MSHA Proposes Workplace Examination Rule
The rule would help prevent injuries at metal and nonmetal mines
The DOL’s Mine Safety and Health Administration proposed a rule to improve workplace examinations, specifically in metal and nonmetal mines in the U.S.
Citing a March 2015 accident where a vehicle crashed into a pond and killed the driver, the MSHA said that an examination could have prevented the accident.
According to the news release, 60 percent of deaths in metal and nonmetal mines since 2010 were linked to frequent mining violations, known as “Rules to Live By.”
“We believe that many of these fatalities could have been prevented with better working place examinations,” said Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health. “MSHA has proactively provided notices to the mining industry on the need to improve mine site examinations, but now the time has come to require better, more effective examinations.”
The proposed rule would make sure someone examines the space before work begins, as well as make records available for inspection by MSHA of examinations by shift.