|
 Printer-Friendly Version
OPA News Release: [03/26/2002]
Contact Name: Rodney
Brown
Kentucky Receives Grant For Mine Safety and Health Activities
ARLINGTON, Va. - - The U. S. Department of Labor’s Mine
Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) has awarded the Commonwealth of
Kentucky a grant totaling more than $600,000 for training, education and other
mine safety and health activities. Ky. has approximately 764 active mines and
nearly 20,900 miners.
The amount is part of an overall grant of nearly $7.8 million being made
this year to 44 states and the Navaho Nation for the same purposes.
“We are hopeful that the training provided by these funds will lead
to safer mining workplaces throughout the state,” “said Secretary of
Labor, Elaine L. Chao. “Effective training is essential to enhancing miner
safety and health.”
Mining operations in Kentucky interested in participating in training
sessions should contact: Phillip Johnson, Director of the Division of Miner
Training, Education and Certification in Frankfort at (502) 573-0140.
States are important partners in working to improve health and safety in
the U.S. mining industry,” said Dave D. Lauriski, assistant secretary of
labor for mine safety and health. “These funds provide a key resource for
effective health and safety training at the grass roots level of this
industry.”
States participating in the grant program provide a variety of
instruction - - from entry-level training for those who are starting in the
mining industry to annual refresher classes and instructor courses for those
who will be training other miners. Many of those courses meet the requirements
under Federal training standards. Other training covers responding to medical
emergencies at remote mining sites, noise abatement, mine rescue, water hazards
rescue and certifications for various jobs ranging from electricians to
hoisting engineers.
Lauriski reiterated two major goals during the next four years:
- reduce mining fatalities by at least 15 percent a year
- reduce the non-fatal days lost injury rate by 50 percent.
This is the 31st year that Congress has enabled MSHA to award
these grants to states.
# # #
_________________________________________________________________
| 
