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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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