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MSHA News Release: [09/28/2004]
Contact Name: Suzy Bohnert
Phone Number: (202) 693-9420

U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration Recognizes Mining Operations for Safety Achievements

2003 Sentinels of Safety Awards Announced by Department of Labor
and National Mining Association

LAS VEGAS—The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) and the National Mining Association (NMA) today recognized eight U.S. mining operations for their outstanding safety record during 2003 at the annual Sentinels of Safety awards program sponsored by MSHA and the NMA. The winners were announced at an awards ceremony at the Las Vegas Convention Center in conjunction with MINExpo, the world's largest and most comprehensive exposition for the mining industry.

“Today, there are fewer incidents of injuries and fewer fatalities in mining than ever before. It is operations like the ones we honored today that have helped the mining industry mark such an exceptional achievement,” said Dave D. Lauriski, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health.

Since 1925, mining operations in various operational categories have been recognized for achieving the highest number of employee work-hours without an injury that resulted in lost time from work. To qualify for a Sentinels of Safety award, a company must compile at least 30,000 employee work-hours during the year without a lost-time injury or fatality.

The eight winners and their categories include the following:

• Beaver Gap E-3, Consol Energy Inc., Deane, Ky. (underground coal)
• North Antelope Rochelle Mine, Powder River Coal Co., Gillette, Wyo. (surface coal)
• Greens Creek Mine, Kennecott Greens Creek Mining Co., Juneau, Alaska (underground metal)
• Morton Salt Fairport Mine, Morton Salt, Rohm and Haas Co., Fairport, Ohio (underground nonmetal)
• Swift Creek Mine, PCS Phosphate, White Springs, Fla. (open pit)
• 5 R Constructors, 5 R Constructors, LLC, College Park, Ga. (quarry)
• Schoolhouse Mine Operation, Unimin Corp., Spruce Pine, N.C. (bank or pit)
• Davenport Sand Mine, Rinker Materials Corp., Davenport, Fla. (dredge)

The entire list of winners and runners-up appear on MSHA's Web site at www.msha.gov.

Beginning with next year's awards for 2004's safety performance, the Sentinels of Safety program will undergo several changes. The 30,000-hour minimum work requirement will be reduced to 2,000 hours. In addition, two new categories will make metal and nonmetal mills and coal-processing facilities eligible to receive a Sentinels award. Each group will be divided into large and small categories, based on the average number of hours worked in each group. These changes will double the number of award recipients, bringing the number to 20.

The changes in the award criteria are significant for the mining industry's health and safety achievements. Based on 2003 injury data, and using the new award criteria, 60 percent of mines, mills and preparation plants, or 9,000 mining operations in the United States, would have qualified for the Sentinels award given for 2003's safety performance because they worked the entire year without a single lost-time injury—many of them without even a single reportable injury.

“These new criteria, which NMA and MSHA collaborated on, will enable even more mining operations to qualify for the most prestigious award in the mining industry, as well as the oldest established award for occupational safety,” said Lauriski.

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