Tag: #BrookwoodSagoGrant

MSHA announce $1M in grants awarded to support mine safety, health awareness; education, training

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

Grants seek to bolster education, training for key risks facing miners

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced the award of $1 million in grants to nine organizations in seven states to support education and training initiatives that will help identify and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around the nation’s mines.

Administered by the department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety grant program will allow recipients to create training materials, promote and conduct mine safety training or educational programs, and evaluate the effectiveness of their efforts.

In awarding the grants, MSHA gave special emphasis to education and training programs that target miners at smaller mines and underserved populations in the industry. Training and education supported by the grants align with key MSHA priorities, ranging from better protecting miners from exposure to silica dust to mine rescues.

“The Mine Safety and Health Administration works collaboratively with industry, labor, academia and other stakeholders to protect the health and safety of all miners. Education and training is a vital tool in achieving this objective,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson.

“In examining the mining industry’s troubling trend of fatalities this year, MSHA has found that training deficiencies continue to be a root cause of fatal accidents,” Williamson added. “The grants awarded today further key priorities of the agency and the Biden-Harris Administration, including preventing fatalities and serious accidents from safety issues, while also addressing miner health, such as preventing exposure to toxic materials like silica dust.”

Established under the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, the grant program honors 25 miners who perished in mine disasters in 2001 at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama, and in 2006 at the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, West Virginia.

“These grants recognize the sacrifice of 25 miners who died needlessly in two of the nation’s worst mine disasters in the last 25 years,” Williamson said. “The recipients of our 2023 Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety grants share our determination to keep miners safe and healthy at mines across the nation.”  Continue reading»

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Original article published by MSHA

MSHA Offering $1M in Safety Grants

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

First published by MSHA

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor today announced a funding availability of up to $1 million in grants through its Brookwood-Sago grant program to support education and training to help the mining community identify, avoid and prevent unsafe and unhealthy working conditions in and around the nation’s mines.

Established by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, the program’s efforts to make mines safer and healthier honors 25 miners who perished in disasters at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama, in 2001 and at the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 2006.

Administered by the department’s Mine Safety and Health Administration, the Brookwood-Sago grants will focus education and training programs on occupational hazards, including:

  • Exposures to respirable dust and crystalline silica.
  • Powered haulage and mobile equipment safety.
  • Mine emergency preparedness and rescue.
  • Electrical safety.
  • Contract and customer truck drivers.
  • Improving training for new and inexperienced miners, and managers and supervisors performing mining tasks.
  • Pillar safety for underground mines.
  • Falls from heights.

The grants may also support programs emphasizing training on miners’ statutory rights, including the right to a safe and healthy working environment, to refuse an unsafe task, and to have a voice in the safety and health conditions at the mine. Recipients may use the grant funding to develop educational and training materials, recruit mine operators and miners for the training, and to conduct and evaluate training.

In awarding the grants, MSHA will give special emphasis to education and training programs that target miners at smaller mines and underserved populations in the mining industry. They will also prioritize diversity, equity and inclusion.

Learn more or submit a grant application. The closing date for applications is Aug. 23, 2022. MSHA will award grants on or before Sept. 30, 2022. Learn more about MSHA.

McCraren Compliance assists employers in protecting their workers, starting with a comprehensive Work-site Analysis, Hazard Prevention, Controls, and Safety & Health Training.

Please contact us today at 888-758-4757 to learn how we can provide mine safety training and consulting for your business.

MSHA awards $1M Brookwood-Sago grants for mine safety education

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

First published by MSHA

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the award of $1 million in Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety grant program funding to support education and training to help identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around the nation’s mines.

“We are seeing an increase in mining fatalities, particularly powered haulage fatalities, and we must reverse this trend. The Mine Safety and Health Administration’s top priority is the safety and well-being of people working in and around mines,” said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Jeannette J. Galanis. “Mine workers are a critical resource and grants like these help support the mining community’s training and education needs and promote ways to protect miners better.”

Established by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006, the program honors 25 miners who died in mine disasters at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama, in 2001, and at the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 2006.

Brookwood-Sago grants enable recipients to develop training materials, provide mine safety training or educational programs, recruit mine operators and miners for the training, and conduct and evaluate the training. They are a critical part of MSHA’s emphasis on programs and materials for miners at smaller mines, including training miners and employers about new federal standards and high-risk activities or hazards that MSHA identifies.

The grant recipients are as follows:

  • Arizona Board of Regents, University of Arizona in Tucson received $140,000 to develop app-based training materials to enhance training for belt conveyor safety, electrical hazards, and accidents with powered haulage.
  • Colorado Department of Natural Resources in Denver received $95,000 to develop an innovative video that will focus the need for mitigation for mine emergencies, risk, preparedness and readiness assessments.
  • Colorado School of Mines in Golden received $95,000 to develop an energy-based hazard recognition-training module.
  • Commonwealth of Virginia, Department of Mines, Minerals and Energy in Big Stone Gap received $50,000 to provide virtual reality training to simulate real time conditions at mine sites.
  • Trustees of Indiana University in Bloomington received $50,000 to develop training materials aimed at preventing respiratory hazards, particularly those associated with mining operations and recent biohazards including the coronavirus.
  • Local 49 IUOE Apprenticeship and Training Program in Hinckley, Minnesota, received $50,000 to develop a training simulation device that will simulate training scenarios that involve fall protection, respiratory protection, working in confined spaces, electrical hazard awareness and powered haulage awareness.
  • Marshall University Research Corp. in Huntington, West Virginia, received $130,000 to develop videos on powered haulage safety, fire safety emergency preparedness and personal protective equipment.
  • South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in Rapid City received $120,000 to provide virtual reality training materials on mine emergency prevention and awareness.
  • Southeast Kentucky Community and Technical College in Cumberland received $50,000 to develop new training material for Part 46 and Part 48 for miners.
  • The University of Texas at Arlington received $50,000 to develop disaster prevention and preparedness training materials for the mining community.
  • The University of Texas at Arlington received $70,000 to develop and implement virtual reality based training materials to prevent or reduce powered haulage accidents in small mines.
  • United Mine Workers of America Career Centers, Inc., in Prosperity, Pennsylvania, received $50,000 to develop a two-segment multimedia instructional package on Belt Conveyor Safety Awareness, and Mine Emergency Escape Interactive Exercises.
  • West Virginia Research Corporation in Morgantown received $50,000 to provide emergency prevention and preparedness training to coal miners and coal mine operators in the areas of Self Contained Self Rescuer expectations and mine rescue.

McCraren Compliance offers many opportunities in safety training to help circumvent accidents. Please take a moment to visit our calendar of classes to see what we can do to help your safety measures from training to consulting.