COAL MINE FATALITY - On Thursday, June 4, 1998, a 25-year-old
general laborer was assisting in the installation of a belt drive unit.
Several permanent posts, set along the mainline conveyor belt
entry, needed to be removed in the area of the belt drive installation.
The general laborer was using a three-wheel buggy to remove the posts by
bumping into them. Two posts had been "bumped-out" and when a third timber
was "bumped", a large piece of roof rock (9' x 7' x 11") fell into the
three-wheel buggy's operator compartment, inflicting fatal injuries to the
laborer.
BEST PRACTICES
Through examinations must be conducted prior to the
removal of roof supports.
All work of removing roof supports must be conducted from a remote and
protected location.
This is the 11th fatality reported in calendar year 1998 in
the coal mining industry. As of this date in 1997, there were
13 fatalities. This is the fifth fatality classified as a ROOF FALL
in 1998.
For more information:
MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report [FTL98C11]