Published: January 20, 2017 |

[Click image to enlarge]

Last year ended as the safest ever for American miners, according to the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Preliminary data released by MSHA states 26 miners died in work-related accidents at the nation’s mines — down from 29 in 2015. This is the lowest number of mining deaths ever recorded, and the second year that mining deaths dropped below 30. Currently, approximately 330,000 miners work in more than 13,000 U.S. mines.

Nine of the 26 fatalities occurred in coal mines — four in West Virginia, two in Kentucky, and one each in Alabama, Illinois and Pennsylvania. The leading causes of death were powered haulage and machinery, which accounted for six of the deaths. In 2015, coal mining deaths fell to 12 — the previous historic low

A total of 17 deaths were reported in metal and nonmetal mines in 2016. Mississippi and Texas led with two, followed by one each in Arizona, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Iowa,

Kentucky, Michigan, Nevada, North Carolina, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and Washington.

The leading causes of death in these mines were machinery accidents and powered haulage, at four each. None of the 17 deaths occurred underground. In 2015, 17 miners died in the metal and nonmetal sector.

The Nevada death happened at a Nye County mine.

At 9:45 a.m. on Sept. 15, Richard Duff, 60, was working on a Kawasaki 135 Z front end loader as a mobile maintenance mechanic a Premier Magnesia Mine near Gabbs. He completed his tasks and fell when he dismounted the machine, according to MSHA’s preliminary report.

“He impacted the ground with his head, neck and shoulders and was unconscious for between 4 and 10 minutes,” stated the report.

Duff was taken to a local hospital and placed on life support. He died Sept. 26, according to MSHA.

A miner also died in November at Turquoise Ridge Joint Venture, but the cause of death has yet to be determined. As of Thursday, an MSHA representative said the agency was still waiting on autopsy results.

Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health, credited the agency’s use of strategic enforcement tools along with improved compliance by the mining industry for the record year.

“While these deaths show that more needs to be done to protect our nation’s miners, we have reached a new era in mine safety in the past few years,” said Main. “Each year since 2009, injury rates have dropped, and the number of mining deaths and fatality rates were less than in all prior years in history except in 2010, when the Upper Big Branch mine disaster occurred.

“We have created a new roadmap to protect our nation’s miners,” Main added.

National Mining Association President and CEO Hal Quinn said his organization’s CORESafety has helped drive continuous progress in the industry.

“We are proud of our industry for showing continued progress because it exemplifies our commitment to making American mines the world’s safest and our determination to return every miner home safely after every shift,” Quinn said. “This safety milestone confirms the value of our voluntary safety initiatives and our determination to achieve excellence in mine safety and health year after year.”

MSHA has encouraged mine operators to put effective safety and health programs in place that address the specific conditions and hazards; conduct thorough examinations of the workplace to assure that the conditions and hazards leading to deaths and injuries are identified and fixed before they pose a danger to miners; and properly train their miners on hazards and conditions that could cause injury, illness or death as they perform their duties.

Source: (January 17, 2017) Elko Daily Free Press

Be in-the-know when you’re on-the-go!