MNM Fatality – 2/25/21

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On Feb. 25, 2021, a 26-year old plant operator died after entering a cyclone discharge box at an industrial sand mine with 9 employees in West Valley City, Nevada*.  The local fire department recovered the victim lodged in an 18-inch wide discharge pipe that was full of water.

Best Practices: 

  • Wear a fall protection harness, properly tie off to a permanent support structure, and attach a lifeline when entering a bin or other confined space.  Have a second person monitor the lifeline to make sure there is no slack in the fall protection system.
  • Use personnel lifts or ladders to safely access elevated work areas.
  • Always use fall protection when there’s a potential fall hazard.
  • Examine work areas and equipment.  Report defects and do not use unsafe work equipment.
  • Assess risks and hazards before beginning maintenance activities.
  • Train miners to safely perform their tasks and properly use their personal protective equipment.

Additional Information: 

This is the fifth fatality reported in 2021, and the first classified as “Slip or Fall of Person.” (*details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data.)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

Need a New Pair?

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When do you need a new pair of work shoes? Don’t wait until they cost you a painful slip and fall. This CDC/NIOSH graphic is available in English and Spanish. Download it and use it in training or post for employees to read. Of all the tools we should inspect before use your shoes may be the one you actually use the most but don’t even think about it. A new pair of workshoes may seem expensive if you think you can extend them a few weeks with some duct tape, but they don’t come even close to costing as much as a hospital visit even if you aren’t paying the bill.

Check it out here.

COVID19 Protection for Miners

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MSHA has issued guidance intended for miners and operators in coal, metal, or nonmetal mines to help them identify risks of being exposed to SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, at work and to help them determine appropriate control measures to reduce such risk. This guidance contains recommendations, as well as descriptions of mandatory safety and health standards. It is not a standard or regulation, and it creates no new legal obligations. The recommendations are advisory in nature, informational in content, and are intended to assist operators in recognizing and abating hazards likely to cause death or serious physical harm from the spread of SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) as part of their obligation to provide a safe and healthful mine.

Operators should implement COVID-19 Prevention Programs at each mine. Operators may consider a stand-alone program or additions to existing training and education programs. The most effective programs engage miners and miner representatives in the program’s development, and include the following key elements:

  • Conducting a hazard assessment of the mine site;
  • Identifying a combination of measures that limit the spread of COVID-19 in mine settings;
  • Adopting measures to ensure that miners who are infected or potentially infected are separated and sent home from the mine; and
  • Implementing protections from retaliation for miners who raise COVID-19-related concerns.

Download the entire document here.

MNM Fatality – 2/22/21

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On Feb. 22, 2021, a 26-year-old underground chute puller was fatally injured as a passenger of a rail-mounted locomotive when he was crushed between the deck of the locomotive and an overhead chute at a lead-zinc ore underground mine with 114 employees in Strawberry Plains, TN*.

Best Practices: 

  • Install controls such as rail stops at loading points, crossings, etc., where track equipment must stop. 
  • Install reflective signs or warning lights well in advance of low clearance areas to alert miners of the upcoming hazard.
  • Develop safe working procedures to avoid low clearance and pinch point areas.  Monitor workers to ensure these procedures are followed.
  • Always look in the direction the equipment is moving in, and keep all body parts within the operator’s compartment while a vehicle is moving.
  • Conduct proper travelway examinations to identify and mitigate the hazards presented by low clearances. 
  • Train all workers to recognize potential hazards and understand safe job procedures and tasks to eliminate hazards before beginning work.

Additional Information: 

This is the 4th fatality reported in 2021, and the third classified as “Powered Haulage.” *(details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), final report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 2/8/21

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On February 8, 2021, a 38 year old ground man* was fatally injured when he became entangled in a fluted tail pulley while attempting to shovel under an adjacent fluted tail pulley at a limestone min in Potosi, MO with 12 employees*.

Best Practices: 

  • Design, install, and maintain area guards with signage and locks in addition to the physical barrier.  Find more information on area guarding at https://www.msha.gov/guarding-slide-presentation-guarding-conveyor-belts-metal-and-nonmetal-mines.
  • Design and maintain secure guards so miners can perform routine maintenance on belt conveyor systems without contacting moving machine parts.
  • Do not perform work on a belt conveyor until the power is off, locked out and tagged, and machinery components are blocked against motion.
  • Never clean pulleys or idlers manually while belt conveyors are operating.
  • Establish policies and procedures for conducting specific tasks on belt conveyors.
  • Ensure that people assigned to work on belt conveyors are task trained, understand the associated hazards, and demonstrate safe work procedures before beginning work.
  • Ensure all new miners receive new miner training and task training.

Additional Information: 

This is the third fatality reported in 2021, and the second classified as “Powered Haulage.” *(details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

MNM Fatality – 1/19/21

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On Jan. 19, 2021, a miner (a haul truck driver with 15y 42w mining experience, 07 42w at this task and mine in Orem, UT with 40 employees*) backed a haul truck to the edge of a dump point that was over steepened by a loader removing material at the bottom of the slope. When the edge of the bank failed, the haul truck traveled backwards and overturned, landing on the roof of the cab. The miner was fatally injured.

Best Practices: 

  • Always dump material in a safe location. If ground conditions aren’t reliable, dump loads a safe distance back and push the material over the edge.
  • Never load material from the toe directly below an active dump point. This may lead to an over steepened and unstable slope.
  • Never drive haul trucks beyond cracks on the top of the dump site.
  • Always construct substantial berms as a visual indicator to prevent overtravel. Clearly mark dump locations with reflectors and/or markers.
  • Always wear a seatbelt.
  • Install advanced systems that restrain miners during roll-overs.
  • Maintain communication between equipment operators and loaders.
  • Train miners to use safe dumping procedures and recognize dumping hazards such as material slides and other unsafe conditions.

Additional Information: 

This is the second fatality reported in 2021, and the first classified as “Powered Haulage.” *(details added by safeminers.com from MSHA data)

Click here for: Preliminary Report (pdf), Final Report (pdf).

January Fatality Updates

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Final Reports posted:

Fatalities awaiting Fatality Alert to be posted:

  • 1/19/21 – Powered Haulage

Fatalities awaiting Final Report to be posted: