On March 24, 2010, a 63 year-old contract truck driver with 21 years of experience was fatally injured at a surface area of an underground salt mine. The victim was loading his truck under a 150 ton salt bin when it collapsed, falling onto the cab of the truck. A second victim working in the area received serious injuries.

Best Practices

• Routinely examine metal structures for indications of weakened structural soundness (corrosion, fatigue cracks, bent/buckling beams, braces or columns, loose/missing connectors, broken welds, etc.).
• Keep corrosive material spillage/build-up removed from metal structures.
• Report all areas where indications of structural weakness are found.

March 22, 2010 - Powered Haulage -Wyoming - Bentonite - American Colloid Company - Yellowtail Mine

On April 15, 2010, MSHA SOL made a determination that the fatality that occurred on March 22, 2010 (MNM #3 - American Colloid Company - Yellowtail Mine - Lovell, WY) is not under MSHA jurisdiction, and therefore, not chargeable to the industry.

On January 26, 2010, a 59 year-old purchasing manager with 5 years of experience was fatally injured at a cement operation. The victim was struck by an over-the-road tandem trailer truck. The truck had been waiting to unload. When the truck pulled forward, another truck driver observed the victim under the second trailer of the truck and immediately stopped the driver. The victim was holding a cell phone at the time of the accident.

• Train all persons to stay clear of mobile equipment.
• Be aware of the location and traffic patterns of mobile equipment in your work area.
• Communicate with mobile equipment operators and ensure they acknowledge your presence.
• Never approach mobile equipment until you receive confirmation from the operator indicating awareness of your presence.
• Wear high visibility clothing when working around mobile equipment.
• Avoid distractions, such as cell phones, when exposed to hazards.
• Before moving mobile equipment, look in the direction of travel, use all mirrors, cameras, and installed proximity detection devices to ensure no persons are in the intended path.
• Sound the horn to warn persons of intended movement and wait to give them time to move to a safe location.

On January 9, 2010, a 20 year-old contractor laborer with 21 weeks of experience was fatally injured at a copper operation. Two track excavators were being used to place a 400-foot long section of 24-inch diameter plastic pipe into a pond. To facilitate the installation process, the pipe was placed on top of an adjacent section of pipe that was previously placed on the plastic lining of the pond. During installation, the pipe being installed misaligned and the victim and two coworkers attempted to remove the end of this pipe from the top of the existing pipe. At that time, the end of the pipe shifted, hit a coworker, and then struck the victim. The victim fell to the ground and the pipe landed on him. The coworker was not injured. 

• Task train all persons prior to performing any work.
• Always stay clear of suspended loads.
• Use taglines of sufficient length to adequately protect persons from potential hazards.

Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf) 

MSHA issued a news release that gave credit in part for a large drop in mining fatalities to enforcement. They gave a nod to miners being safe, but ignored the fact that with the bad econonmy miners just didn't work as many hours last year. Of course the figures aren't out, but it's not too hard to see in the stone industry at least. It's a great accomplishment for everyone to reduce the fatalities as much as we did, but I'll wait to see the fatality rate before I celebrate too much. It's possible that with the reduced hours the rate still did not decline and that's what really matters.

Read the news release here.

On September 27, 2009, a 28 year-old truck driver with 2 years of experience was fatally injured at a copper operation. He was operating a 240-ton haul truck that left the haul road and climbed a berm, causing it to overturn and land on the haul road. The victim, who was not wearing a seat belt, fell from the cab of the truck. 

• Always wear a seat belt when operating a haul truck or mobile equipment.
• Monitor employees regularly to ensure seat belts are worn when operating mobile equipment.
• Maintain control and stay alert when operating mobile equipment.
• Conduct pre-operational checks to identify and correct any defects that may affect the safe operation of self-propelled mobile equipment.

  Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf)

A serious statistic from MSHA:  Safety Information Recently Posted - Metal/Nonmetal October Fatal Alert

During the last 10 years Metal and Nonmetal mines have experienced more fatal accidents in the month of October than in any other month. Work with MSHA to prevent more fatalities by focusing on working safely. Spread the word at your workplace with the following flyer that they provided.

Click here for the pdf of the October Alert and post it around your workplace.

On September 15, 2009, a 59 year-old delivery driver with 14 years of experience was fatally injured at a sand and gravel operation. She parked off mine property and walked on site to deliver a package. The victim walked behind a front-end loader that backed over her. 

• Establish a visitor control policy that includes signs directing visitors to a safe location.
• Train delivery persons to recognize work place hazards they could be exposed to while at the mine.
• Always make sure equipment operators see you before entering any area where mobile equipment is operated. If possible, make eye contact with the equipment operator. When moving to a different area, inform the equipment operator before leaving the area.
• Before moving mobile equipment, look in the direction of travel, use all mirrors, cameras, and installed proximity detection devices to ensure no one is in the intended path.
• Ensure that all persons are clear before moving equipment. Sound your horn to warn unseen persons that you are about to move and wait a few moments to give them time to get to a safe location.
• Ensure that backup alarms on mobile equipment are maintained and operational.

On August 27, 2009, a 54 year-old contract truck driver with 33 years of experience was fatally injured at a lime operation. The victim, wearing a fall protection harness and an attached lanyard, was found partially suspended on the top of a bulk trailer. He had been working on top of the trailer, closing hatch covers, when the incident occurred.

• Pneumatically actuated ports for dry bulk trailers are available to allow remote operation and keep truck drivers on the ground.
• Prior to beginning work, identify all hazards and use appropriate controls to protect persons.
• When wearing fall protection, ensure it is properly adjusted to fit the user.
• When working where hazardous conditions exist, maintain communications or contact with other persons.
• Keep work surfaces free of dust, water, and tripping hazards.
• Wear laced shoes with appropriate soles for the work surface.

Do you like numbers? Then you'll love perusing this report. Lots and lots of numbers giving you the final fatalities and injuries in mining. There are breakdowns by industry, work location, State, accident classification and more. Need injury-incidence rates for contractors? This report has got them. Just click here to open/download this pdf file from MSHA.

On July 2, 2009, a 52-year old mine owner with 34 years of experience was fatally injured at a surface dimension stone operation. He was working alone and was operating a walk behind masonry saw on a ledge. Apparently he was positioned between the saw and the edge when he tripped and fell. The victim and the saw went over the 9-foot ledge and the saw fell on him. 

• Identify all hazards and use appropriate controls to protect persons.
• Ensure that operators are in a safe position and have control of their equipment at all times.
• Keep workplaces free of tripping hazards.
• Use barricades or railings at edges of drop-offs where persons are in danger of falling.
• Equip walk behind masonry saws with devices to stop the engine if the operator can not maintain control of the equipment.
• Design bench top stone cutting patterns so the saw operator is not positioned between the saw and the drop off edge.

On June 20, 2009, a 52-year old equipment oiler/greaser with 24 years of experience was fatally injured at an underground salt mine. He was cleaning equipment when a large roof fall occurred. 

• When ground conditions create a hazard to persons, install effective ground support before other work is permitted in the affected area.
• Design, install, and maintain a support system to control the ground in places where persons work or travel.
• Examine and test ground conditions in areas where work is to be performed prior to work commencing and as ground conditions warrant during the shift.
• Be alert to any change of ground conditions.
• Identify and scale loose ground from a location which will not expose persons to falling material.

On June 11, 2009, a 57-year old mechanic with 31 years of experience was fatally injured at an underground lead/zinc mine while checking for a hydraulic leak on a loader. The victim leaned into the ejector plate relief port in the back of the loader bucket. The ejector plate of the bucket was retracted, crushing him against the back of the bucket.

• Train persons to recognize work place hazards.
• Establish safe work procedures before a task is performed.
• Securely block equipment and components against hazardous motion at all times while performing maintenance work.
• If equipment and components are to be moved, always verify persons are aware and in a safe location prior to movement.
• Consult and follow the manufacturer's recommended safe work procedures for the maintenance task.

On June 6, 2009, a 57-year old surface driller with 27 years of experience was fatally injured at a surface gold mine. The victim was drilling in a pit, exited the drill, and was walking in the drill area when he was struck by a flatbed truck as it backed up. The truck was in the area to collect drill cutting sample bags.

• Before moving mobile equipment, look in the direction of travel, use all mirrors, cameras, and installed proximity detection devices to ensure no one is in the intended path.
• Sound the horn to warn persons of movement and wait to give them time to get to a safe location.
• Operate mobile equipment at reduced speeds in work areas.
• Do not operate mobile equipment in reverse for extended distances when it is possible to travel forward.
• Be aware of the location of mobile equipment in your work area before exiting your equipment.
• Communicate with mobile equipment operators and ensure they acknowledge your presence.
• Wear high visibility clothing when working around mobile equipment.
• Train all miners to recognize work place hazards.

After posting the most recent fatality I had an AHA! moment. If I posted all the fatalities and tag them with some basic labels like type of mine, equipment, etc. I would end up with a database that is easily searchable for not only fatalities, but other important relative information. For example, click on loader in the tag section and it will show you all posts with loader fatalities along with other information posted about loaders. Neat, huh?

So I'm going to continue to post fatalities. In fact, I'm going to go back and add the previous fatalgrams as I get time here. I'll post new ones as soon as I can after the fatalgram is posted. Then I'll go back and add the link to the investigation when that is posted as well. Of course it will all be even better if you add your comments. So go ahead. Comment.

On May 2, 2009, a 51-year old front-end loader operator with 8 weeks of experience was fatally injured at a surface clay operation. The victim parked a front-end loader on a loading ramp and was run over by the machine after he exited it. 

• Keep unauthorized persons out of the cabs of mobile equipment.
• Never leave mobile equipment unattended unless the controls are placed in the park position and the parking brake is set.
• Lower the bucket to the ground when parking mobile equipment.
• Chock or turn the wheels when parked on a grade.

On May 1, 2009, a 59-year old dredge operator with 3 years of experience was fatally injured at a dredging operation. The victim was trying to manually guide the wire cable onto one of two positioning winches on the dredge when he became entangled in it. 

• Conduct a complete pre-operational inspection of equipment that includes checking winches and cables.
• Install new winch cables to reel in the same direction as the old cable.
• Inspect winches to confirm proper reeling of the cable.
• Assign two persons to perform maintenance tasks on dredges.
• Block equipment against hazardous motion before performing maintenance tasks.
• Label valve bank levers to indicate direction of movement.
• Do not wear loose clothing when working near moving machine parts.

  Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf)

On April 21, 2009, a 51-year old contract laborer with 3 years of experience was fatally injured at a sand and gravel dredging operation. The victim was inside an excavation ditch while an excavator was maneuvering a concrete box into place. The chain used to attach the four leg sling from the box to the excavator broke. The box fell into the hole and struck the victim crushing him. 

• Identify hazards associated with the task to be performed, review those hazards with all personnel involved, and implement measures to ensure persons are properly protected.
• Communicate lift plans to all persons working in the lift zone to ensure that no one is under a suspended load.
• Stay clear of a suspended load.
• Attach taglines to loads that may require steadying or guidance while suspended.
• Use sling or chain assemblies (rigging) specifically intended for lifting and adequately rated for the loads being lifted.
• Carefully inspect all rigging prior to each use.

  Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf)

On April 14, 2009, a 38 - year old contractor carpenter with 8 years of experience was fatally injured at a cement plant under construction. While dismantling a section of scaffolding, the victim lost his balance and fell when one end of the metal pan on which he was standing shifted unexpectedly. As he fell backward, the victim's safety lanyard slipped off the end of the horizontal scaffold to which he was tied. 

• Train persons to recognize the hazards associated with the type of scaffold being used and how to control or minimize those hazards.
• Wear fall protection where there is a danger of falling.
• Where possible anchor fall protection to permanent support structure.
• Follow the manufacturer's procedures for assembly and disassembly of scaffold systems.
• Ensure that scaffolding is properly connected and braced to prevent side sway.
• Prior to using scaffolding, inspect the structure to ensure that it has not been altered.

  Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf)

On April 7, 2009, a 36 - year old supervisor with 15 years of experience was fatally injured at a sand and gravel dredging operation. The victim was attempting to connect the 4160 volt cable for the dredge to load side terminals in the electrical panel when he came into contact with energized 4160 volt line side terminals. 

• Be trained and knowledgeable in the task.
• Be trained on all the electrical test and safety equipment necessary to safely test and ground the circuit being worked on.
• Use properly rated Personal Protective Equipment including Arc Flash Protection such as a hood, gloves, shirt, and pants.
• Positively identify the circuit on which work is to be conducted.
• De-energize power and ensure that the circuit is visibly open.
• Place YOUR lock and tag on the disconnecting device.
• Verify the circuit is de-energized by testing for voltage using properly rated test equipment.
• Ensure all electrical components in the cabinet are de-energized.
• Ground ALL phase conductors to the equipment grounding medium with grounding equipment that is properly rated.

  Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf)

On February 19, 2009, a 61 year-old laborer with 12 years of experience was injured at a sand and gravel operation when he was struck by a crane's falling boom. The crane was lifting a crusher and the victim was acting as a signalman when the accident occurred. He was hospitalized and died on April 12, 2009, as a result of his injuries. 

• Prior to attempting a lift, know the weight of the load (including the load block and rigging) and make sure it is less than the crane's lifting capacity for the required reach. Refer to applicable load charts.
• Perform a thorough pre-operational inspection of the crane and rigging components.
• Stay clear of a crane's overhead boom and do not work beneath a suspended load.
• Always be certain that the object being lifted is completely detached from its supporting structure prior to attempting a lift.
• Insure that the crane turntable is level prior to lifting.
• Make sure the load is aligned directly beneath the centerline of the boom to prevent side loading.
• Confirm that the load will not exceed the allowable capacity of the rigging.
• Follow the crane manufacturer's recommendations when making structural repairs and use certified welders.

  Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf)

METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY - On January 31, 2009, a 40 year-old contractor technician with 36 weeks of experience was fatally injured at an alumina milling operation. He was cleaning hydrate that had built up inside a 30-inch pipe in the plant. The victim was using a high pressure water hose when the unrestrained hose end and attachment blew out of the pipe. He was struck by the water. 

• Establish, review, and follow procedures to ensure all hazards are identified and controls are used to protect persons before beginning work.
• Train persons on hazards and safe work procedures for high pressure water cleaning.
• Ensure that operators are in a safe position and have control of their equipment at all times.
• Install barricades or warning signs to prohibit access.
• Follow equipment manufacturers' operating instructions.
• Provide emergency stop/depressurization control.
• Maintain sight or voice communications between person operating the high pressure nozzle and person operating the controls.
• Use special protective equipment and clothing.
• Contractor and mine management should routinely monitor work activities to ensure safe operating procedures are followed and persons are protected from hazards.

 Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf)

On January 17, 2009, a 48 year-old mill operator with 22 weeks of experience was fatally injured at a crushed stone milling operation. The victim was loading material into a hopper with a front-end loader. He entered the hopper to dislodge frozen bridged material that would not feed onto the belt conveyor below. Coworkers found the victim engulfed in the hopper. 

• Establish and review procedures to ensure all possible hazards have been identified and appropriate controls are in place to protect persons before beginning work.
• Train miners in safe work procedures and hazard recognition, specifically when clearing blocked hoppers.
• Lock out discharge operating controls.
• Ensure a safety harness properly secured to a lanyard is worn and a second person is positioned outside to adjust the lanyard.
• Management should routinely monitor these activities to ensure miners are protected from possible hazards.
• Provide vibrating shakers to maintain material flow or mechanical means of safely removing material if hoppers experience recurring flow problems.

 Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf)

On January 6, 2009, a 41 year-old laborer with 3 years of experience was injured at a sand and gravel operation. The victim was operating a skid steer loader underneath a belt conveyor that was being dismantled. Two coworkers were in an elevated manlift removing a 12-foot piece of 4-inch metal tubing from the leg supports of the belt conveyor frame. The tubing fell into the front of the skid steer loader as it approached the work area, striking the victim. He was hospitalized and died on January 9, 2009. The red line shows the original location of the tubing.

• Establish and review procedures to ensure all possible hazards have been identified and appropriate controls are in place to protect persons before beginning work. Discuss procedures with all persons present in the work area.
• Establish policies to ensure that barricades or warning signs are installed to prohibit access and protect persons from falling object hazards.
• Remove all persons from beneath the area where overhead work is being performed.

Click here for: MSHA Investigation Report(pdf), Overview(powerpoint), Overview(pdf)