The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration has awarded $250,000 to four organizations to develop and conduct training programs that support the recognition and prevention of safety and health hazards in underground mines.

A provision in the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 established the Brookwood-Sago grant program to promote mine safety while honoring the 25 miners who died in Brookwood, Alabama, in 2001, at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine, and in Buchannon, West Virginia, in 2006, at the Sago Mine.

The recipients of the grants are:

• United Mine Workers of America Career Centers Inc. in Prosperity, Pennsylvania, is receiving $50,000 to develop a video and companion training documents to better prepare responsible persons for Mine Emergency Response Development exercises.
• Pennsylvania State University in State College, Pennsylvania, is receiving $50,000 to plan, design, develop, and evaluate a three-module training program that will enhance safety regarding inspecting, working around, and performing maintenance on conveyor belts.
• West Virginia University Research Corporation in Morgantown, West Virginia, is receiving $52,146.50 to provide emergency prevention and preparedness training to coal miners and coal mine operators in the areas of self-contained self-rescuer expectations and mine rescue.
• Rend Lake College in Ina, Illinois, is receiving $97,853.50 to train and prepare coal miners for mine emergencies in anticipation of predicted growth in the region.