Arlington, VA — Collaboration throughout the mining industry has spurred “significant improvement” in decreasing fatalities, Mine Safety and Health Administration head Chris Williamson mentioned throughout a July 10 stakeholder assembly.
The company has recorded 9 mine worker deaths via July 10. That’s 62.5% fewer than the 40 recorded on the identical juncture in 2023.
Although Williamson superstitiously “knocked on wood” in the course of the assembly, he additionally felt comfy asserting that a number of ongoing efforts have helped spark a turnaround.
“The reduction in the number of fatal accidents is substantial, and that just didn’t happen by chance. Or at least I submit that it did not,” Williamson mentioned. “I spent a whole lot of time final yr speaking to individuals all all through the mining neighborhood. Last yr was unsettling for lots of people – lots of people scratched their heads.
“But we had conversations. We all looked at it and said we must do better. And at least so far this year, the mining industry is in much better shape.”
One cause? Rulemaking, Williamson mentioned.
In December, MSHA revealed a ultimate rule requiring mine operators to have a written security program for floor cell gear (excluding belt conveyors).
In April, the company issued a long-anticipated ultimate rule that lowers miners’ permissible publicity restrict to respirable crystalline silica to 50 micrograms per cubic meter of air – half the present restrict – over an eight-hour time-weighted common.
Williamson additionally mentioned being moved by a dialog with a 34-year-old miner named Kevin, who’s disabled from silica publicity and exploring lung-transplant choices.
Silica is “a toxic substance. It’s well-known to cause cancer,” Williamson mentioned. “It’s something that nobody wants to be around and be exposed to, right, certainly at certain levels that can make one sick. That’s why we did this rule. To not have any more Kevins. To not have anybody else getting sick from silica. To get rid of things like silicosis and progressive massive fibrosis and all these health terms. … And I think we can do that.”
