MSHA Identified 242 Violations in June 2023
The inspections covered 18 mines and spanned 12 states.
- By Robert Yaniz Jr.
- Aug 02, 2023
The Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) had a busy time in June 2023, as the organization’s impact investigations swept the United States.
In a release dated July 31, MSHA announced it had issued 242 violations throughout the month. That total includes 71 violations designated as “significant and substantial”—meaning likely to result in serious injury or illness—and four with unwarrantable failure findings. The latter occur when an inspection uncovers aggravated conduct constituting more than negligent behavior.
In 2010, MSHA began conducting impact inspections in an effort to focus more attention on mines that carry histories of compliance violations, worker accidents or deaths. The June 2023 inspections took place at mines in Alabama, Illinois, Kentucky, Michigan, Missouri, New York, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, West Virginia and Wyoming.
“The Mine Safety and Health Administration remains troubled by the fact that our impact inspections continue to discover the same hazards we’ve identified as root causes for fatal accidents and that we know can cause serious occupational illnesses,” MSHA Assistant Secretary Chris Williamson said in a statement.
Some common hazards include failure to perform dust control on drills—leaving workers exposed to breathable contaminants such as silica dust—and safety hazards involving damaged or defective equipment. MSHA’s 2023 impact inspections have thus far resulted in 1,435 violations, including 411 significant and substantial and 22 unwarrantable failure findings.
About the Author
Robert Yaniz Jr. is the Content Editor of Occupational Health & Safety.