MSHA launched its annual “Stay Out-Stay Alive!” program Monday (May 12), but the initiative comes too late for nine people who have died so far this year at quarry and sand & gravel sites.

MSHA is on the Department of Labor’s semi-annual regulatory agenda after all. In a Federal Register notice May 5, MSHA’s name was missing, and, accordingly, Sharpe’s Point reported its absence in a news article that day. However, the mine safety agency’s agenda went up on its website today (May 7). We cannot explain the discrepancy, but we will seek an explanation from the Agency.

A Senate committee appears headed toward moving forward with legislation that would amend the Occupational Safety & Health Act (OSH Act) to dramatically increase civil and criminal penalties and give victims’ families more rights.

The Department of Labor released its semi-annual regulatory agenda today (May 5), and what’s news about it for the mining community is the absence of any mention of MSHA.

The House of Representatives has been busy this week passing safety and health legislation.

Safety and health committees exist at many mine sites, but are these committees giving the mine operator the most bang for the buck?

Unless management, miners and committee members have a clear understanding of why the group exists and what it is trying to accomplish, the committee may not achieve its full potential.

Editor’s Note: On April 28, MSHA reissued Program Policy Letter (PPL) PO8-III-2 dealing with special assessments. The re-issuance was necessary because when the PPL was first released March 31, it did not include the appropriate signoffs from Agency officials and thus had to be withdrawn. Nonetheless, Sharpe’s Point posted a summary of the PPL then, and is reproducing that summary with minor changes below for your information.

A total of 37% of U.S. workers report they have been bullied at work, according to a 2007 survey conducted by the Workplace Bullying Institute.

MSHA issued a final rule April 18 on seals in underground coal mines that retains a tiered approach to seal strength contained in an Emergency Temporary Standard (ETS) the Agency released last year.