MSHA on Time Implementing Upper Big Branch Corrective Actions
The agency has addressed all recommendations made in 2012
MSHA announced on January 13, 2014 that as of the end of 2013, the agency had made all recommendations that were published in a March 2012 review report regarding the April 2010 Upper Big Branch mine explosion. According to MSHA’s press release, the organization has met all timetables and deadlines it had set for implementing 100 different recommendations.
MSHA regularly posted quarterly updates on the corrective actions it was taking in the wake of the accident. The corrective actions aimed to improve inspections following the accident by implementing an enhanced inspections process for regular inspections and inspections where repeat violations have occurred. MSHA also split the southern West Virginia coal district into two districts, upgraded the Mt. Hope, West Virginia lab for better coal dust analysis, and reorganized the Office of Assessments, Accountability and Special Enforcement and Investigations.
MSHA also revised or created more than 40 policy directives, created more than 20 separate training sessions for MSHA personnel, created a centralized system to establish better oversight of agency directives, modified the Mine Plan Approval database system, integrated a tracking system to track inspector retraining and more.
For more information, visit: MSHA.gov