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MSHA News Release: [02/17/2005]
Contact Name: Eryn Witcher or Dirk Fillpot
Phone Number: (202) 693- 5061 or x4662
Release Number: 05-0280-NAT

MSHA Announces Sentinels of Safety Rule Changes

More Mine Categories Added, Eligibility Expanded to Smaller Operations

ARLINGTON, Va.—The U.S. Department of Labor's Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA), in cooperation with the National Mining Association, announced today that it is revising the rules and procedures governing the Sentinels of Safety program, an award that recognizes outstanding safety records of mining operations throughout the nation. The rule changes will apply to the next set of awards to be presented in fall 2005 for safety achievements in 2004.

“Recognizing and encouraging outstanding safety practices with awards such as the Sentinels is key to encouraging operations to develop more effective accident prevention programs,” said David G. Dye, Acting Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health. “Based on 2003 injury data, 50 percent of mines, mills and preparation plants in the United States would have qualified for the Sentinels awards presented last year. That is an outstanding achievement in and of itself.”

The changes to the rules include expanding the categories in which mining operations compete from eight to ten: underground coal mines; surface coal mines; underground metal mines; underground nonmetal mines; open pit mines (metal and nonmetal, except stone); open pit stone quarries; sand and gravel bank or pit operations; sand and gravel dredge operations; and two added categories of coal processing facilities and metal and nonmetal mills. Each of these categories has been divided into small and large mine divisions, for a total of 20 categories of awards.

To be in the running for a Sentinels of Safety award, an eligible mining operation must:

• have reported employment data to MSHA for each calendar quarter in which it was active during the calendar year;
• have not experienced a work injury that resulted in a fatality, permanent disability, days away from work, or days of restricted work activity;
• have a No Days Lost injury incident rate no greater than the national average; and
• have accumulated at least 4,000 injury-free employee-hours during the calendar year.

The Sentinels of Safety awards, the oldest established awards for occupational safety, were first announced 80 years ago by President Herbert Hoover while he was Secretary of Commerce. Since 1925, the program has promoted an increased commitment to mine safety and to the continuing development of effective accident prevention programs. For more information about the program, visit www.msha.gov.

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