Mining/Oil/Gas

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration is seeking input on technologies that may help reduce incidents involving mobile equipment at surface mines, as well as belt conveyors at surface and underground mines, according to a Request for Information published in the June 26 Federal Register.

Washington – OSHA and the Mine Safety and Health Administration would receive modest budget cuts in fiscal year 2019 as part of a draft funding bill proposed June 14 by the House Appropriations Committee’s Labor, Health and Human Services, Education, and Related Agencies Subcommittee.

San Diego — More than 4,600 coal miners have developed the most severe form of black lung disease since 1970, with nearly half of the cases emerging after 2000, according to a recent study from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Washington — The state of workplace safety and health protections in the United States is a “national crisis,” according to Richard Trumka, president of the AFL-CIO, which has released its annual report detailing the hazards that workers face every day on the job.

Arlington, VA — The Mine Safety and Health Administration has published a final rule on pre-shift examinations of metal and non-metal mines.

Washington — Chemical facility owners and operators should assess their preventive maintenance programs routinely and seek out assistance from industry groups, the Chemical Safety Board and the Chlorine Institute advise in a joint statement released Feb. 20.

Cincinnati — Workers exposed to loud noise on the job are at increased risk for hypertension and high cholesterol – key risk factors for heart disease – according to a recent study from NIOSH.

Washington — While President Donald Trump seeks another sizable cut to the Department of Labor’s budget, Secretary of Labor R. Alexander Acosta is attempting to boost enforcement funding in certain agencies, including OSHA.

Washington — For oil and gas workers, fatigue caused by a combination of long work hours and lengthy commutes can contribute to motor vehicle crashes – the leading cause of death in the industry, a new fact sheet from NIOSH states.

Chicago — Nearly two-thirds of the injuries and illnesses that occurred among Illinois miners from 2001 to 2013 were not reported to the Mine Safety and Health Administration, a recent study shows.