Mine Health and Safety Act

Coal mining has been a relatively dangerous occupation (2,91—93). During the period from 1961—1967 the average fataUty rate in the United States for each million person hours worked was 1.05. In the seven years after the passage of the Eederal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969, the average fatahty rate decreased to 0.58, and by 1989 the rate was 0.25 (2). 

The U.S. Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 requires that a mine be closed if there is 1.5% or more methane in the air. The use of an electrical methane detection device is required. High capacity ventilation systems are designed to sweep gases from the cutting face and out of the mine. These systems remove all gases before they become harm fill. 

The Eederal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act set standards for mine ventilation, roof support, coal dust concentrations levels, mine inspections, and equipment. As a part of this comprehensive act, miners must receive medical examinations at employer expense, and payments are made from the U.S. government to miners who caimot work because of black lung disease. 

CMHSA Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act... 

Seixas, N. S.. Robins, T. G., Attfield, M. D. Moulton, L. K 1992. Exposure-response relationships for coal-mine dust and obstructive lung-disease following enactment of the Federal Coal-Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. American Journal of Industrial Medicine, 21, 715-734. 

The Machinery and Occupational Safety Act (Act 6 of 1983) was introduced to replace the Factory s Machinery and Building Works Act (Act 22 of 1941) in South Africa. In 1991 the Minerals Act, Works Act (Act 50 of 1991) replaced the Mines and Works Act, and in 1996, the Mine Health and Safety Act was introduced in South Africa. 

The Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 was passed 72-0 in the U.S. Senate, establishing the Mine Enforcement Safety Administration (MESA), later known as the Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA). MSHA governs safety within the coal mines as OSHA does for general industry and construction (discussed below). 

Generally, the fatality incident rate declined steadily over the years since 1911, but it dropped most rapidly after World War II (1946-1950) and following the passage of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (1971-1975) and the Federal Mine Safety and Health Amendments Act of 1977 (1976-1980). There were a few exceptions where progress stalled however, as we wiU discuss in greater detail, a combination of factors has led to enormous strides in increased safety in the twentieth century. 

As MSHA states (MSHA 1999), the death of 222 miners in 1967, 311 in 1968, the Farmington disaster, and the death of over 170 miners in non-disaster type accidents since Farmington now surrounds the consideration of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (Public Law 91-173). Seventy-eight miners died in the Farmington, West Virginia, explosion, which galvanized Congress to take swift action. MSHA summarizes the major provisions of the 1969 act as follows ... 

During the 1960s accident frequency rates suddenly increased nearly 33%. In response. Congress became actively involved in enacting legislation to place controls on workplace safety. The first federal statnte to include noncoal mines was the 1966 Federal Metal and Nonmetallic Mine Safety Act. The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (Public Law 91-173) preceded the Occupa-... 

The very forceful penalties prescribed for violation of the Mine Act did not, for the most part, originate with that law in 1977. Rather, they were introduced under a predecessor statute, the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969. A large portion of the Labor Department s existing Mine Act interpretations grew out of the 1969 Coal Act. That Act was enforced by the United States Department of the Interior, and specifically by the Bureau of Mines (later the Mining Enforcement and Safety Administration [MESA]) within the Interior Department. 

The Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 mandated that approved respiratory equipment be made available to personnel when exposed to respirable dust concentrations greater than 2.0 mg/m. However, this equipment cannot be used in lieu of achieving the 2.0 mg/w standard. 

In the United States there has been a most exciting change in the mine-fire incidence. In 1970, the regulations of the Federal Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 were implemented. Many regulations were related to fire, but the most important, in our opinion, were those that ... 

Oversigfit Hearings on the Coal Mine Health and Safety Act of 1969 (Excluding Title IV), 98 Cong., 1977, p. 333. 

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