Mining/Oil/Gas

Sacramento, CA – A new California law intended to improve the state’s access to petroleum companies’ safety records has drawn the ire of some free-speech activists, who claim employers can use the law to limit public access to certain documents.

Morgantown, WV – The prevalence of a severe form of black lung disease has increased recently to levels not seen in about 40 years, new NIOSH data shows.

New Orleans – The Chemical Safety Board has the authority to investigate the 2010 Deepwater Horizon explosion in the Gulf of Mexico, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit affirmed in a ruling issued Sept. 18.

Washington – President Barack Obama has designated Patrick Nakamura as acting chairman of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Review Commission.

Washington – The Mine Safety and Health Administration has published a pair of hazard alerts in response to an increase in fatalities at metal and non-metal mines.

Washington – Workers who gauge tanks during oil and gas extraction flowback procedures may be exposed to dangerous levels of benzene and other volatile chemicals, according to NIOSH.

Washington – A rule that aims to reduce miner exposure to harmful coal dust went into effect Aug. 1.

Washington – The Office of Surface Mining Reclamation and Enforcement is seeking public comment on a petition to ban visible nitrogen oxide clouds during blasting at surface coal mining operations.

Arlington, VA – Minimum penalties for some mining violations would increase under a proposed rule from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.

Arlington, VA – More mining deaths occurred during the first half of 2014 than during the same time period last year, according to a fatality update from the Mine Safety and Health Administration.