Pit & Quarry • April 2024 • SAFETY UPDATE

The Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) unveiled an online platform to help miners and their families navigate the process of finding health care providers, facilities and related resources.

Accessible at msha.gov, the agency’s Health Resource Locator tool includes care options tailored specifically for miners – including National Institute for Occupational Safety & Health-certified B Readers, black lung clinics, buprenorphine providers, audiologists and speech-language pathologists, drug and alcohol treatment facilities, federally qualified health centers, mental health facilities, and Veterans Administration health care facilities.

According to MSHA, the tool enables miners to search for resources easily and anonymously in a chosen area using a mine name or mine identification number, as well as through a city, state or zip code. Miners can then sort results alphabetically or by distance.

“The Health Resource Locator tool provides miners with a single accessible place where they can obtain real-time information on health care facilities, services and specialists tailored to their unique health needs,” says Chris Williamson, assistant secretary at MSHA.

Williamson handled the launch for MSHA during a seminar in Bristol, Connecticut. The seminar involved Tilcon Connecticut and the National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association.

“The Biden-Harris administration remains committed to ensuring that all workers have good jobs, and a healthy workplace is a critical component of a good job,” Williamson says. “Miners face many potential health challenges, whether because of disabling injuries, occupational illnesses like silicosis and black lung disease, or obstacles to finding quality mental health care.

“MSHA’s Miner Health Matters initiative encourages miners to get regular health screenings and maintain awareness about their health,” he adds. “This tool makes that easier by placing information directly in miners’ hands.”

MSHA says the Health Resource Locator tool will soon be available within its miner app.

MINING FATALITIES DOWN SIGNIFICANTLY TO START 2024

Mining fatalities are trending down early this year based on the fatality reports the Mine Safety & Health Administration (MSHA) publishes online, with the total standing at three as P&Q went to press March 12. According to MSHA, no industry fatalities happened in February following a January that included two miner deaths. One miner died March 1, however, with the agency characterizing the accident as involving machinery.

Based on MSHA’s preliminary report of the March 1 accident, miners were removing bolts to uncouple two joints of steel pipe when a joint of pipe broke free and struck one of the miners. The accident occurred at a phosphate mine in Florida.

For tunately, fatal mining accidents are down significantly through the first two and a half months of 2024. Although MSHA has published details of three fatal 2024 accidents, the agency reported 11 fatal accidents had occurred through the same two-and-a-half-month period of 2023.

Three miners were killed in accidents last year between March 15 and March 22, meaning 14 miners died in accidents in the first quarter of 2023.

In all, 40 miners died in accidents last year – the most in a single year since 2014.