Charleston, W.Va., lawyer James McHugh, with the Chris Pence Law Firm has joined the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) as deputy assistant secretary for policy. McHugh will head the agency temporarily until Wayne Palmer is confirmed by the U.S. Senate. McHugh has represented clients before the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission and the Occupational Safety and…
Read MoreCategory: MSHA Update
MSHA reports 11th fatality of 2025
MSHA reported that on March 28 at a sand and gravel operation in Washington, Kan., a miner was fatally injured at a surface mine when sand from the highwall engulfed the front-end loader he was operating. The miner was digging sand from the toe of the highwall. This is the 11th fatality reported in 2025, and the fifth classified as…
Read MoreCourt temporarily blocks silica rule
A federal appeals court has temporarily blocked The Mine Safety and Health Administration’s silica dust rule to limit silica dust exposure for coal miners. It was supposed to take effect on April 14. The National Sand, Stone and Gravel Association recently sought an emergency stay of the rule in the 8th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in St. Louis and…
Read MoreFive mine fatalities in first month of 2025
MSHA reported that five fatalities took place in January 2025 at mines in Texas, Pennsylvania and West Virginia. Two of these accidents took place at coal mines, while the others occurred at construction sand and gravel and dimension stone operations. On January 10, a mobile bridge carrier operator died at Wilson Creek Energy’s Acosta Deep coal mine in Somerset County,…
Read MoreMSHA issues safety alert in response to 10 fatalities
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) reported that 10 miner fatalities have occurred between Jan. 3 and March 5 – more than triple the number for the same period in 2024. Accidents classified as Powered Haulage remain the most common with four fatalities, followed by Machinery (two fatalities), and Fall of Face, Rib, Side or Highwall (two fatalities). Four…
Read MoreWinter Safety Alert
Best Practices for Equipment and Vehicle Safety Best Practices for Miner Preparedness Provide warm shelter. Create designated locations to allow miners to warm up during breaks and prevent cold weather-related injuries.
Read MoreMSHA reports 28th fatality of 2024
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) said an electrician died on November 27, 2024, at the Cargill Deicing Technology – Cleveland mine in Cuyahoga County, Ohio, when a Load Haul Dump loader struck him. The electrician was outside of his mine utility vehicle and was struck by the LHD loader tire. This was the 28th fatality reported in 2024,…
Read MoreMSHA issues 162 violations in November
The Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) completed impact inspections in November 2024 at 14 mines and issued 162 violations and one safeguard. Of the violations, 44 were identified as significant and substantial and one had an unwarrantable failure finding. Since 2023, MSHA’s impact inspections have identified 5,127 violations, including 1,424 S&S and 100 unwarrantable failure findings at 330 mines.…
Read MorePalmer nominated to head MSHA
Wayne Palmer was nominated by President Trump to serve as assistant secretary of the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) at the Department of Labor. He is the former executive vice president of the Essential Minerals Association (EMA). “Wayne has not only been a terrific asset to the EMA team since he joined the association in 2021, but he has…
Read MoreMSHA issues three safety alerts
After three miners were involved in separate preventable accidents, MSHA has released safety alerts for highwalls, dozer entrapment and haul truck rollovers. The agency reported that on September 30, a miner sustained permanently disabling injuries while operating a Caterpillar 992K front-end loader beneath a highwall. A roughly 50-foot section of highwall fell onto the loader, crushing the cab and pinning…
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