MSHA reports record drop in mine deaths

On Oct.15, 2012, Joseph A. Main, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health announced that "recently finalized data shows that in 2011, fatality and injury rates were the lowest in history."

Main went on to say that "in the Metal/Nonmetal mining sector, the fatal injury rate was .0084 per 200,000 hours worked and the all-injury rate was 2.28 per 200,000 hours worked."

He said, "No miner should have to die on the job just to earn a paycheck," and we all agree. Notably, in the period covered, none of the fatalities occurred in Alaska.

Alaska is a major mining state with gold production the second highest in nation as well as significant copper, lead and zinc production. The absence of mine fatalities and the concomitant reduction of mining-related injuries say a great deal about the quality of the working environment at mines in Alaska.

According to MSHA statistics, mine fatalities have been down-trending fairly consistently since 1999. In that year, MSHA had 319 inspectors on the job and there were 55 fatalities in 11,409 metal-nonmetal mines. The number of inspectors increased and the number of fatalities decreased almost annually until about 2009 when for 12,555 mines there were 389 inspectors and 16 deaths. Since then, the number of mines has fallen off as well as the number of inspectors, while fatalities bounced to 23 in 2010 then fell again to 16 in 2011.

The number of injuries has likewise decreased dramatically since 1999. In that year, 4.44 injuries per 200,000 employee hours were reported; last year the comparable rate of injuries was 2.28 per 200,000 employee hours.

It is interesting to compare non-fatal occupational injuries in the mining industry with other industrial categories. In 2010, agriculture, forestry and fishing as well as education and health services report an incident rate of 4.5 per 100 full-time workers, the manufacturing, construction, retail, trade, transportation and public utilities industries reported rates of 3.9 to 4.0 per 100 full-time workers. The mining industry, on the other hand reported an incident rate of 3.0 incidents per 100 full-time workers for the same period. In brief, according to Bureau of Labor statistics, the mining industry is far safer than many other common occupations.

When traveling to a mine, it is customary to be provided with safety equipment and to be given a safety briefing. The industry has a very high level of consciousness about safety issues and justifiably tends to be proud of its record; however, whether the favorable statistical trends in America's mines is a function of the pressure created by MSHA, is perhaps a different question.

Almost everyone who is confronted with an MSHA inspection concurs on at least one point. The requirements imposed by inspectors sometimes are exceedingly subjective and trivial and frequently inconsistent from one inspector to the next.

To Assistant Secretary Main, it is appropriate to say, I think, that we, as an industry, are pleased with the numbers that you are reporting, we acknowledge that the numbers, theoretically at least, could be improved; however, mine operators are not the enemy. There is a public relations aspect of mine inspection that still appears to be wanting. Perhaps it is time to find a way to revisit the practices and procedures of the inspection arm so that inspectors are welcomed at America's mines as helpmates, sharing with the mine managers in a common goal of a safe and productive industry.

There is still a small gap to close. No one denies that, but now might be a fine time to re-evaluate the tactics used by the agency. It is said that if your only tool is a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Let's consider providing MSHA with some better tools.