Arlington, VA — Mine Safety and Health Administration officers acknowledge that the trade is “not on a good track” for deaths this yr.
Brian Goepfert, of MSHA’s metallic/nonmetal mining security division, made that declaration throughout a July 26 convention name for company stakeholders. He additionally highlighted finest practices to “curtail” the “alarming trend” of accelerating deaths amongst miners.
As of Aug. 14, MSHA had recorded 27 trade fatalities this yr, approaching the 30 the company documented in 2022. MSHA reported 37 miner fatalities in 2021, ending a run of six straight years in which fewer than 30 miners died on the job.
Among the fatalities recorded to date in 2023, 11 had been associated to equipment incidents.
Goepfert supplied steerage to assist forestall deadly incidents associated to equipment:
- Follow the producer guide and directions. Pay particular consideration to the elimination of potential saved vitality and keep away from unintended motion of equipment when performing repairs or upkeep.
- Stay out of swing areas, pinch factors or different hazardous areas when engaged on or round equipment.
- Perform sufficient office examinations and preoperational inspections of cell tools.
- Always put on a seat belt.
“When we see these accidents, and we post the fatality notices and the reports online, there’s not a lot of mystery behind them,” Goepfert mentioned. “A lot of them are repeats, and we just need to put an end to those.”
MSHA administrator Chris Williamson emphasised the significance of the company and stakeholders working collectively to mitigate deaths on the job.
“If we’re seeing trends, if we’re identifying things, if there are best practices, all of those things that we can share and collaborate on with everyone in the mining community – things that we know could make a difference and better protect miners and reduce serious and fatal accidents – our agency’s going to do that,” he mentioned.
