Mine Safety and Health Administration officials say they’ve been having more conversations with operators after a spike in mine fatalities last year.
The MSHA reported 40 deaths chargeable to the mining industry last year, including three deaths in Kentucky mines.
So far in 2024, 15 fatal accidents have been reported, with zero in Kentucky.
Christopher Williamson is the Assistant Secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration. He says they’ve been hosting safety days at mines to continue to bring that number down.
“We've been very active with safety and health alerts and using our enforcement tools, and our outreach tools and our education tools, and I've been talking about this issue every time I give a speech or every time that I'm addressing a group,” Williamson said.
The agency is also set to start enforcing a new federal rule limiting the amount of silica dust miners can take in per shift, from 100 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 50. Silica is linked to respiratory diseases like black lung and lung cancer.
The rule was enacted earlier this spring. It also requires mine operators to monitor the air workers are breathing in, and to immediately adjust operations when excess levels of silica are reported.
Williamson says the rule puts the mining industry in line with what federal researchers have recommended for 50 years.
“MSHA is going to be able to use its full enforcement powers to issue citations, to require mine operators to take immediate corrective action when there is overexposure to address the known health hazard,” Williamson said. “And if not, we can use other enforcement tools if they don't abate the hazard and take immediate corrective action.”
It also requires metal and non-metal mines to create medical surveillance programs, similar to those in place at coal mines.
The rule will be enforced at coal mines starting next April, and at metal mines in 2026.
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