The new "Fatal Injury Guideline Matrix" is the first formal process for MSHA to define which deaths will be counted in their official statistics, with the final decision made by a four-member Fatality Review Committee.
The review committeeâs decision will be final and should help MSHA ensure that fatal accidents are consistently counted and appropriately charged, assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health Richard Stickler said.
Under the new guideline, deaths will only be chargeable as a mining death if they result from mine activity, involve people authorised to be on the site, and are not caused by natural causes, or involve suicide or homicide.
Former MSHA head J Davitt McAteer told the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette that the guidelines are too simplistic and will exclude too many cases.
âWhat if a guy is lifting a roof support up and has a heart attack? How do you charge that? This doesn't take into account the subtleties and nuances that you have," he said.
âAs the mining work force ages, we're going to have more heart attacks. Are we going to write them all off?
âThe guidelines should be applied in a way that improves the chances of preventing deaths in the future because that's the real mission of the agency."
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