MSHA Publishes Emergency Temporary Standard for Mines
The Mine Safety and Health Administration has published an emergency temporary standard that revises the existing federal standard by increasing the amount of rock dust that mines must use to counteract explosive coal dust.
The change comes in the aftermath of the Upper Big Branch coal mine explosion which killed 28 miners in West Virginia in April 2010. Applying strictly to underground bituminous coal mines, the emergency temporary standard revises the earlier standard by requiring mine operators to increase the total incombustible content of the combined coal dust, rock dust and other dust to 80 percent from 65 percent in all accessible areas.
“Coal dust can cause explosions and explosions kill miners. Inadequate rock dusting can dramatically increase the potential for a coal mine explosion,” says Secretary of Labor Hilda L. Solis. “Compliance with the new standard will strengthen the protection for miners by minimizing the potential for such an explosion and, ultimately, will save lives.”
Info to go: Read more about coal dust explosion hazards by clicking on the Info to Go safety links at www.SafeSupervisor.com
Read MoreTrapped Miners Face Long Wait for Rescue
Thirty-three Chilean miners trapped deep inside a gold/copper mine may have to wait until well into November or even December for a new shaft to be drilled so they can be rescued.
The miners, who were trapped by a cave-in, took refuge in an underground shelter. They were able to send notes to the surface via probes that were drilled into their area. Water, food and medicines are being delivered to the trapped miners through the probes.
Read MoreMiner Safety and Health Act of 2010 Passed
The Committee on Education and Labor has passed the Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010, largely in response to the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion, which killed 29 West Virginia miners in early April 2010.
The Act aims to make mines with serious and repeated violations safer and ensure that irresponsible operators are held accountable. It also gives the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) stronger enforcement tools and better protects miners who speak out about unsafe conditions.
US Secretary of Labor Hilda Solis says the legislation represents an important step forward in strengthening safety laws for US miners.
Read MoreAfrica’s Mining Industry Spreading Tuberculosis
An international study says that mining for gold, diamonds and precious minerals in sub-Saharan Africa could be driving a tuberculosis epidemic on that continent.
Researchers at Oxford and Brown universities, the University of California and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine estimate that the mining industry may be implicated in 760,000 annual new cases of tuberculosis—a contagious and potentially fatal disease that affects the lungs and other parts of the human body.
The researchers say that silica dust in mines, coupled with crowded working and living conditions and the spread of HIV/AIDS is driving the epidemic.
“Men traveling from afar to work in mines, such as from Botswana to South Africa, are at the greatest risk of getting tuberculosis,” states a news release from the University of Oxford in England. “But their wives, children and friends are also at high risk when miners travel back and forth to work, often many times a year.”
Even if TB is diagnosed in miners and treatment begins, the information frequently does not get back to doctors in the miners’ hometowns. This disruption of treatment poses a major threat of people developing a drug-resistant form of the disease, according to the study’s authors.
“Healthcare programs should emphasize continuity of care as miners travel across borders and miners should undergo routine screening in order to detect TB at an early stage,” states the news release. There’s also a need “to improve poor working conditions and reduce the miners’ exposure to silica dust.”
TB has been on the rise in sub-Saharan Africa during the past two decades, with a doubling of the year incidence from 173 per 100,000 people in 1990 to 351 per 100,000 people in 2007.
Info to go: Read more about tuberculosis by clicking on the Info to Go safety links at www.SafeSupervisor.com
Read MoreWorker Falls Headfirst From Raised Forklift Platform
Standing on a makeshift platform spanning the forks of a lift truck isn’t safe. In California, doing so proved lethal for a 29-year-old worker.
Alejandro Valladares fell headfirst about 30 feet (9.1 meters) into a hole from a plywood platform on a forklift. He had been operating a handheld compactor to push down a piling. The vibration caused Valladares to lose his balance and fall into the deep hole.
Making matters worse was the fact that sandy soil in the hole collapsed onto the worker, leaving only part of one of his legs exposed. It took emergency services workers more than two hours to free his body.
It’s dangerous enough to stand on a platform haphazardly spanning a forklift’s forks, but in this situation the vibration escalated the risk. And the unstable hole was the third hazard that sealed Valladares’ fate.
A worker who needs to be in a raised position to perform tasks should be using a properly designed lifting platform, which is firmly secured to the forks and provides guardrails and other safety features. Proper platforms also allow workers to tie themselves off using safety belts.
Read More
