Mining/Oil/Gas

Houston – Industry and regulators now have a better picture of how an offshore blowout preventer likely would operate during a blowout, thanks to a recent Southwest Research Institute study funded by the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement.

Houston – A risk model recently presented at the Ocean Energy Safety Institute’s Public Technology Assessment Program Forum indicates that earlier kick detection during offshore oil and gas operations could be vital to preventing incidents involving loss of well control.

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

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has extended the comment period for a proposed rule that would require underground coal mine operators to equip coal-hauling machines and scoops with proximity detection systems.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a final rule intended to improve pre-shift examinations of metal and non-metal mines.

Hopkinton, MA – “Overexertion involving outside sources” was the leading cause of disabling injuries in the United States in 2014 for the third consecutive year, according to the Liberty Mutual Workplace Safety Index, an annual ranking of serious, nonfatal workplace injuries based on direct workers’ compensation costs.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration on Jan. 9 announced it is reopening two comment periods: one regarding a Request for Information on underground miner exposure to diesel exhaust, and the other on a proposed rule that would require underground coal mine operators to equip coal-hauling machines and scoops with proximity detection systems.

Atlanta – A radiology practice in eastern Kentucky diagnosed 60 current or former coal miners with progressive massive fibrosis – the most severe case of black lung disease – between January 2015 and August 2016, according to a report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Washington – A total of 4,836 deaths due to workplace injuries occurred in 2015 – a 0.3 percent increase over 2014 and the most since 5,214 workers died in 2008, according to data released Dec. 16 by the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Arlington, VA – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has released its annual safety alert to call attention to the unique hazards the mining industry faces during the winter months.