by Mike Addair and Alex Greenberg
The Mine Safety and Health
Administration (“MSHA”) recently announced the results of impact inspections
that were conducted in January 2014. MSHA’s press release
states that it conducted impact inspections at 11 coal mines and 3
metal/nonmetal mines in January. These inspections led to federal inspectors
issuing 198 citations and 11 orders. Many of these citations were related to
ventilation, electrical, and health violations, among other allegedly hazardous
conditions.
Since 2010, MSHA has conducted
over 700 of these “impact inspections”, which have led to the issuance of
11,670 citations, 1,087 orders and 49 safeguards. MSHA began conducting impact
inspections shortly after the April 2010 mining disaster that occurred at the
Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
MSHA conducts impact inspections
on mines that merit increased enforcement activities due to poor compliance
histories or particular compliance concerns. MSHA typically conducts impact
inspections at mines that have the following characteristics: a high number of
violations or closure orders; frequent hazard complaints or hotline calls; plan
compliance issues; inadequate workplace examinations; a high number of
accidents, injuries, or illnesses; fatalities; adverse conditions such as
increased methane liberation, faulty roof conditions, inadequate ventilation,
and problems with respirable dust.
Operators should be aware that
MSHA has stepped up its enforcement practices when it comes to impact
inspections. MSHA may deploy additional inspectors to ensure that the
completeness of an inspection or it may conduct the inspections during “off
hours” (i.e., evenings and weekends). Also, MSHA has been securing lines of
communication as soon as it arrives at a mine to ensure that operators do not
provide advance notice of the inspectors’ presence. In January 2014, MSHA
claimed that it “secured mine communications” before conducting an impact
inspection in the evening, despite the fact that this was the mine’s first
impact inspection.
To ensure that a mine stays off
MSHA’s radar for impact inspections, it is essential for operators to pay close
attention to their compliance history. Also, operators should vigorously
challenge questionable citations and orders. As always, it is important for
operators to ensure that their safety practices meet industry regulations.
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