Mine Safety Standards:
Are they a concern?
by: Valerie Meeks
Picture yourself working in a mine. It isn't how it was in the "old days," surface and underground mines alike. Canaries aren't used anymore, you don't have to fret about getting "Black Lung," standards and regulations are in place. Of course, the mines aren't a child's playground, but they are still relatively safe. You work there, day in, day out, and after a while, those same regulations that save you become a hassle and you start to slip a little when you are working. Then one day you hear about a mine tragedy which was caused by human error. These standards have become a saving grace for you, but what do they mean for the others involved in the mine industry?
Because of recent mine safety issues many people have questioned whether the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is effective. Research has shed some light on the MSHA Standards and Regulations issue.
Just a few rules from the MSHA website ( www.msha.gov) are as follows: Be especially careful when moving section equipment on a track to a new location. Do not assume something has been done. Check slippage rollers at every shift. Make sure your coal seam is well drilled and conditions well-defined. If you are working on an elevated platform, then you need a safety harness/rope.
Cathy Brooks, Safety Director at Gibco Motor Express, LLC, a trucking company which hauls mainly coal to places in the tri-state area, has worked with the truck driving aspect of mine safety for two years. Brooks says that the priority of mine safety, as far as truck drivers are concerned, is that the "truckers are protected, especially when exiting the mine," and that "drivers must wear protective clothing, hardhats, protective glasses, vests, and steel-toed shoes." In addition, there are no cell phones allowed on mine property, for both reasons that cell phones can interfere with blasting at the mine and that phones provide a distraction from safety precautions and overall paying attention to the mine surroundings. Brooks also says that every tractor-trailer that is on mine property must be equipped with "a fire extinguisher and back-up alarms that can be heard over the other noises at a mine."
How a truck driver is educated on mine safety is through signs posted at the entrance of the mine telling him or her the guidelines of that specific mine, such as what CB channel to tune into while at the mine and where hazardous materials are kept. Also, any time someone is hired as a driver at Gibco, they are required to go to every mine they are to deliver to and/or pick up loads from, and sign contracts stating that they have read the standards and regulations of that mine and of MSHA. People such as Cathy Brooks, who is in charge of Gibco's entire safety program, and Jeremy Meeks, who is in charge of dispatch (which is the department which tells the drivers which mine to go to and which place to take their load to), must go to a MSHA meeting once a year.
"There is probably at least one MSHA violation every month, but it must be understood that this could be a cracked windshield, an expired fire extinguishers, or any other number of small things, but could be potentially dangerous," says Brooks on MSHA violations. "Any time an injury occurs at a mine, it must be reported online to MSHA but an [serious] injury has only occurred once in my two years here."
"I feel that MSHA standards are perfectly adequate, as far as the trucks go, and it seems like they [MSHA workers] have their priorities in line; they are really nice people to work with," comments Brooks on the effectiveness of the Mine Safety and Health Administration.
United Minerals Coal Mine (Somerville North) Night Shift Supervisor, PhillipTempel , has worked for the company for 14 years, and has worked in the mines for over 21 years. Tempel's response to what the most important rule of mine safety was "to make it through each night without any injuries, or any lost time due to injury." Mineworkers are educated in mine safety through attending an 8-hour meeting when first hired, and in addition to that, one worker from every pit must take a First Aid course every year.
"Surface mines have quite a bit of rules but they serve their purpose because, at least here at UM (United Minerals), we have not had any injuries in a long while; that is, injuries that required a worker to take a day off work," says Tempel on the effect of MSHA rules on injuries at mines. "For example, there is a rule that states that all workers must wear a safety harness; if they are higher than 6 feet off the ground, they must be tied off. This rule is one that helps greatly with the prevention of injury."
When asked about how mines reacted when a mine tragedy occurs elsewhere, Tempel replied, "We go over what happened in the tragedy at a mine due to human error; someone not paying attention or following protocol; not very often is it because of machine failure."
So, do the mine regulations need to be rethought? Are they adequate? Are the benefits that mines provide worth keeping them open? Are the negative aspects of mines worth closing them? There really is no definitive answer, but if there is, the mine industry leaders owe it to themselves to answer it.