Highlights Inside

Manager - Dave Carlson 906/487-2453, Email dcarlson@mtu.edu Mining Engineering Department

Mary Ewert - Clerk 906/487-2272 Michigan Technological University

Program Director/Department Chair - Francis Otuonye 906/487-2610 Houghton, MI 49931

Internet Home Page - http://www.mine-safety.mtu.edu

Contact Dave Carlson at the phone number listed above for assistance with setting up a safety training workshop. Contact Mary Ewert for locating suitable videos for your in-house workshops. If we can’t answer your safety-related questions we will find out or put you in touch with someone who can. See our internet home page at the address listed above.

Program Personnel Developing New Supervisor Safety Manual. Work is proceeding as planned on the Supervisor Reference Manual under development by our program. Subjects tentatively planned for the manual include:

A draft copy should be available for discus-sion at the September 30, 1999 Gaylord, Michigan meeting of the Great Lakes District Council. See the meeting announcement on page 3.

MSHA Changes that May Affect You. Many Michigan mines are concerned about the upcoming Part 46 training requirements for formerly exempt mines. To date, information on timing or final requirements is unavailable. It appears, however, that nothing requiring action by affected mines will occur before October 1, 1999. The most recent posting on MSHA’s Internet site (www.msha.gov) simply presents transcripts of public meetings MSHA held at four locations across the country in May 1999 to allow the mining community to express its views. If the original MSHA proposal is adopted, the exempt mines would be required to do the following types of training: newly employed inexperienced miner (24 hours), newly-employed experienced miner (8 hours) ,annual refresher (8 hours annually), and task and hazard training (no time requirements). A mine would be required to have on file, training plans for each of these types of training. Our Program can help Michigan’s mines by making generic training plans available to those that request them. Our Program has approved training plans in place so the mines trained by us will probably not require their own.

The primary impact of the proposed rules is expected to be the requirement that new inexperienced miners receive 24 hours of training. Many exempt operations now provide only 8 hours of documented training to new inexperienced miners Formerly-exempt mines will also need to add hazard and task training. Our Program recently developed forms to help guide a mine through these types of training. The forms are attached as pages 4 and 5 of this newsletter.

MSHA’s Academy No Longer Giving Safety Manuals to State Grants Programs for Distribution to Mines. A recent change in policy by MSHA’s National Mine Academy will make it impossible for our Program to continue distributing the excellent pocket-size MSHA safety manuals to the State’s mines. In the past we have distributed the materials primarily at meetings of the Michigan Chapter of the Holmes Safety Association, but also during training. The MSHA Academy has begun to charge State Grants Programs such as our Program $2.00 per copy for each manual. Unfortunately, our annual training funding from MSHA and the State has remained virtually constant over a number of years while inflation continues to eat away at the value of the dollar. The net effect is that we have less real dollars to operate with each year. Program funds cannot, therefore, cover this loss of service. However, we will continue our efforts to get the MSHA Academy to reconsider this decision. Companies who want copies of these excellent manuals on numerous safety-related topics will now have to purchase them directly from the MSHA Academy. A catalog of materials can be obtained by calling Mary Lord at 304/256-3257.

Independent Contractor Fatalities. Recent MSHA data show that, on the average, a person working for an independent contractor in a metal/nonmetal mine is about four times as likely to have a fatal accident as a mine employee working for the same amount of time. Six out of the 12 fatalities in the North Central District last year were independent contractor employees and 17 of the 51 metal/nonmetal fatals nationally during 1998 were independent contractors (33 %).

Independent contractors can reverse these trends by making sure their employees are properly trained annually as well as hazard and task trained. Having proper up-to-date equipment is important and planning non-routine tasks as mentioned below under Small Mines could help prevent employees from making costly and potentially-fatal mistakes.

Mines Need Independent Contractor Data Independent contractors performing services or construction at mines are subject to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act. Title 30 CFR, Part 45.4(b) requires the mine operator to maintain a written summary of information concerning each independent contractor present on the mine site. The information includes the trade name, business address, and telephone number; a brief description of the work to be performed; MSHA identification number, if any; and the contractor's address of record. This information is required to be provided for inspection and enforcement purposes by the mine operator to any MSHA inspector upon request.

Recent Fatalities by Mine Trespassers. MSHA’s Mine Hazard Awareness Campaign -- "Stay Out – Stay Alive" -- is a cooperative venture of federal, state, and private sector organizations to increase awareness on the hazards of active and abandoned mine sites. The campaign ran May 16-31,1999.

MSHA and its partners have visited schools and community groups throughout the country to discuss the hazards kids might encounter if they enter mine property without proper training, safety equipment, and supervision by mine personnel.
The Michigan Mine Safety Training Program became a partner in this campaign by preparing and distributing posters to local businesses, schools and recreational facilities in Michigan’s Keewenaw Peninsula where there are numerous abandoned copper mines. We would appreciate it if you would help us spread the word about the dangers of abandoned mines. If you are interested, call Mary Ewert at 906/487-2272 for campaign posters that you can display in your workplace and in other areas.

Abandoned mines are a serious public safety concern and this has been illustrated recently by the fact that, in spite of all the effort put forth nationally, serious accidents continue to happen. The are some very recent examples:

Obviously, in addition to the unacceptable loss of life, such fatalities can be costly to the mines, who may be held liable. While unpopular with the public, it may be wise for mines to secure areas that may be hazardous to area residents and tourists.

Small Mines -- Mines with Five or Less Employees Have Too Large a Share of Fatalities. According to MSHA chief Davitt McAteer: "Last year, almost one-third of metal and non-metal mining deaths occurred at small mines with five or fewer employees". "Yet mines this size account for nearly 10 percent of the hours worked in metal and non-metal mining. This means that if you work in one of these mines for a year, you are three times as likely to be killed than if you worked in a larger mine for a year.

MSHA attributes lack of training as the leading cause. MSHA data show that the most common violation cited in fatality investigations during recent years has been failure to use safety belts and lines when working in an elevated location. The second most common was failure to provide safe access to the workplace. Five deaths at small mines last year involved belt conveyers and related equipment. Such accidents have claimed the lives of 12 plant operators, six laborers, four mechanics and two supervisors since 1990. Proper lockout/tagout of electrical equipment and proper blocking of machinery against motion during maintenance could have prevented several deaths at small mines last year.

Independent contractors including haulers are a high-risk group. MSHA advises that mine operators keep stockpiles trimmed, enforce safe work procedures and make sure customer truck drivers stay in their trucks at all times. Small operators should do a safety walk of work areas daily, getting all employees to look for hazards, give safety training and enforce safe work procedures.

One reason small mine operators are at higher risk is the large variety of tasks each individual is required to perform. Tasks which may be routine for an employee in a larger operation may be non-routine and less frequent in a smaller operation. Non-routine tasks tend to be done differently each time they are done and by each person that does them. This causes difficulty in remembering what was learned the last time the task was done. Furthermore, the smaller operations cannot always afford to become properly equipped with the special tools needed for such tasks.

The lack of standard operating procedures for such tasks increases the likelihood that some task steps will be unsafe. Mine operators could benefit greatly by taking the time to identify these non-routine tasks that have the potential to be hazardous to workers and to require that a brief review of procedures take place prior to each performance of the task.

The review would not have to be time-consuming and could consist of a supervisor asking the miner to list the steps he/she will use to accomplish the task. The supervisor could jot down the steps in one column on a sheet, and in a separate column suggest improvements. Filing this information in alphabetical order by task would make it possible to review the information the next time the task is done. The review might consist simply of determining if the approach used is still the best one. The entire process for most tasks shouldn’t take over 10 minutes and very significant dollar savings could result from the reduction in equipment downtime and repairs. Eliminating important missing steps would also most certainly reduce the likelihood of potentially- fatal accidents.

Michigan Holmes Safety Meetings Scheduled. The Great Lakes District Council (GLDC) of the Holmes Safety Association will hold its third quarter meeting on August 13, 1999 at the Alpena Civic and Community Center in Alpena, Michigan. The Alpena Civic Center is located on the corner of Johnson Street and US-23 next to the Holiday Inn. Penny Traver, HSE Manager, Dyno Nobel-Distribution Operations will be the guest speaker for the morning meeting. Ms. Traver is responsible for the company’s health, safety and environmental programs throughout the United States and Canada. Lunch and a tour of the Presque Isle Plant and Quarry will follow the meeting. Tour participants must have a hard hat, safety shoes, and appropriate clothes. A block of rooms is set aside for August 12 at the Holiday Inn (517)-356-2151 (reserve by July 28 for $69 each – reference code is GLD).

The annual fall meeting will be held at the Hidden Valley Resort in Gaylord, Michigan on September 30, 1999. The agenda is not planned yet, but our Program plans to offer a free 4-hour first aid class on the evening of September 29, 1999. Certificates will be issued to show that each person trained meets the MSHA requirements in 30 CFR Part 56.18010 for a person on the mine site who is trained in first aid. Please call Ken Cunningham at (517)-792-8734 ext. 15 if you have any questions. Holmes meetings are held quarterly with the objective of keeping mine managers, supervisors, and trainers up to date on changes in MSHA policies and regulations and to work together to make Michigan’s mines safer.