5/14/25
In the matter of PETITION FOR MODIFICATION
Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC
Bailey Mine
Mine I.D. No. 36-07230
Docket Number Regulation Petitioned
Docket No. M-2024-054-C 30 C.F.R. § 75.500(d)
PROPOSED DECISION AND ORDER
On June 18, 2024, Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC filed the above listed petition for modification seeking a modification of the above-referenced standard to its Bailey Mine located in Greene County, Pennsylvania, Mine ID. No. 36-07230, to permit the use of battery-powered vibration analyzers and data collectors inby the last open crosscut that MSHA has not approved as permissible under 30 C.F.R. Part 18. Specifically, the Petitioner requests to use SCOUT 140EX and 100EX vibration analyzers and vb7 portable data collectors. The Petitioner alleges the alternative method outlined in the petition will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded by the standard.
Title 30 C.F.R. § 75.500(d) Permissible electric equipment states:
All other electric face equipment which is taken into or used inby the last crosscut of any coal mine, except a coal mine referred to in § 75.501, which has not been classified under any provision of law as a gassy mine prior to March 30, 1970, shall be permissible.
The Petitioner states that:
1. In approximately 2021, the MSHA-approved SKF Microlog Analyzer CMXA 51, which was certified and approved by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (“MSHA”) for use in hazardous “gassy” areas of all mine operations in the United States, was discontinued and is no longer available for purchase. Currently, no other MSHA-approved vibration analyzer and data collector is still in production or available for purchase.
2. The SCOUT100EX, SCOUT140EX, and vb7 are certified for Class 1, Division 2 hazardous areas, and are IP-rated in North America as ATEX Zone 2 compliant and safe for use in hazardous areas.
3. The SCOUT 140EX, 100EX, and vb7 are not MSHA-approved as permissible.
4. Electronic equipment used in underground mines in potentially explosive atmospheres is required to be approved by MSHA per 30 CFR Part 18. Bently Nevada and other manufacturers do offer alternative products for many other environments and applications.
5. Consol recognizes that National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) researchers have conducted studies on intrinsically safe (IS) equipment and believe that the International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) document 60079-11, or the American National Standards Institute (ANSI)/International Society (ISA) document 60079-11 for two-fault equipment (marked as ia), would provide an equivalent level of safety as MSHA-approved equipment.
6. The alternate method proposed by the Petitioner will at all times guarantee no less than the same measure of protection afforded the miners under the mandatory standard.
MSHA personnel investigated the technical sufficiency of the proposed equipment. After a careful review of the merits of the petition, the Administrator issues this Proposed Decision and Order.
FINDINGS OF FACT AND CONCLUSIONS OF LAW
The Bailey mine is located in the Pittsburgh coal seam. There are 678 employees employed at the mine, 658 that work underground, 20 that work on the surface. The mine has 3 production shifts per day. The mine currently has 9 working sections, 2 longwall sections, and 8 development sections. The mine produces 45,000 tons of coal per day. Coal is transported to the surface from the working sections by conveyor belts.
The term “Intrinsic Safety” is a safety methodology used for electrical equipment in hazardous environments such as underground mines, where gases like methane could ignite and cause an explosion. There are three levels of Intrinsic Safety. “No-fault Intrinsic Safety” indicates electrical equipment has been designed such that it will not cause a spark or get hot enough to start a fire or ignite an explosion during the normal course of its operation, when no component of the device fails. Devices that meet this lowest level of protection are marked with the letters “ic”. “One-fault Intrinsic Safety” means an electrical device will not spark or overheat even if one component of the device fails. Devices that meet this more stringent level of protection are marked with “ib”. Lastly, “Two-fault Intrinsic Safety” means an electrical device will not spark or overheat even if two independent components of the device fail at the same time, thereby offering the greatest level of protection and safety. Devices that meet this more stringent level of protection are marked with “ia”.
MSHA’s existing approval standards, under 30 C.F.R. Part 18, require two-fault intrinsic safety for electrical and electronic equipment. As such, MSHA evaluates this equipment to ensure that it provides two-fault Intrinsic Safety as part of its certification process for permissibility. The criteria MSHA uses to evaluate equipment for Intrinsic Safety are published in a document referred to as ACRI2001 (MSHA, 2017).
NIOSH researchers, in a paper titled “An Evaluation of the Relative Safety of U.S. Mining Explosion-Protected Equipment Approval Requirements versus those of International Standards” (NIOSH, 2017), have determined that equipment that meets two-fault Intrinsic Safety as defined in the ANSI/UL 60079-11:13 standard “ia” would provide at least an equivalent level of safety as that provided by equipment approved by the MSHA criteria found in ACRI2001.
MSHA Enforcement submitted information regarding the UL listing for the SCOUT 100EX and SCOUT 140EX Vibration Data Collector Analyzer Balancers and for the battery-powered non-permissible vb7 Portable Data Collector Analyzer Balancer to the Agency’s technical experts at its Approval and Certification Center (A&CC). A&CC conducted a review and determined the following:
The SCOUT 100 EX and SCOUT 140EX have received certification from CSA Group, which is a Nationally Recognized Test Laboratory.
The CSA Group certification issued to Bentley Nevada allows the SCOUT 100 EX and SCOUT 140 EX to be marked as “Ex ic IIB T4 Gc”. These markings indicate the following:
1. The unit is certified to be used in hazardous locations, “Ex”
2. The unit has met the least stringent level of Intrinsic Safety protection, “ic”
3. The level of protection is acceptable for use in non-mining locations (“IIB” for gases and “IIIB” for dusts), and
4. The unit is not certified for use in mining applications.
The SCOUT 100 EX and SCOUT 140 EX are certified as “ic” which means these units only provide no-fault Intrinsic Safety. Because no-fault Intrinsic Safety provides less protection from ignition and explosion hazards than MSHA’s standards that require two-fault Intrinsic Safety for electrical and electronic equipment, MSHA cannot approve the use of these devices under this petition.
The vb7 Portable Data Collector also received a certification from CSA Group: Class 1 Division 2, Groups A, B, C, and D. This certification allows the vb7 to be marketed as safe for environments which have explosive gases—not including methane—intermittently. The area inby the last open crosscut of an underground coal mine, which frequently has methane, is not an appropriate setting for a device with this certification. Furthermore, this certification provides no guarantee that the device’s circuitry will not create a spark: this means the vb7 does not qualify as intrinsically safe. In other words, the vb7 cannot even be marked with “ic”. Because the vb7 provides less protection from ignition and explosion hazards than MSHA’s standards that require two-fault Intrinsic Safety for electrical and electronic equipment, MSHA cannot approve the use of this device under this petition.
The SCOUT 100EX and SCOUT 140EX Vibration Analyzers and the vb7 Portable Data Collector cannot be used as safely in areas where permissibility is required at the Bailey Mine, which has multiple sections and three daily production shifts. The level of protection for which these devices are certified do not meet the same level of protection as MSHA’s requirements or the standards noted by NIOSH. MSHA’s requirements include the use of two faults of Intrinsic Safety be applied to the circuitry, which these devices do not meet.
ORDER
Wherefore, pursuant to the authority delegated by the Secretary of Labor to the Administrator for Mine Safety and Health Enforcement and pursuant to Section 101(c) of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 30 U.S.C. § 811(c), it is ordered that Consol Pennsylvania Coal Company, LLC’s Petition for Modification of the application of 30 C.F.R. § 75.500(d) in the Bailey Mine is hereby:
DENIED
Any party to this action desiring a hearing on this matter must file in accordance with 30 C.F.R. § 44.14 within 30 days. The request for hearing must be filed with the Administrator for Mine Safety and Health Enforcement, 200 Constitution Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20210.
If a hearing is requested, the request shall contain a concise summary of position on the issues of fact or law desired to be raised by the party requesting the hearing, including specific objections to the proposed decision. A party other than the Petitioner who has requested a hearing may also comment upon all issues of fact or law presented in the petition and any party to this action requesting a hearing may indicate a desired hearing site. If no request for a hearing is filed within 30 days after service thereof, the Decision and Order will become final and must be posted by the operator on the bulletin board at the mine.
Timothy R. Watkins
Acting Administrator for
Mine Safety and Health Enforcement
Certificate of Service
I hereby certify that a copy of this proposed decision was served personally or mailed, postage paid, or provided by other electronic means this 14th day of May, 2025, to:
R. Henry Moore
Patrick W. Dennison
Fisher Phillips LLP,
Six PPG Place
Suite 830
Pittsburgh, PA 15222
(412)8220-6626
Hmoore@fisherphillips.com
pdennison@fisherphillips.com
James Haines
General Superintendent
685 Patterson Creek Road
Sycamore, PA 15364
jameshaines@consolenergy.com
Alexander Bullinger
General Engineer
cc: Mr. Richard A. Wagner, P.E., Acting Director,
Bureau of Mine Safety
PA Dept. of Environmental Protection
P.O. Box 133, 131 Broadview Road,
New Stanton, PA 15672
rwagner@pa.gov