Mine Safety and Health Administration officials say they’ve been having more conversations with operators after a spike in mine fatalities last year.
The MSHA reported 40 deaths chargeable to the mining industry last year, including three deaths in Kentucky mines.
So far in 2024, 15 fatal accidents have been reported, with zero in Kentucky.
Christopher Williamson is the Assistant Secretary for the Mine Safety and Health Administration. He says they’ve been hosting safety days at mines to continue to bring that number down.
“We’ve been very active with safety and health alerts and using our enforcement tools, and our outreach tools and our education tools, and I’ve been talking about this issue every time I give a speech or every time that I’m addressing a group,” Williamson said.
The agency is also set to start enforcing a new federal rule limiting the amount of silica dust miners can take in per shift, from 100 micrograms per cubic meter of air to 50. Silica is linked to respiratory diseases like black lung and lung cancer.