MSHA is not entitled to unduly delay a Sec. 110(c) special investigation, an administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled in a decision released today.

Senior ALJ Michael E. Zielinski said, “[S]ection 110(c) enforcement actions should be initiated within a reasonable time, considering the nature and complexity of the matters involved. Extensive delays should not be tolerated.

OSHA will have a busy year in 2013 if the 25 items on its latest regulatory agenda move forward then.

In an agenda posted Thursday, OSHA listed 14 items for final action next year, including an occupational injury and illness reporting rule and a regulation on slips, trips and falls.  Another six items in the proposed rule stage were announced, including one to improve tracking of workplace injuries and illnesses and to regulate crystalline silica. 

A Kentucky coal mine has closed following an MSHA impact inspection in November, one of 16 mines visited under the program during the month.

TRC Mining Corp. chose to shutter its #2 Mine after MSHA issued seven orders, including two for allegedly failing to abate previous citations.  The enforcement action shut down the entire underground portion of the Letcher County operation.  A total of 30 miners were employed at the mine, which had amassed $160,382 in fines this year prior to the inspection.

A jury has found that two Pennsylvania lawyers and a West Virginia radiologist conspired to defraud CSX Transportation (CSX) by filing fraudulent asbestos claims.

On Dec. 20, an eight-member jury in West Virginia found Robert Peirce and Louis Raimond of the former Pittsburgh law firm of Peirce, Raimond & Coulter (PR&C) guilty of racketeering, conspiracy and fraud, the West Virginia Record reported.  The jurists brought the same verdict against Ray Harron, a Bridgeport radiologist the lawyers used to support their fraudulent asbestos cases.

C.A. Phillips, director of the West Virginia Office of Miners’ Health, Safety and Training (OMHST), is retiring, effective Dec. 31.

An Arizona copper producer and its contractor have been cited following the death in September of a 34-year-old contract worker who had six days’ experience on the job.

Jon Vanoss fell about 30 feet to his death on Sept. 12 at BHP Copper, Inc.’s Pinto Valley Operations in Gila County, a nonproducing surface copper mine. Vanoss, a laborer with just six days' experience, was employed by Tetra Tech Construction Services of Phoenix, which had been hired to perform rehabilitation services on the plant’s mill and processing equipment.

The intent of MINER Act requirements for wireless communications and tracking systems in underground coal mines is to enhance safety, but, in an ironic twist, the proliferation of these systems has given rise to another concern: their potential to cause an explosion from an unintended interaction with explosive materials.

The body of a West Virginia miner missing since Nov. 30 when the bulldozer he was operating slid into a coal impoundment pond has been recovered.

Markel J. Koon, 58, of Shinnston was located about 4:40 p.m. today at Consol Energy’s Nolan’s Run slurry impoundment in Harrison County.  An experienced miner, Koon had nearly 38 years of service with the company.  An autopsy will be performed in Charleston.

An engineering and consulting firm that provided services to the operator of the Crandall Canyon Mine is an independent operator subject to MSHA jurisdiction, an administrative law judge (ALJ) ruled Dec. 6.  If the decision stands, it might give pause to consultants seeking business with mine operators, even if most of the work is done off mine property.