The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has issued a Request for Information (RFI) on a Retrospective Study of the final rule entitled "Lowering Miners' Exposure to Respirable Coal Mine Dust, Including Continuous Personal Dust Monitors" in the Federal Register.

The NIOSH Mining Program aims to eliminate mining fatalities, injuries, and illnesses through relevant research and impactful solutions. More than 65 engineers work in the NIOSH Mining Program representing many disciplines including chemical, electrical, mechanical, industrial, mining, software, and general engineering.

The deadline by which underground coal mine operators must equip continuous mining machines with proximity detection systems is fast approaching. The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has issued an alert to remind the mining industry that the deadline for installing the life-saving technology is March 16, 2018.

Although miners with evidence of black lung on their chest X-rays are eligible to request a job transfer, few do so, according to a recent study by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH). Black lung disease refers to a group of lung diseases caused by breathing in coal mine dust. The disease can cause severe problems like shortness of breath, and can even be fatal, but limiting exposure to coal mine dust can prevent it.

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has unveiled its annual Winter Alert campaign, reminding miners and mine operators of the increased hazards that colder weather creates at both surface and underground coal mines. The Winter Alert campaign, which runs each year through March, emphasizes increased vigilance and adherence to safety principles during the winter months, when cold temperatures increase hazards for miners.

The Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals last week dismissed an appeal by CONSOL Energy that sought to overturn a federal judge’s decision requiring CONSOL to continue paying for health care benefits to some 3,400 retired miners, their dependents and widows. Judge David A. Faber of the Federal Court for Southern West Virginia in Bluefield found CONSOL was attempting to violate a collective bargaining agreement requirement to pay for lifetime health care benefits for retirees.

Starting with a 30-minute mantrip ride to deep under the ground, U.S. Secretary of Labor Alexander Acosta got a close-up look at a West Virginia coal mine recently – an experience Acosta said gave him an appreciation for the men and women who work in the nation’s 13,000 mines.

After spending a year in prison on charges related to one of the nation’s worst mining disasters, former Massey Energy CEO Don Blankenship has taken to TV to plead his innocence. In a series of television ads running in West Virginia, Blankenship, who was convicted of conspiring to violate federal mine safety standards, is now blaming the Mining Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) for the 2010 Upper Big Branch Mine disaster that killed 29 miners.

President Trump says he will nominate the former CEO of a coal company with a history of safety violations to head up the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA).