Mining/Oil/Gas

Arlington, VA — Seven of the 15 fatal on-the-job injuries among miners to date this year have involved workers with two years or less of experience, prompting the Mine Safety and Health Administration to remind employers of the importance of training.

Washington — As expected, the Department of Labor’s regulatory agenda for Spring 2021 – the first under the Biden administration – features some changes, most significantly a forthcoming proposed rule from OSHA that would restore two parts of the agency’s injury and illness recordkeeping regulations.

Washington — Health care workers will be the focus of OSHA’s emergency temporary standard on COVID-19, which will be issued June 10, Labor Secretary Marty Walsh told the House Education and Labor Committee during a June 9 hearing.

Washington — Approximately 18,000 miles of decommissioned oil and gas pipelines in the Gulf of Mexico pose safety and environmental risks, according to a new report from the Government Accountability Office.

Chicago — Physicians contracted by mine operators to review chest X-rays of coal miners who file “totally debilitating disease” workers’ compensation claims with the Department of Labor’s Federal Black Lung Program may have a bias strongly related to financial conflict of interest, researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago suggest.

Washington — NIOSH has updated its mobile app designed to help mine workers assess the ergonomics of common job tasks and identify potential worksite safety hazards.

Washington — The Mine Safety and Health Administration “did not properly manage the process it used to issue, terminate, modify and vacate violations,” concludes a Department of Labor Office of Inspector General audit released March 31.

Charleston, WV — The West Virginia House of Delegates on March 31 passed a bill that would establish a memorial to child workers.

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is accepting applications for its Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants Program.

Washington — In the more than 18 months since the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement unveiled its free BSEE!Safe text message alert system, the agency reports it has supplied links to BSEE safety alerts and bulletins covering offshore oil and gas work on the Outer Continental Shelf to over 7,000 subscribers.