Mine Safety and Health At a
Glance 03/27/2009
U.S.
Department of Labor
Mine Safety and Health Administration
Safety and health in America’s
mining industry made significant strides during the 20th century and over the
last 25 years in particular. In 1978,
the first year the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) operated under
the new Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977, 242 miners died in mining
accidents. Last year, in CY 2008, a
record low 52 fatalities were reported. MSHA’s
culture of prevention embeds safety and health as core values in all
initiatives and ongoing activities.
Inspectors are trained to direct their efforts to those areas or
activities that are most likely to place miners at risk. Strong enforcement is supplemented by helping
mine operators understand the law and how to comply with the law’s
requirements. MSHA’s technical support
program applies scientific and engineering solutions to mitigate hazards. Education and training for the mining
industry is crucial to the reduction of accidents and illnesses. MSHA ensures that its training specialists
and technical support personnel are readily accessible to the mining industry.
All Mine Safety and Health
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2002
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2003
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2007
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2008*
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Number of
mines
|
14,520
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14,391
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14,478
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14,666
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14,885
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14,871
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14,880
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Number of
miners
|
329,114
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320,149
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329,008
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344,837
|
363,497
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378,122
|
392,012
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Fatalities
|
70
|
56
|
55
|
58
|
73
|
67
|
52
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Fatal
injury rate1
|
.0240
|
.0197
|
.0184
|
.0183
|
.0220
|
.0199
|
.0153
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All Injury
rate1
|
4.60
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4.23
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4.05
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3.92
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3.64
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3.43
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3.24
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Total
mining area inspection hours/mine2
|
48
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50
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51
|
45
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43
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44
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56
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Citations
and orders issued3
|
105,589
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109,761
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120,844
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127,951
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140,264
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144,735
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174,522
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S&S
citations and orders (%)
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32%
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32%
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33%
|
32%
|
33%
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31%
|
30%
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Dollar
amount assessed (Millions)
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24.8
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19.9
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27.7
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24.9
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35.1
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74.5
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194.3
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*Preliminary
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Coal Mine Safety and Health
U.S.
coal mine production reached the highest levels in history in recent
years. In 2008 coal mining fatalities totaled
30. The MINE Improvement and New
Emergency Response (MINER) Act of 2006 has given MSHA more tools to improve
safety and health in American mines.
MSHA continues to work to implement the legislation.
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2002
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2003
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2007
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2008*
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Number of
coal mines
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2,065
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1,972
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2,011
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2,063
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2,113
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2,030
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2,122
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Number of
miners
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110,966
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104,824
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108,734
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116,436
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122,975
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122,936
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133,493
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Fatalities
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28
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30
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28
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23
|
47
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34
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30
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Fatal
injury rate1
|
.0279
|
.0312
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.0273
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.0205
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.0400
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.0293
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.0238
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All Injury
rate1
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6.03
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5.38
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5.00
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4.62
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4.46
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4.21
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3.88
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States
with coal mining
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26
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26
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26
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26
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26
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26
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26
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Coal
production (millions of tons)
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1,094
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1,071
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1,111
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1,133
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1,163
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1,147
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1,172
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Total
mining area inspection hours/mine2
|
173
|
170
|
174
|
162
|
161
|
169
|
227
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FY
Inspection completion rate (%)
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98.9
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98.8
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98.9
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98.1
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94.1
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83.8
|
100
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Citations
and orders issued3
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57,201
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56,786
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64,481
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69,075
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77,734
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84,544
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107,441
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S&S
citations and orders (%)
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38%
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39%
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41%
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39%
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40%
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37%
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35%
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Dollar
amount assessed (Millions)
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14.9
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11.7
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17.6
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15.4
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22.5
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53.5
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152.7
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*Preliminary
Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health
Fatalities
in the metal and nonmetal mining industry totaled a record low 22 in 2008. Metal and nonmetal mining includes production
of metals such as gold and copper, nonmetals such as salt and phosphate, and
production of stone, sand and gravel.
Mining techniques and conditions are diverse and differ substantially
from the coal sector. Most metal and
nonmetal operations are small. MSHA has
focused on small mines and formed partnerships to aid in accident reduction.
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2002
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2003
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2004
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2005
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2006
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2007
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2008*
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Number of
metal/nonmetal mines
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12,455
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12,419
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12,467
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12,603
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12,772
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12,841
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12,758
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Number of
miners
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218,148
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215,325
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220,274
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228,401
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240,522
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255,186
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258,519
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Fatalities
|
42
|
26
|
27
|
35
|
26
|
33
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22
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Fatal
injury rate1
|
.0220
|
.0138
|
.0137
|
.0170
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.0122
|
.0149
|
.0103
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All Injury
rate1
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3.86
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3.65
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3.55
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3.54
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3.19
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3.02
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2.86
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States
with M/NM mining
|
50
|
50
|
50
|
50
|
50
|
50
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50
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Total
mining area inspection hours/mine2
|
22
|
26
|
26
|
20
|
19
|
19
|
21
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FY
Inspection completion rate (%)
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87.6
|
87.4
|
90.2
|
87.7
|
93.5
|
87.5
|
100
|
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Citations
and orders issued3
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48,388
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52,975
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56,363
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58,876
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62,530
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60,191
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67,081
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|
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S&S
citations and orders (%)
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25%
|
24%
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24%
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23%
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24%
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22%
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21%
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Dollar
amount assessed (Millions)
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10.0
|
8.2
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10.1
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9.5
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12.7
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21.0
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41.6
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*Preliminary
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1-Reported injuries per 200,000 hours worked
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2-Total
Mining Area Time includes: On-site Inspection Time (M/NM), MMU Pit Time
(Coal), Outby Area Time (Coal), Surface Area Time (Coal), Citation/Order
writing On-Site. On-site inspection
hours represent hours entered by Authorized Representatives of the Secretary
(AR) for certain inspection activities and task codes.
3-Citations
and orders are those not vacated
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For more information:
www.msha.gov
MSHA
Office of Program Education and Outreach Services, (202) 693-9400
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