The annual program is typically targeted towards outdoor enthusiasts and children as the weather turns more pleasant and activity levels increase, the agency said Monday.
“As we near the end of another school year, we need to stress to people of all ages that playing in or exploring mines and quarries can be dangerous," said MSHA acting assistant secretary of labor for mine safety and health Richard Stickler.
“Abandoned and active mines contain hazards that can be deadly for those not properly trained in safe mining practices, and that's why it's best to stay out and stay alive."
According to agency statistics, dozens of people become injured at active and abandoned mines across the nation as part of recreational accidents. Since 1999, more than 200 people have died, 148 over the last five years alone, it added.
“So far this calendar year, MSHA has recorded at least eight known deaths on mining properties,” Stickler said.
“The youngest victim was a five-year-old boy who slipped while playing on a slope at an active rock quarry; most recently, a 23-year-old Pennsylvania man is lucky to be alive after falling 500 feet into an abandoned mine."
Stay Out, Stay Alive, organised by more than 70 state and federal agencies, businesses, individuals and private organisations, runs May 12 through June 13.
During that time, the agency is planning outreach efforts such as school visits and scouting group presentations, and it added a special emphasis will be placed on targeting males aged 15 to 25, the age group which it says has the most recreational mine-related accidents and fatalities.
There are approximately 500,000 abandoned mines and another 14,000 active operations throughout the United States, MSHA statistics have outlined.
PA jumps on board
One coal-rich state – Pennsylvania – is promoting MSHA's message by reminding its residents of mine- and quarry-related dangers.
“There are thousands of abandoned sites … across Pennsylvania with steep cliffs, hidden underground mine openings and dangerous water bodies," said PA Department of Environmental Protection secretary Kathleen McGinty.
“When ventur[ing] into these sites, you put your life and the lives of emergency personnel who conduct the search and rescue operations at risk."
Since 2000, 31 people have died in 19 Pennsylvania counties as a result of trespassing in mines and quarries, thus the state's efforts to team with MSHA on the Stay Out, Stay Alive program.
“Pennsylvania has been blessed with great mineral resources, and mining has been a cornerstone of our economy for more than 200 years, but the unregulated mining practices of the past have left us with one-quarter million acres of dangerous and deadly mine lands," said McGinty.
“Every year we hear of more tragic accidents: swimmers drowning in abandoned water-filled pits where water temperatures drop dramatically just below the surface; people entering abandoned mines or dilapidated structures and getting lost or trapped; and all-terrain vehicle riders breaking through brush on the crest of an old minesite and rolling down a hillside."
The DEP has also developed 30-second radio and television spots on the cause that will air across the state and will continue its educational programs to those getting their hunting and fishing licences through the state's Game Commission and Fish and Boat Commission.
The Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources distributed the information to off-road vehicle and snowmobile registrants as well as state park and forest users.
Pennsylvania has the largest abandoned mine lands problem in the country, according to the DEP, as active mining operations are found in all but one of Pennsylvania's 67 counties and a large number of residents live near one of the state's abandoned workings.
Since 2003, PA Governor Edward G Rendell has earmarked $US145 million for 240 of Pennsylvania's abandoned mine reclamation projects on 6100 acres of land.
