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METAL/NONMETAL MINE FATALITY - - On December 21, 1999, a 32-year-old Equipment Operator with 7 years of mining experience was fatally injured when he was struck by a piece of fly rock. The victim was sitting in a pick-up truck guarding a road leading to a blasting site. Soon after the shot was detonated, a baseball-sized piece of flyrock entered the cab through the windshield and struck the victim.

Fatal Alert Bulletin Photo

Best Practices

  • Blast patterns should be designed, drilled and loaded in a manner that minimizes flyrock

  • Blasts should not be initiated until the blast area has been safely determined and all persons have been evacuated from the designated area
  • This is the 53rd fatality reported in calendar year 1999 in the metal and nonmetal mining industries. As of this date in 1998, there were 50 fatalities reported in these industries. This is the first fatality classified as Explosives and Breaking Agents in 1999. There were no Explosives and Breaking Agents fatalities in the same period in 1998.

    For more information:
    Fatal Alert Bulletin Icon MSHA's Fatal Accident Investigation Report