MSHA Health and Safety Alerts
Operating Equipment Near Water
MSHA Safety Alert
Operating Equipment Near Water
From 2010 through 2023, there were 19 drowning accidents. Eleven of these fatal accidents occurred when mobile equipment, operating near water, became submerged. When working near water mine operators should:
- Conduct workplace examinations and eliminate hazardous conditions.
- Keep mobile equipment a safe distance from the water’s edge.
- Ensure miners wear a seatbelt when operating mobile equipment.
Emergency underwater breathing devices are commercially available, and they come in all different shapes and sizes. If made available and miners are properly trained, these devices can potentially increase miners’ chances of survival if they fall into water.
Best Practices
- Provide emergency underwater breathing devices to miners with risk of falling into water.
- Train miners in the use of underwater breathing devices in case of an emergency.
- Keep water rescue equipment easily accessible.
- To assist miners in exiting a submerged cab, develop an underwater emergency egress kit which may include a nose clip, mask, underwater breathing device, PFD, and glass breaking device.
- Provide and ensure miners wear a Coast Guard approved Type I or Type V personal flotation device (PFD).
Miners and mine operators can find safety and health information on MSHA.gov.
Danger – Rotating Conveyor Rollers
MSHA Safety Alert
Three miners have been permanently disabled since the beginning of 2024
Serious and fatal injuries occur when miners clean or adjust conveyor rollers, pulleys and idlers while the belt is in motion. Injuries vary from broken bones to loss of fingers, hands, and arms. Some accidents have resulted in fatal injuries. Injuries result from unsafe actions like:
Using aerial lifts to access elevated bend, snub, and take-up pulleys, or removing or reaching around guards to work on moving conveyor components.
Using scrapers, shovels, pry bars, hammers and torches to remove ice, mud or buildup. The tools can be caught in pinch points between the conveyor belt and rollers and pull in the tools and miners’ hands, arms, and bodies.
Best Practices
Keep guards in place. Do not defeat or circumvent any protective system.
Have an effective lock-out program. Shut down, deenergize and lock out power switches and block conveyor parts against hazardous motion prior to performing belt roller or pulley cleaning, belt tracking or other maintenance.
Establish policies and procedures to ensure proper and safe cleaning and maintenance of conveyor components.
Provide task and site-specific hazard training that prohibits cleaning or working on or around moving conveyor components.
Follow safe cleaning and maintenance policies and procedures. Supervisors, miners, and contractors are all responsible for working safely.
Truck Dumping Safety
MSHA Safety Alert
Truck Dumping Safety
On January 2, 2024, the driver of an over the road tractor-trailer haul truck died when the trailer tipped over onto the cab of the tractor. The driver was dumping part of the load of gravel from the trailer. Between 2018 and 2024, mine operators reported 14 injury accidents where over the road trucks tipped or rolled over while dumping. During the same period, miners were also injured when 28 off-road mine haul trucks tipped or rolled over. The accidents can be prevented with proper training and following best practices:
Best Practices
For Drivers:
- Dump only on level surfaces, free of spillage. Make sure elevated dump sites are substantial and equipped with adequate dump point restraints.
- Keep your truck and trailer in a straight line when backing up and never move faster than walking speed.
- Avoid dumping in high or gusty wind conditions.
- Stay in the cab with your seatbelt on during the dumping process. Never attempt to exit or jump from an overturning truck.
- After dumping, remove any compacted material before reloading the truck.
- Evenly distribute the load and use antifreeze in cold weather to prevent material from freezing and sticking in the truck bed.
- Never overload trucks or trailers.
Safety in Cold Weather
Cold weather can cause cold stress, which can lead to hypothermia, frostbite, and other severe injuries, and illnesses.
Best Practices
- Monitor your physical condition and that of your coworkers.
- Wear appropriate clothing.
- Wear clothing that allows a full range of motion necessary for the tasks of the work.
- Move into warm locations during breaks.
- Include chemical hot packs in your first aid kit.
- Avoid touching cold metal surfaces with bare skin.
In addition, some portable heaters can emit deadly carbon monoxide (CO). CO is odorless and colorless and can accumulate in confined spaces and enclosed areas such as the cabs of vehicles, work trailers, and unventilated areas. Exposure to 200 parts per million of CO for 15 minutes can cause disorientation, unconsciousness and eventual death.
Best Practices
- Maintenance of fuel-burning equipment and vehicles is crucial. Vehicle exhaust systems need to be regularly inspected for leaks or other damage.
- Monitors and audible alarm systems should be in place wherever CO is a potential hazard. Use portable CO detectors as necessary.
- Properly ventilate work areas. The ventilation system should be designed and maintained to remove contaminants from the mine atmosphere.
- Maintain travelways and keep them free of ice and debris.
Powered Haulage Accidents
Stop Powered Haulage Accidents: Stay Alert! Stay Alive!
- Fatalities and accidents involving mobile equipment: shuttle cars, scoops, locomotives, front end loaders, haulage equipment, service and pickup trucks continue to occur at a disproportionate high rate.
Best Practices
- Know where in the workplace others are and communicate with them: use radios, mirrors, cameras, headlights, strobe warning lights, horns, and buggy-whip flags. Stay clear of mobile equipment blind spots.
- Set mobile equipment parking brakes and chock the wheels when vehicles are unattended: Don’t stand, walk or work directly downhill of parked vehicles. Stay clear of moving vehicles.
- Establish safe traffic patterns and rules: post signage, ensure rules are followed, adhere to speed limits and approach intersections with caution.
- Use proximity detection/collision avoidance systems.
- Ensure that seat belts are maintained in good condition and worn at all times.
- Ensure that conveyors are deenergized, locked, tagged and blocked against motion before removing guards or beginning work.
*Make sure miners and mine operators are trained in best practices.