COAL MINE FATALITY - On Thursday, April 20, 2006, a 28-year old shuttle car operator with 2 years mining experience was fatally injured in a roof fall. The victim had moved the trailing cable anchor and was examining his route of travel to the continuous mining machine. As he was walking toward the operator's compartment of the shuttle car, he was struck by roof rock that fell between the roof bolts and rib. The roof rock measured approximately 20 feet in length, 7 feet 4 inches in width, and 6.5 inches thick. The mining height at the location of the accident was 8 feet 7 inches.
Remain alert for changing roof conditions. Add additional support where entry width and roof bolt spacing exceed roof control plan specifications. Conduct thorough examinations in areas where miners will work or travel. "Danger-Off" areas where hazards exist until appropriate corrective actions can be taken. Take down any loose roof or ribs and report any unsafe roof or rib conditions immediately to the section foreman. Do not store items such as water jugs on rib ledges. Develop processes, involving all miners, designed to proactively identify and eliminate hazards and unacceptable risks.
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Submit your own suggestion for a remedy to prevent this type of accident in the future. Please specify if you wish your submission to be anonymous or whether your name may be used. Please include the year of the fatality and the fatality number. |
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This is the 25th fatality reported during calendar year 2006 in the coal mining industry. As of this date in 2005, there were three fatalities reported in coal mining. This is the fourth fatality classified as Fall of Roof or Back in 2006.
The information provided in this notice is based on preliminary data ONLY and does not represent final determinations regarding the nature of the incident or conclusions regarding the cause of the fatality.
For more information:
MSHA's Fatal Accident
Investigation Report