A 34-year-old roof bolter operator with 13 years mining experience was fatally injured when he left the roof bolting station mounted on the remote controlled continuous miner. The miner operator, standing on the other side of the continuous miner, backed it from the face to clean up spillage. The victim tried to pass between the conveyor boom and rib when he was struck and pinned against the rib.
MSHA issued a number of best practices to follow when operating remote controlled continuous miners:
Establish procedures and follow them, especially when employees tram a remote controlled continuous miner.
Position employees outside of the continuous miner's turning radius and in a safe location before moving the machine.
Avoid pinch points between the rib and machinery.
Trona is used for manufacture of soda ash from glass, and value added products include baking soda, baking powder, sodium cyanide, and sodium phosphate.
