, hoe, or other hand tool to clean accumulations from an operating belt roller.
