MSHA offers a wide variety of mine safety and health materials to assist trainers and mine operators in promoting a safe and healthy environment at U.S. mines. We are always looking for new materials to share with the mining community. Please contact us atmshatraining@dol.gov if you have any materials to share, or if you have … Continue reading MSHA Safety & Health Training Materials – #MineSafety
For regulatory nerds, no days are more exciting than when the White House Office of Regulatory and Interagency Affairs (OIRA) releases its semi-…OSHA-MSHA Regulatory Agendas Released
On November 20, 1968, 53 years ago today, 78 miners died in an explosion at the Consol No. 9 coal mine in Farmington, West Virginia. At 5:30 in the …This Day in History: Farmington Mine Explosion Kills 78 Miners
By Conn Maciel Carey’s COVID-19 Task Force MSHA is facing political and now legal pressure to take additional action in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. For the most part, and most certainly when compared to its sister agency OSHA, MSHA has taken a wait and see approach to responding to COVID-19 in the workplace, offering limited … Continue reading With Pressure Mounting on MSHA for COVID-19 Standard, Agency Issues Guidance with CDC – #MSHA #COVID-19
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said last Friday it would not act on a proposal to require hardrock mining companies to show they can afford to clean up their sites. “EPA is confident that modern industry practices, along with existing state and federal requirements address risks from operating hardrock mining facilities,” EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt … Continue reading “EPA Won’t Require Mining Firms to Prove Cleanup Costs” #EPA
Important Update from the Great Folks at “MSHA Law Updates from the MSHA Practice Group at Conn Maciel Carey”
While it remains to be seen whether a formal presidential appointee will be tapped to run the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), the Trump Administration finally made an influx of leadership decisions for the agency. 
The Department of Labor announced that Wayne Palmer, former Chief of Staff to Labor Secretary Alex Acosta, is now the acting head of MSHA. Palmer’s replacement at the Department of Labor, Nicholas Geale (who is also the Department’s acting Solicitor), stated that Palmer is from Pennsylvania and has “mining in his family’s background.” However, it is not readily apparent if he has any professional experience working with the mining industry. Palmer’s political experience includes working for Senators Rick Santorum (R-PA) and George Voinovich (R-OH), as well as lobbyist for the pharmaceutical industry.
It is still believed the administration will nominate an appointee to serve as permanent Assistant Secretary for MSHA…
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PDF Version METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY – On July 20, 2017, a miner was driving wedges into a block of granite in an attempt to break it loose. A piece of granite weighing 9 tons fell and crushed the victim against the quarry floor. Best Practices Always conduct examinations of the workplace to identify loose ground or … Continue reading “Coal Mine Fatality – Blue Sky Quarries, Inc. – Blue Sky Quarry #2 in Georgia” #MSHA
Employers must beware as the U.S. Department of Labor (“DOL”) cracks down on what it perceives as rampant misclassifying employees as contractors and shirking other responsibilities, such as safety training, because a worker is supplied by another employer. With more and more unique employment relationships and multi-employer worksites, it is crucial to understand the complexities … Continue reading “Is That My Employee? Multi-Employer, Joint-Employer, Independent Contractors and Temp Workers” @OSHA_Guy
By Ken Ward Jr. , Staff Writer, Charleston Gazette-Mail State safety inspectors wouldn’t inspect West Virginia’s coal mines anymore. They would conduct “compliance visits and education.” Violations of health and safety standards wouldn’t produce state citations and fines, either. Mine operators would receive “compliance assistance visit notices.” And West Virginia regulators wouldn’t have authority to write safety … Continue reading “West Virginia Senate Bill Eliminates Mine Safety Enforcement”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VEOVVx3rDyI Funding will foster mine rescue training, mine emergency preparedness ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration announced today it has awarded $1 million to six organizations to develop training programs and materials that support mine rescue and mine emergency preparedness for underground mines. A provision in the Mine … Continue reading “MSHA Awards $1 Million Dollars In 2016 Brookwood-Sago Training Grants”
Heightened focus starts July 1 in effort to protect miners, prevent fatalities ARLINGTON, Va. – On July 1, the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration will begin enhanced enforcement of “Rules to Live By,” its initiative of standards commonly cited following mine deaths, and nine underground coal mine exam rule standards … Continue reading “MSHA Launches Enhanced Safety Standards Enforcement To Encourage Better Examinations By Industry’s Operators”
MSHA News Release: [08/29/2012] Contact Name: Amy Louviere Phone Number: (202) 693-9423 Release Number: 12-1757-NAT MSHA announces results of July impact inspections ARLINGTON, Va. — The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that federal inspectors issued 262 citations, 19 orders and three safeguards during special impact inspections conducted at eight … Continue reading MSHA Announces Results of July Impact Inspections
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