THE US Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration said that the monthly inspections began in force in April 2010 following the explosion at the Upper Big Branch Mine in West Virginia.
The inspections target mines that require increased agency attention due to poor compliance history or particular compliance concerns.
Three coal mines each in Kentucky and West Virginia received impact inspections, along with one each in Illinois, Utah and Virginia.
A surface gold mine in Nevada, along with an underground salt mine and a crushed limestone operation in Kansas also received impact inspections.
Since April 2010, MSHA has conducted 726 impact inspections and issued 11,970 citations, 1,095 orders and 50 safeguards.
The monthly impact inspection list for 2014 is available from the MSHA website.
