MSHA awards $1M in mine safety training grants
Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration has awarded nine organizations a total of $1 million through the agency’s Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants Program.
The grants will assist in the establishment and initiation of education and training programs intended to recognize and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around the nation’s mines, MSHA says. They’re named after fatal mine disasters in Brookwood, AL, and Sago, WV.
As of Sept. 29, MSHA had recorded 34 industry fatalities this year, eclipsing the 30 the agency observed in 2022. MSHA reported 38 miner fatalities in 2021, ending a run of six straight years in which fewer than 30 miners died on the job.
“In examining the mining industry’s troubling trend of fatalities this year, MSHA has found that training deficiencies continue to be a root cause of fatal accidents,” MSHA administrator Chris Williamson said in a press release. “The grants … further key priorities of the agency and the Biden-Harris administration, including preventing fatalities and serious accidents from safety issues, while also addressing miner health, such as preventing exposure to toxic materials like silica dust.”
Individual grants range from $50,000 to $169,790.
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