PDF Version Last Updated 7/3/2012

Mine Safety and Health at a Glance 7/3/2012

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. 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 Division applies scientific and engineering solutions to mitigate hazards. The agency’s Educational Policy Development Division provides education and training for the mining industry which 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

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Number of mines	14,666	14,885	14,871	14,907	14,631	14,283	14,176
Number of miners	344,837	363,497	378,123	392,746	355,720	361,176	381,209
Fatalities	58	73	67	53	34	71	37
Fatal injury rate¹	.0183	.0220	.0199	.0156	.0115	.0234	.0114
All Injury rate¹	3.92	3.64	3.43	3.25	3.01	2.81	2.73
Total mining area inspection hours/mine²	45	43	44	56	59	63	62
Citations and orders issued³	127,766	140,082	144,125	173,656	173,418	170,909	157,613
S&S citations and orders (%)	32%	32%	29%	28%	30%	33%	32%
Dollar amount assessed (Millions)⁴	28.1	42.8	129.4	142.2	137.1	162.1	154.3

Coal Mine Safety and Health

U.S. coal mine production reached the highest levels in history in recent years. MSHA continues to work to bring fatalities down through strong enforcement, active outreach and education, and technical support to the mining industry.
CY

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Number of coal mines	2,063	2,113	2,030	2,129	2,076	1,944	1,973
Number of miners	116,436	122,975	122,936	133,828	134,089	135,500	143,437
Fatalities	23	47	34	30	18	48	21
Fatal injury rate¹	.0205	.0400	.0293	.0237	.0148	.0384	.0156
All Injury rate¹	4.62	4.46	4.21	3.89	3.69	3.43	3.38
States with coal mining	26	26	26	26	26	26	26
Coal production (millions of tons)	1,133	1,163	1,147	1,172	1,075	1,086	1,095
Total mining area inspection hours/mine²	162	161	169	227	238	259	258
FY Inspection completion rate (%)	98.1	94.1	83.8	100	100	100	100
Citations and orders issued³	69,026	77,667	84,184	106,871	102,057	96,814	93,630
S&S citations and orders (%)	39%	39%	35%	32%	31%	34%	35%
Dollar amount assessed (Millions)⁴	17.4	29.9	98.9	110.4	96.3	110.1	115.1

Metal and Nonmetal Mine Safety and Health

Fatalities in the metal and nonmetal mining industry matched its record low of 16 in 2011. 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, and continues to work to bring fatalities down through strong enforcement, active outreach and education, and technical support to the mining industry.

	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011
Number of metal/nonmetal mines	12,603	12,772	12,841	12,778	12,555	12,339	12,203
Number of miners	228,401	240,522	255,187	258,918	221,631	225,676	237,772
Fatalities	35	26	33	23	16	23	16
Fatal injury rate¹	.0170	.0122	.0149	.0107	.0092	.0129	.0084
All Injury rate¹	3.54	3.19	3.02	2.87	2.54	2.37	2.28
States with M/NM mining	50	50	50	50	50	50	50
Total mining area inspection hours/mine²	20	19	19	21	22	23	23
FY Inspection completion rate (%)	87.7	93.5	87.5	100	100	100	100
Citations and orders issued³	58,740	62,415	59,941	66,785	71,361	74,095	63,983
S&S citations and orders (%)	23%	23%	22%	21%	30%	33%	28%
Dollar amount assessed (Millions)⁴	10.7	12.9	30.5	31.8	40.8	52.0	39.2


1-Reported injuries per 200,000 hours worked
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 4-Based on date issued

For more information:

www.msha.gov
MSHA Office of Program Education and Outreach Services, (202) 693-9400