MSHA held an open industry briefing this week and revealed the following three initiatives of the agency:
Reference was made to MSHA pursuing a “global” HazCom standard, patterned after the one in use under OSHA law. A program Policy Letter will be forthcoming on Monday, August 12 that will explain the differences between the two standards and how MSHA intends on reconciling the two programs along with the changes coal operators will have to undertake to meet compliance expectations going forward.
The newly expanded Holmes Mine Rescue Association was addressed. A meeting of the new mine rescue group is set for October 29th to formalize the mine rescue initiative with Jeffrey Kravitz of NIOSH serving as “Acting General Secretary”. A nominating committee is being formed with nominations for officers of the new group being solicited for the October meeting. This group will be responsible for recommending future advancements in the area of mine rescue operations.
Bob Thaxton of MSHA’s Health Division reported on a concerning trend in diesel mines with high levels of NO2 believed to be occurring from using improperly sized, after-treatment systems. This concern and others have been previously published in a recent PPL available on MSHA’s web. MSHA also indicated that Phil McCabe (304-547-2315) or Jeff Moningel (304-547-2324) of MSHA’s Approval and Certification Center in Triadelphia are available for consultation on the topic of diesels, generally.
Jeff Duncan with MSHA’s Training and Education Division talked about recent cuts in MSHA’s “State’s Grants Program” and how the different states are responding to MSHA’s action. He also indicated that MSHA’s small mines program will continue.
Howard Epperly of MSHA’s Approval and Certification Center in Triadelphia reported that there have been 15 refuge shelters approved as of today, out of a total of 36 applications submitted for approval. MSHA announced that it will reopen rulemaking on Refuge Alternatives and published onAugust 8 a “Request for Information” that will provide a 60-day comment period until October 7 (noted in earlier article.
Kevin Stricklin outlined a Program Policy Letter addressing “Examinations, Evaluations, and effectiveness of Bleeder Systems” -- Effective Date: January 1, 2014. The policy addresses existing requirements for maintaining at least one entry in a set of entries for travel around bleeder entries or mined out areas. The policy will become effective on January 1st following a series on internal training sessions and open industry informational meetings around every district.