Tag: #mshapenalties

Federal mine safety commission finds Indiana coal company violated safety standards after mine operator causes risk of catastrophic explosion

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

First published by MSHA

Commission levels $102K in penalties for ‘unwarrantable failures’

WASHINGTON – The Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission has ruled unanimously that the operator of a Francisco, Indiana coal mine violated mandatory safety standards when it continued to operate an energized drill during a methane inundation, creating the risk of a catastrophic explosion.

On Aug. 24, 2022, the commission determined that allowing the drill to remain energized, and continuing to work, were unwarrantable failures. The commission also determined that the mine manager who oversaw the dangerous work was personally liable for the violations.

“The Mine Act is clear that operators have the ultimate responsibility to prevent mining hazards and dangerous working conditions,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson. “The U.S. Department of Labor will continue to enforce the law and hold mine operators accountable when they put lives at risk and fail to protect miners’ safety and health.”

The Mine Safety and Health Administration issued two citations: one for failure to deenergize the drill, and the other for performing work. MSHA designated both as “unwarrantable failures” to comply with mandatory standards, a designation that establishes more severe consequences for violations caused by aggravated conduct. The commission assessed a penalty of $96,000 on Peabody Midwest and a $6,000 penalty on the manager.

MSHA also proposed a penalty against the manager who supervised the work, because he knew or should have known that he was required to shut down the drill and stop work.

Peabody Midwest was conducting exploratory drilling in an underground coal mine when the drill punched through the coal bed and into an old mine. Methane gas began blasting through the drill hole. Methane-measuring devices indicated that the methane was over five percent by volume, into the range where it is explosive if an ignition source is introduced to the atmosphere. A rotating drill or any energized electrical equipment can be an ignition source.

MSHA mandatory standards require operators to take certain action when the concentration of methane rises above 1.5 percent by volume. Operators must evacuate the area, deenergize equipment and disconnect it at the power source, and perform “no other work” until methane levels fall below one percent. Instead of doing so, Peabody Midwest continued to run the drill, pulling out drill bits in attempt to clear the hole so that it could be plugged.

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.

Appeals court rules Minnesota mine operator ‘flagrantly’ violated Mine Act after elevated walkway collapsed in 2016

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

First published by MSHA

WASHINGTON – A federal appeals court ruled unanimously on Aug. 22, 2022, that the operator of a Lake County, Minnesota, iron ore mine flagrantly violated the federal Mine Safety and Health Act when it directed miners to work on an elevated walkway known to be unsafe for more than a year.

The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals also found two managers employed by Northshore Mining Co. personally liable for the violation and assessed each with a $4,000 fine based on the managers’ lack of effort to encourage repairs despite knowing about the dangerous walkway.

“Protecting the safety and health of our nation’s miners is our highest priority,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson. “The U.S. Department of Labor will hold mine operators and individuals accountable when they break the law and jeopardize workers’ safety and health. Congress gave Mine Safety and Health Administration the authority to designate serious violations that operators know about but do not try to correct as flagrant, and we will not hesitate to use this authority to ensure that the laws that protect miners are adequately enforced.”

After a series of mine tragedies, Congress passed the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act in 2006, an update to the Mine Act that allowed significant penalties, currently up to $291,234, to be imposed for flagrant violations of mine health and safety standards.

For the first time, the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals considered what constitutes a reckless flagrant violation under the Mine Act. The MINER Act defines a flagrant violation as “a reckless or repeated failure to make reasonable efforts to eliminate a known violation of a mandatory health or safety standard that substantially and proximately caused, or reasonably could have been expected to cause, death or serious bodily injury.”

The court determined the Secretary’s definition of “reckless” in the flagrant definition was reasonable and Northshore’s failure to maintain the walkway met that definition. It found the violation occurred because of the operator’s reckless disregard, and the failure to comply with mine safety standards was “unwarrantable.”

The court ordered the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission to assess a civil penalty for the violation considering its flagrant designation.

In June 2015, an independent engineering report commissioned by Northshore noted an elevated walkway at its iron ore processing plant was structurally inadequate and unsafe for use. Mud and debris often covered the walkway, which hid the deficiencies from miners’ view. Management continued sending miners to work on the walkway. In September 2016, a miner working on the walkway about 50 feet above the ground was injured when the walkway collapsed.

Federal law requires mine operators to maintain elevated walkways in good condition and to barricade or post warning signs about hazards that are not immediately obvious. After investigating the accident, MSHA issued enforcement actions for the operator’s failure to comply with each requirement and designated the walkway violation as a flagrant violation. MSHA also held two managers personally liable for knowingly authorizing, ordering, or carrying out the walkway violation.

Rebecca Mullins in the department’s Office of the Solicitor, handled the case before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 8th Circuit.

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.

MSHA Finds Illinois Mine Operator Tried to Conceal Underground Fire

Posted on by McCraren Compliance

First published by MSHA

MSHA finds M-Class Mining didn’t tell miners of a dangerous fire hazard, continued operations

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration has proposed nearly $1.2 million in civil penalties to M-Class Mining LLC, a Macedonia, Illinois, coal mine operator. MSHA cited the operator for continuing to operate the mine without evacuating miners with a fire underground and failing to notify MSHA of the fire. The fire broke out on a longwall section on Aug. 13, 2021.

Late on the morning of Aug. 14, 2021, after learning of the unextinguished fire through an anonymous complaint, MSHA issued an order to withdraw all miners from the mine and began an accident investigation. The investigation found that the operator allowed continued coal production and did not take immediate actions to protect the safety and health of miners.

Specifically, MSHA inspectors determined M-Class Mining LLC failed to follow the approved Mine Emergency Evacuation and Firefighting Program and evacuate the miners; did not notify MSHA within 15 minutes of the fire’s start as the law requires; and failed to fully comply with federal orders to withdraw miners from the mine.

“M-Class Mining LLC deliberately jeopardized the lives of the very miners it was responsible for protecting, and violated numerous important safety and health standards in the process,” said Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Chris Williamson. “The fact that this operator continued business as usual while miners underground had no idea there was an ongoing fire hazard more than justifies the civil penalties that we propose.”

MSHA issued 14 citations to the M-Class mine, including 10 related to the operator’s reckless disregard for the miners’ safety and health. Two of the 10 proposed citations are flagrant: for the operator not evacuating the mine when the fire was located, and for allowing miners to work underground without being tracked by the mine tracking system. A flagrant violation may be assessed the highest penalty allowed by law.

MSHA has assessed $1,165,396 in proposed penalties for the violations.

M-Class Mining LLC has 30 days to pay or contest the violation or penalties to the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.

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.