The U.S. Department of Labor\u2019s Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) 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\u2019s mines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are seeing an increase in mining fatalities, particularly powered haulage fatalities, and we must reverse this trend. The Mine Safety and Health Administration\u2019s top priority is the safety and well-being of people working in and around mines,\u201d said Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health Jeannette J. Galanis. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cMine workers are a critical resource and grants like these help support the mining community\u2019s training and education needs and promote ways to protect miners better.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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, Ala., in 2001, and at the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, W.Va., in 2006.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The grant recipients are:<\/p>\n\n\n\n