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Non-chargeable Mining Deaths


MSHA has several responsibilities under the federal Mine Safety and Health and Act of 1977 (Mine Act), as amended by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 (MINER Act). These responsibilities include developing and promulgating mandatory safety and health standards, inspecting mines to determine whether there is compliance with those standards, and investigating accidents to determine their causes.

MSHA investigates all deaths on mine property; however, some deaths are unrelated to mining activity and are not counted in the statistics MSHA uses to assess the safety performance of the mining industry. These deaths are termed "non-chargeable" and include homicides, suicides, deaths due to natural causes, and deaths involving trespassers.

MSHA uses a formal Fatality Review Committee to determine whether a questionable death is chargeable. The committee is comprised of a medical doctor from the Department of Labor’s Office of Workers Compensation Programs and senior MSHA managers who do not have responsibility for MSHA's enforcement programs. Non-Chargeable Mining Death Reports

We are commencing our posting of non-chargeable mining death reports with those which were determined in the calendar year of 2007. As some of the incidents (fatalites) occured in the preceding year, but not determined until the next year, we have devided the menu for 2007 (and subsequent years as needed) into two parts. One part is for accidents occuring in the previous year but not determined until the "current" year, and all the rest. For example, there was an incident that occured on December 20, 2006 but was not determined until May of 2007. This would be in at the top of the page.

Please Note: The names of the decedents have been removed from these reports.

Coal Mine Safety and Health
  • 2008 (Determinations made in 2008)
  • 2007 (Determinations made in 2007)
Metal/Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health
  • 2008 (Determinations made in 2008)
  • 2007 (Determinations made in 2007)



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