MSHA Releases February Inspection Results
The agency's data show its inspectors issued 210 citations, eight orders, and one safeguard.
The Mine Safety and Health Administration recently released the results of its February impact inspections. The data show that inspectors issued 210 citations, eight orders, and one safeguard during inspections completed at nine coal mines and three metal and non-metal mines during the month.
A safeguard is written when an unsafe haulage or hoisting hazard that is an immediate risk to a miner is observed, according to the agency.
The inspections included three coal mines in Kentucky, three coal mines in West Virginia, a surface gold mine in Nevada, an underground salt mine in Kansas, and one coal mine apiece in Illinois, Utah, and Virginia. The monthly inspections are completed as part of an initiative that began in April 2010 following the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion and involved mines that merit "increased agency attention and enforcement due to their poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns," according to MSHA.