MSHA Begins to Fill Gaps Exposed by Tragedy

The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) is looking to shift its regulatory strategy in response to an April explosion at the Upper Big Branch mine in West Virginia that killed 29 miners.

Yesterday, MSHA released the results of a surge of surprise safety inspections conducted from April through August. Agency inspectors visited 111 coal, metal, and nonmetal mines that had historically poor safety and health records or were run by unscrupulous operators. Mines selected for “impact inspections,” as MSHA is calling them, had experienced “frequent hazardous complaints or hotline calls; a high number of accidents, injuries or illnesses; [and] fatalities,” among other factors.

Not surprisingly, MSHA inspectors found seriously unsafe conditions at most of the mines. MSHA found “significant and substantial” violations at all but 3 of the 111 mines. In all, “enforcement personnel issued 2,660 violations, 45 percent of which were classified as significant and substantial.”

MSHA said that, at some mines, inspectors found that conditions had actually deteriorated when they returned for follow-up inspections, naming two mines, one of which the agency shut down.

The results of MSHA’s inspection surge make clear that many mine operators do not take seriously their legal and moral responsibilities to protect the health and safety of the U.S. miners. I would also venture to guess that many operators don’t think much of MSHA’s enforcement regime or its inspectors – a cultural problem that will need to be fought with sustained agency resolve. MSHA’s targeted inspection campaign is welcome news; it must continue, as the agency clearly has a steep hill to climb.

Today, MSHA announced an emergency temporary standard that will lower the permissible level of combustible dust in underground mines. Last week, news broke that 79 percent of samples taken at the Upper Big Branch mine, owned by Massey Energy, were out of compliance with the existing MSHA dust standard. Ken Ward at the Coal Tattoo blog has more on the new standard.

In an OMB Watch report assessing the Obama administration’s rulemaking record, released yesterday, we noted that MSHA has seemingly been diverted by the rapid response to the Upper Big Branch explosion and that, “The agency has yet to detail a regulatory plan designed to prevent future tragedies.” Today’s standard could prove to be a step toward developing such a plan.

back to Blog