Published in the *December 2011 Coal USA Magazine

 

 

While research has been done and many advances have been made to protect workers from the inherent dangers of roof falls and rib rolls, there are still fatalities each year: Of 18 mine deaths recorded as of Coal USA press time*, five were due to the fall of roof, back or rib. Two occurred within three days in June, taking the lives of a pair of West Virginia and Kentucky miners.

 

While technology, safety products and communications have and will continue to improve, one factor won’t be changed by the latest innovation – a miner’s awareness of the environment around him. Even the most cutting-edge technology is – and should be – no replacement for an individual’s intuition and attention to safety.

 

Photo courtesy United States Department of Labor, Mine Safety and Health Administration National Mine Health and Safety Academy Technical Information Center & Library, Bureau of Mines Collection.