When was msha created

Learn about the legislative milestones that have helped improve miner safety and health. The Federal government passed modest legislation to establish minimum ventilation requirements in underground coal mines and prohibit operators from hiring children under age The statute applied only to mines in U.

Public Law created the Bureau of Mines within the Department of the Interior after a decade in which coal mine fatalities exceeded 2, annually. Public Law granted Federal inspectors the right of entry into coal mines to make inspections. No safety or health regulations were mandated. Public Law created the first Federal safety standards for bituminous coal and lignite mines. A provision was included for Federal inspectors to notify the mine operator and State mine agency of violations.

No enforcement provisions were included. The standards expired after one year. Additionally, Coal Mine Safety and Health approves roof control, ventilation and training plans required to be submitted by mine operators, directs various mine safety and health assistance programs and trains and certifies instructors. According to MSHA, there are about 2, coal mines in 27 states. The agency had inspectors in , down from in This includes conducting inspections and investigations at the mine sites to insure their compliance with health and safety standards.

Inspectors and investigators issue citations when violations are discovered and order mine operators to correct problems. This division also investigates mine accidents, complaints of discrimination and hazardous conditions reported by miners, and criminal violations. They are about 12, metal and nonmetal operations in the United States employing more than , people. The directorate also administers the State Grants Program , which provides funding to state mining agencies to supplement their mining health and safety programs, and it sponsors the Joseph A.

Holmes Safety Association. Office of Assessments assesses and collects financial penalties from mine operators for violations of the Mine Act and of mine safety and health standards. These activities include accounting for all penalty cases in litigation before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission and in federal courts and collecting and accounting for all delinquent penalties.

Directorate of Technical Support provides engineering and scientific expertise to assist MSHA, state governments and the mining industry in resolving safety and health issues. Technical support conducts field investigations, laboratory studies and analyses to resolve specific problems. Equipment and materials used in mines are also evaluated and approved by the directorate. Mine emergency response plans and protocols are also maintained by the directorate. CNSI is providing IT systems support services, including maintenance and development of software systems, e-Government systems support and helpdesk support.

The cave-in at Randall Canyon was blamed on a mining technique known as retreat mining, a dangerous procedure that allows mining companies to extract more coal at risk of collapses. MSHA had approved the use of retreat mining by the mining company. The New York Times reported that the agency had decreased major fines for safety violations since and that in many cases MSHA had not collected fines at all.

Furthermore, MSHA had not turned over any delinquent cases to the Treasury Department for further collection efforts, as it is supposed to do after days. An MSHA official blamed the failure on computer problems that had not been fixed in three years. The Times found that the number of major fines issued in at the maximum level was one in 10, down from one in 5 in Mine fines routinely ignored by Ken Ward, Jr. Lehren, New York Times. Lauriski tried unsuccessfully to weaken federal regulations governing coal dust levels in mines.

One rule pushed by the agency made it easier for companies to use diesel generators underground, which miners said could increase the risk of fire. Two of those companies had ties to Lauriski and one of his assistants. In , 60 Minutes reported that the Mine Safety and Health Administration had cut short an investigation of Massey Energy, which was responsible for allowing million gallons of coal slurry to flood miles of stream in Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia.

The environmental disaster was described as being 25 times the size of the Exxon Valdez oil spill off the coast of Alaska. A team of MSHA investigators were told to end their investigation before the agency could level fines against the company. In addition, an agency official was fired after he blew the whistle on the squashed investigation.

Former Directors: Dave D. Lauriski to David A. A mine profile rating system was developed to evaluate relative safety and health conditions at surface and underground mines based on their record.

A special emphasis roof program was begun, and a new uniform mine filing system was put into effect to enable survey teams to evaluate all inspection findings in total or only certain portions. The Compliance Assistance Visits Program, started at non coal mines in late , assisted mine operators pointing out potentially hazardous conditions and practices prior to beginning operations of the using of new equipment or facilities.

As a result, six health hazards were targeted for standards development: radiation in uranium mines, milling reagents, silica dust, mineral fibers, welding fumes and noise.

Additionally, special health projects were conducted in cooperation with NIOSH, including studies of talc minerals exposure, fibrous minerals exposure, and the nature and extent of pulmonary diseases among cement workers. Prior to the Act, civil penalties were required for violations, at coal mines but not at noncoal mines.