MSHA implements Upper Big Branch corrective actions on schedule
Changes sprang from internal review
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) announced that it met the deadline for making changes recommended after the deadly April 2010 Upper Big Branch (UBB) mine tragedy.
Specific timetables and deadlines were set for implementing the 100 recommendations, which were published in a March 2012 internal review report examining the agency’s actions in the months leading up to the UBB explosion, which killed 29 miners, injured two and led to sweeping changes in mine safety.
“The internal review was designed to identify shortcomings so that we, as an agency, could take necessary actions to improve mine safety and health,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “The result was one of the most comprehensive internal reviews in MSHA history, and the most extensive improvements at the agency in decades.”
In June 2012, MSHA began posting on its website quarterly updates of the corrective actions that had been completed. These reforms included: enhanced enforcement programs, such as impact inspections and a revised pattern of violations process; the splitting of the southern West Virginia coal district into two districts; the upgrading of the Mt. Hope, W. Va., laboratory for better coal dust and gas analyses; reorganization of the Office of Assessments, Accountability, Special Enforcement and Investigations to better manage and support MSHA’s enforcement programs; and publication of final regulations on the maintenance of rock dust, examinations in underground mines and the pattern of violations program to rein in chronic violators.
“Meeting the self-imposed timelines was a major challenge,” said Main, pointing to other demands facing the agency, such as mission-critical needs, sequestration and the 16-day government shutdown. “MSHA was able to maintain the schedule throughout the process and finish corrective actions on time, which is a testament to the hard work and dedication of our employees.”