ARLINGTON, Va. The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the release of two new program information bulletins pertaining to the rights of miners who make hazardous condition complaints and request inspections, as well as miners' protections against discrimination.

Southwestern Virginia coal mine fined in 2009 mining fatality

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced $542,400 in proposed penalties against Big Laurel Mining Corp. The mining operation, located in Wise County, Va., was cited for five contributory violations in the August 2009 death of an electrician/repairman who was fatally injured when a portion of mine rib collapsed upon him. Two of the violations have been assessed as flagrant.

ARLINGTON, Va. – As a result of troubling testimony heard in a recent field hearing regarding the explosion of Massey Energy's Upper Big Branch mine, the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the release of four new program information bulletins pertaining to ventilation issues in underground coal mines.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today filed a complaint with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission alleging that a miner was discharged from his job in retaliation for engaging in protected safety activities. Ricky Lee Campbell, who worked as a shuttle car operator and bolter for several mines operated by Massey Energy Co., was fired April 23, 2010, after working fewer than three weeks at Marfork Coal Co. Inc.'s Slip Ridge Cedar Grove Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that Kansas City Chiefs' running back Thomas Jones has become a spokesman for the agency's annual "Stay Out-Stay Alive" public safety campaign, launched in 1999 to warn outdoor enthusiasts, especially children, about the dangers of playing on mine property. Each year, dozens of people are injured or killed in recreational accidents at active and abandoned mine sites.

RENO, Nev. – In the event of a mine fire, roof collapse or explosion, mine rescue teams may be tapped to search for colleagues disoriented by toxic gas, trapped beneath layers of rock or severely injured. The teams undergo rigorous training to develop skills that often save lives. Those skills will be put to the test July 27 through 29 at the 2010 Metal/Nonmetal National Mine Rescue Contest, held at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada. The contest is sponsored by the U.S.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced a competition for $500,000 in safety and health training grants to help identify, avoid and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around mines. This grant opportunity covers all underground mines, including both metal/nonmetal and coal mines.

WASHINGTON – Secretary Solis today issued the following statement on the introduction of the Miner Safety and Health Act of 2010 (H.R. 5663) in the U.S. House of Representatives:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today responded to last week's alert memorandum issued by the department's Office of Inspector General, which highlights flaws in MSHA's past implementation of its Pattern of Violations authority, including setting limits on the number of mines the agency targeted for potential POV because of resource limitations. The Pattern of Violations process looks at mines with an inspection history of recurrent significant and substantial violations of mandatory safety or health standards.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration spokesperson Amy Louviere today made the following statement:

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that the federal team investigating the April 5 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine will begin its underground examination early next week, following a walk-through today and June 28. Investigators previously had been prevented from beginning their physical probe underground due to conditions resulting from the explosion.

WASHINGTON – On April 13, 2010, following the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine that killed 29 men on April 5, U.S. Rep. George Miller, chairman of the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Education and Labor, asked the U.S. Department of Labor's Office of Inspector General to review the Mine Safety and Health Administration's Pattern of Violation Program. Later that month, the inspector general began its review, with the full support and cooperation of MSHA leadership and staff. An interim report was released today.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that an administrative law judge with the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission ordered the temporary reinstatement of a miner who was discharged from his job within three weeks of complaining about hazardous workplace conditions. Ricky Lee Campbell, who worked as a shuttle car operator and bolter for several mines operated by Massey Energy Co., was fired April 23, 2010, after working less than three weeks at Marfork Coal Co.

ARLINGTON, Va. – Joseph A. Main, assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration, today issued the following statement on a ruling in the Tiller No. 1 Mine pattern of violations case:

"As a result of today's oral decision* by Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission Judge David Barbour, Massey Energy's Tiller No. 1 Mine in southwestern Virginia cannot be placed on a pattern of violations by MSHA. The result makes clear the need to reform the broken pattern of violations system.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labors Mine Safety and Health Administration this week launched its annual roof fall prevention awareness program aimed at reducing the high number of roof falls that occur in the nations underground coal mines. Statistics show that more accidents and injuries from roof falls occur during the summer months than at any other time of year. As temperatures rise, humidity and moisture increase underground, making it easier for a mine roof or rib to fall.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia has ruled in MSHA's favor in a recent challenge to the agency's decision to conduct private interviews as part of its investigation of the Upper Big Branch Mine explosion.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today further defined its plans for a series of public hearings in the investigation of the April 5 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va. The public hearings will commence after the initial witness interviews are completed.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced that six underground coal mines in Kentucky received numerous citations and closure orders by federal inspectors as a result of the nationwide impact inspections that took place last month. Each of these operations was forced to suspend production until the violations were corrected.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced it plans to hold two public hearings, two public forums and a public comment period as part of its overall federal investigation into the April 5 explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va.

ARLINGTON, Va. – The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration today announced the formation of a supplemental investigation group to augment the efforts of the agency's accident investigation team to determine the cause of the explosion that occurred April 5 at the Upper Big Branch Mine in Raleigh County, W.Va.