The National Mine Health and Safety Academy is celebrating its 40th birthday today with a ceremony in Beaver, West Virginia that honors the Academy’s legacy.
The failure of a mine rescue mission on Sunday in northern Russia left six rescue workers and 26 miners dead. The miners had been trapped underground by a cave-in caused by methane explosions and fires.
From 1986 to 2010, 10 deadly explosions occurred in underground coal mines in the United States. The risk of explosion involves an interrelated chain of events. A source of heat (such as a spark) ignites methane gas in the air of the coal mine tunnel.
Last year saw the fewest U.S. mining deaths since such data was recorded, but events so far this year suggest that 2016 will not be nearly as safe for coal miners.
Preliminary data released by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration indicate that 28 miners died in 2015 in work-related accidents at the nation’s mines, down from 45 in 2014.
The conviction last week of former Massey Energy Co. CEO Don Blankenship on charges related to the 2010 disaster at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia will hopefully keep miners alive going forward, according to United Mine Workers of America International (UMWA) President Cecil E. Roberts.
Prosecutor: It's a "landmark day" for coal miner safety
December 3, 2015
In an outcome described as “unprecedented” by a federal prosecutor, former Massey Energy Co. CEO Don Blankenship was found guilty of violating safety regulations at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia, which led to the 2010 explosion that killed 29 workers.
The Association of Equipment Manufacturers (AEM) and the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) recently renewed an alliance whose goal is the safe use and operation of mining equipment.
Sixty-five mine rescue teams from companies in 12 states put their emergency skills to the test this week in Lexington, Ky., at the 2015 National Coal Mine Rescue, First Aid, Bench and Preshift Competition.
MSHA’s fourth rescue station enhances response capabilities
September 17, 2015
The Mine Safety and Health Administration will open its newest mine rescue station tomorrow in Madisonville, Kentucky. The facility will serve mining operations in the Midwest in the event of a mine emergency, and joins similar emergency response stations in Beckley, West Virginia; Pittsburgh; and Price, Utah.