Photo via MSHA.gov
The U.S. Department of Labor announced that it completed 15 so-called “impact inspections” of mines with histories of health and safety violations in October. One of those mines, operated by the Rosebud mining company in Mt. Pleasant, was in Pennsylvania.
Altogether, the Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) identified 286 violations during the inspections. 95 of those were “evaluated as significant and substantial,” according to a DOL press release, and 12 as “unwarrantable failure findings.”
The mine in Mt. Pleasant, the Madison Mine, warranted 16 citations, but only one of those was found to be “significant and substantial.”
“Miners have the right to work in a safe and healthy environment, which can only be achieved when safety and health is a core organizational value with commitments to identifying and eliminating hazards, devoting sufficient resources, ensuring transparent communication and encouraging active miner participation,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson.
Mines were also inspected in Alabama, Arkansas, Colorado, Illinois, Kentucky, Louisiana, Michigan, Nevada, New York, West Virginia and Wyoming.
Impact inspections have been ongoing since an explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia killed 29 miners in 2010.
Of the 15 mines inspected, officials found the most issues with the mine operated by Atalco Gramercy LLC in St. James County, Louisiana. Sixty citations were issued, 24 of which were found to be serious and substantial. According to the Department of Labor, the mine has a history of accidents and hazard complaints. It is one of two mines operating under a pattern of violations notice, which the MSHA says is reserved for “mine operators who are chronic violators and demonstrate a disregard for the safety and health of miners.”
