SYSTEM NAME:
Mine Safety and Health Administration Standardized Information System (MSIS).
SECURITY CLASSIFICATION:
None.
SYSTEM LOCATION:
Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA)-Program Evaluation and Information Resources (PEIR), U.S. Department of Labor, Denver, Colorado. Some records in paper form are located at:
MSHA - Educational Development and Policy (EPD), U.S. Department of Labor, Denver, Colorado (Health safety training and examination, qualification and certification records);
MSHA - Coal Mine Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, Arlington, Virginia and district and field offices (Coal respirable dust and other enforcement records);
MSHA - Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health, U.S. Department of Labor, Arlington, Virginia and district and field offices (Exposure and other enforcement records; Radon daughter exposure records);
MSHA - Office of Assessments, Accountability, Special Enforcement and Investigations, U.S. Department of Labor, Arlington, Virginia (Discrimination investigations and civil/criminal investigations) and Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania (Penalty assessments).
CATEGORIES OF INDIVIDUALS COVERED BY THE SYSTEM:
MSHA enforcement personnel who conduct inspection or investigation activities at mines; individuals for whom personal dust samples have been submitted for analysis; individuals with evidence of the development of coal workers' pneumoconiosis (black lung disease) as defined under 30 CFR Part 90; individuals who MSHA has certified or qualified to complete certain mining tasks or has approved to provide training; individuals who are indebted to the United States in the form of a civil penalty; individuals with ownership interests in mines and individuals listed as responsible for health and safety at mines; individuals involved in accidents, occupational injuries, or occupational illnesses; individuals for whom mine operators are required to calculate and record radon daughter exposure in each calendar year; individuals who have been allegedly discriminated against in violation of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, as amended (Mine Act); individuals who are alleged to have knowingly or willfully committed violations of the Mine Act; and individuals who are criminally prosecuted or who are assessed a monetary civil penalty for violations of the Mine Act.
CATEGORIES OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
Records for the mine identification number and legal identity report contain information which includes: mine (including mill) name, company name, ownership information, Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN), mine location, operating status, and individuals listed as responsible for health and safety at mines. Records for mine inspection personnel time and activity, inspections, citations and orders issued to operators; sampling data on personal exposure of non-identified miners and MSHA personnel to radiation, dust, noise, and other contaminants; and comprehensive health surveys at mines.
Since 2008, MSHA requires certain individuals to submit their Taxpayer Identification Numbers (which includes Social Security Numbers), to receive their unique MSHA Individual Identification Numbers (MIIN). The MIIN is substituted for the Social Security Number (SSN), eliminating the need for miners and other individuals to provide their SSNs on certain documents submitted to MSHA.
Coal Respirable Dust records contain information such as the mine and company name, mine identification number, designated areas in the mine and designated occupations where samples were taken, occupations and SSNs of individuals sampled (before 1981) and of 30 CFR Part 90 miners (after 1980), date sampled, concentration of respirable dust measured in the miners' work environment, tons of material produced during sampling shift, sampling time, and SSN of the certified person taking the sample. Since 2008, MIINs replaced SSNs for identifying Part 90 miners sampled and the certified person taking the samples. Consequently, SSNs are no longer collected on sample records.
Qualification and Certification records contain mine identification number, MSHA identification number, training course codes, instructor's name and SSN, date of training, name and SSN of persons who have taken training and examinations to become qualified or certified for certain mine tasks or approved instructors, and the results of any monitoring of an instructor. Since 2008, MIINs replaced SSNs for persons trained and for the instructors of the courses. Consequently, SSNs are no longer collected in Qualification and Certification records.
Penalty Assessment records contain proposed civil penalty assessments, civil penalty payment information, bankruptcy information, delinquent debt referrals to Treasury for collection, and civil penalty final orders of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission on individuals.
Accident, injury, and occupational illness records include the mine name and identification number; date, time, and place of occurrence; type and description of accident; and name and partial SSN for the individual injured or reporting an occupational illness. For 1978 and subsequent years, only the last four digits of the SSN are collected.
Radon Daughter Exposure records contain the mine identification number, mine name, section, township, range, county, and state of mine location, operator, time period, miner's name, current year's radon daughter exposure, and cumulative radon daughter exposure in working level months (WLM). Prior to 2008, SSNs were collected for miners exposed to radon daughters; MSHA no longer collects SSNs. A "Miner's Identification Number" is now used for these records.
Discrimination investigation records include the name, address, telephone number, social security number, occupation, place of employment, other identifying data, and allegation information from complainants, mine operators, miners, and other individuals. This material includes interview statements and other data gathered by the investigator.
Civil and criminal investigation records include the name, address, telephone number, social security number, occupation, place of employment, and other identifying data concerning individuals who are the focus of civil or criminal investigations along with allegation information from miners, mine operators, and other individuals. This material includes interview statements and other information gathered by the investigator.
AUTHORITY FOR MAINTENANCE OF THE SYSTEM:
29 U.S.C. 557a, 668; 30 U.S.C. 811, 813, 814 (Coal and Metal and Nonmetal Enforcement records including health records); 30 U.S.C. 813(a), 842 (Coal Respirable Dust records); 30 U.S.C. 825, 877(i), 952 (Qualification and Certification records); 31 U.S.C. 3701, 3711-12, 3716-19, 3720A-E, 7701 (MIIN and Legal identity records); 30 U.S.C. 815 and 820 (Penalty Assessments records); 30 U.S.C. 811 (Radon Daughter Exposure); 30 U.S.C. 815(c) (Discrimination investigation records); 30 U.S.C. 820 (Civil and criminal investigation records).
PURPOSE(S):
Records in MSIS are used by authorized personnel to:
a. maintain information on individuals with ownership interests in mines and individuals listed as responsible for health and safety at mines;
b. maintain information on mine inspection personnel time and activity, inspections, citations and orders (to include terminating conditions or practices) issued to operators to determine workload, work scheduling, and performance;
c. maintain sampling data on exposure levels of individuals and MSHA personnel to radiation, dust, noise and other contaminants, and comprehensive health surveys at mines to determine compliance with standards;
d. maintain records of training and examination of individuals, who have taken MSHA-approved training courses to attain certain skills;
e. issue qualification or certification cards to individuals who MSHA has certified or qualified to complete certain mining tasks or has approved to provide training;
f. monitor approved instructors;
g. provide information on individuals who are indebted to MSHA for the purpose of assessing penalties and take appropriate actions to collect or otherwise resolve the debts;
h. provide MSHA with timely statistical information for making decisions on improving safety and health programs, improving education and training efforts, and establishing priorities in technical assistance activities in the mining industry in order to reduce accidents and occupational injuries and illnesses;
i. determine probable cause of accidents, injuries, and illnesses;
j. determine validity and gravity of discrimination allegations, the amount of any civil penalty assessment, and the nature of other appropriate remedies; and
k. determine validity and gravity of allegations under Mine Act §§ 110(c)-(h), the amount of any civil penalty assessment, and the propriety of referrals for possible criminal prosecution.
ROUTINE USES OF RECORDS MAINTAINED IN THE SYSTEM, INCLUDING CATEGORIES OF USERS AND THE PURPOSES OF SUCH USES:
In addition to those routine universal uses listed in the General Prefatory Statement to this document, disclosure of information from this system of records may be made to the following individuals and entities for the purposes noted when the purpose of the disclosure is compatible with the purpose for which the information was collected:
a. Disclosures of inspection and investigation and accident, injury, and occupational illness information may be made: 1.) to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Service, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and the Environmental Protection Agency to determine radiation, dust, noise and other contaminant exposure levels; 2.) to NIOSH for research on mine safety and health; 3.) to appropriate Federal, State, local or foreign agencies for research purposes, for enforcing or implementing a statute, rule, regulation, order or license and to determine contaminant exposure levels; 4.) to mine operators to determine contaminant exposure levels and to furnish accident, injury, and occupational illness as the information relates to their mines; 5.) to labor, industry, and academic organizations to monitor dust concentration and compliance trends; and 6.) to individuals requesting information on sampling data for contaminant exposure levels and comprehensive health surveys at mines.
b. Disclosures of Qualification and Certification records may be made: 1.) to mine operators and labor organizations requesting information to verify that MSHA has certified or qualified individuals to perform certain mining tasks or approved to provide training; 2.) to appropriate Federal, State, local or foreign agencies for enforcing or implementing a statute, rule, regulation, order or license; and 3.) to individuals requesting information on their certifications or qualifications to perform certain mining tasks or their approval to provide training.
DISCLOSURE TO CONSUMER REPORTING AGENCIES:
The Department of Treasury discloses delinquent debtor information that MSHA transmits to them to credit bureaus.
POLICIES AND PRACTICES FOR STORING, RETRIEVING, ACCESSING, RETAINING, AND DISPOSING OF RECORDS IN THE SYSTEM:
STORAGE:
Files are stored electronically, on paper, or both.
RETRIEVABILITY:
The Coal and Metal and Nonmetal records are indexed and retrieved by mine identification number for the operator and certain mine officials; and by authorized representative or right of entry number, the MSHA organization office code, inspection event number, and citation number for MSHA enforcement personnel.
The Coal Respirable Dust records are indexed and retrieved by mine identification number and MIIN for all 30 CFR part 90 miners. Historical records are indexed and retrieved by mine identification number and SSN.
The Qualification and Certification records are indexed and retrieved by name, MIIN, MSIS document number, mine identification number and MSHA identification number. Microfilm records are retrieved on basis of cycle number, mine identification number, date, and course examination.
For MIINs, MSHA indexes records by the name and taxpayer identification number (including SSN). These taxpayer identification numbers (includes SSNs) are not accessible to the public in a secure internal location that is not viewable by the public or the MSIS user community.
The Penalty Assessment records are indexed and retrieved by mine identification number, TIN (including SSN), name, or MSHA assessment case number.
Accident, injury, and occupational illness records are indexed and retrieved by mine identification number, MSHA identification number, date of accident, date of birth, last name and last four digits of SSN for the individual injured or reporting an occupational illness.
Radon Daughter Exposure records are indexed and retrieved by year and by mine name. For paper records, the records are indexed and retrieved by year, mine name, mine operator, and individual's name.
Discrimination investigation records are indexed and retrieved by case number, complainant's name, company name, mine name, or mine identification number.
Civil and criminal investigation records are indexed and retrieved by case number; individual's name; company name; mine name, or mine identification number.
SAFEGUARDS:
Access is by authorized personnel only. Computer security safeguards are used for electronically stored data and locked locations for paper files.
RETENTION AND DISPOSAL:
MSIS, which includes data repositories, are updated from source documents generally daily and weekly. The records associated with the decommissioned systems and computer systems reside in MSIS. Paper records generally are included, except for the radon daughter exposure records. Historical, migrated data is retained indefinitely on disk within MSIS and on magnetic tape.
Inspection reports and related documents included in the Coal and Metal and Nonmetal Enforcement records are permanent records and are retired to National Archives and Record Administration (NARA) in 10-year blocks; temporary reports are destroyed after 10 years. (NC1-433-81-1, Item 6). Legal identity reports are retained as long as the mine is in operation, once mine closes the reports are sent to NARA and destroyed when 10 years old. (NC1-433-81-1, Item 19). Activity reports for Coal enforcement personnel are transferred to NARA after three years and destroyed when 10 years old. (NC1-433-81-1, Item 23) Activity reports including health surveys at mines for Metal and Nonmetal enforcement personnel are permanent records which are retained for 24 months and then transferred to an historical database for transfer to NARA annually. (NC1-433-85-1, Item 10) Sampling data and results on personal exposure of non-identified miners and MSHA personnel to radiation, dust, noise, and other contaminants at mines are transferred to NARA after three years and destroyed when 10 years old. (NC1-433-81-1, Item 24) Summary monthly and annual mine inspection activity reports that breakdown inspections, violations, notices issued, and orders of withdrawal including results of dust and noise sampling are retained as necessary and then destroyed because they are copies of other source documents. (NC1-433-81-1, Item 29)
Dust data cards and results submitted by MSHA enforcement personnel are transferred to the NARA when three years old and destroyed when 10 years old. (NC1-433-81-1, Item 25) Dust data cards submitted by mine operators are retained for one year and transferred to NARA and destroyed when five years old. (NC1-433-85-1, Item 11)
Qualification and Certification (training) documents are destroyed when three years old and microfilm is destroyed when 50 years old. (NC1-433-81-1, Items 32 and 33) Penalty assessment source documents are retained until cases are closed, retired to NARA for 10 years, and then destroyed. (NC1-433-81-1, Item 12).
MSHA Form 7000-1, Mine Accident, Injury, and Illness Report on paper are source documents and are retained for six years after year of record and then destroyed. Electronic copies of these documents are retained by MSHA permanently. Records in electronic media are transferred to NARA as permanent records immediately after each annual close-out. (NC1-433-85-1, Item 9).
Radon Daughter Exposure records are permanent records and MSHA retains them until all individuals identified in the records become 75 years old or until 10 years after their known death. (30 CFR 57.5040, American National Standard Institute, ANSI N13.8-1073 Paragraph 9.7 and 9.8). Since the beginning of 2014, all paper forms are temporary forms and will be destroyed after converted to electronic format. (NC1-433-85-1, Item 10).
Discrimination investigation records are retained for one year after the case is closed, then are transferred to a Federal Records Center where they are retained until they are 15 years old; they are then destroyed. (N1-433-94-2, Item 1).
Civil and criminal investigation records are retained for one year after the case is closed, then are transferred to a Federal Records Center where they are retained until they are 15 years old; they are then destroyed. (N1-433-94-2, Item No. 1).
SYSTEM MANAGER(S) AND ADDRESS:
Director of Office of Standards, Regulations, and Variances, Arlington, VA.
NOTIFICATION PROCEDURE:
Inquiries should be mailed to the System Manager.
RECORD ACCESS PROCEDURES:
A request for access should be mailed to the System Manager.
CONTESTING RECORD PROCEDURES:
A petition for amendment should be mailed to the System Manager.
RECORD SOURCE CATEGORIES:
Information contained in this system is obtained from MSHA personnel who submit inspection time utilization, violation, sampling, and other enforcement information. In addition, information is received from mine operators including independent contractors concerning contaminant and radon sampling, legal identity, and mine accidents, injuries, and occupational illnesses at their mines. Training and other information for qualifications and certifications are received from individuals, instructors, States, mining industry, and MSHA personnel. Civil penalty and special enforcement information is obtained from MSHA personnel, miners, mine operators, civil penalty assessment and special investigation case files, payment installment plans, bankruptcy case files, Treasury cross-servicing (debt-collection) files, and Treasury offset files. Discrimination investigation information is obtained from individuals alleging discrimination, mine operators, witnesses, and third-party sources. Civil and criminal investigation information is obtained from miners, mine operators, MSHA investigators and personnel, and other individuals.
SYSTEMS EXEMPTED FROM CERTAIN PROVISIONS OF THE ACT:
In accordance with 5 U.S.C. 552a(k)(2), investigatory material in this system of records compiled for law enforcement purposes is exempt from subsections (c)(3); (d)(1), (d)(2), (d)(3), (d)(4); (e)(1); (e)(4)(G) and (I); and (f) of 5 U.S.C. 552a, provided however, that if any individual is denied any right, privilege, or benefit that he or she would otherwise be entitled to by Federal law, or for which he or she would otherwise be eligible, as a result of the maintenance of such material, such material shall be provided to the individual, except to the extent that the disclosure of such material would reveal the identity of a source who furnished information to the Government under an express promise that the identity of the source would be held in confidence.
The Department of Labor has claimed exemptions from several of its other systems of records under 5 U.S.C. 552a(j)(2) and (c)(3) and (c)(4); (d), (e)(1)-(3); (e)(4)(G), (H), and (I); (e)(5) and (8); (f) and (g). During the course of an investigation, exempt materials from those other systems may become part of the case record in this system. To the extent that copies of exempt records from those other systems are entered into these records, the Department has claimed the same exemptions for the records as they have in the original primary system of records of which they are a part.