On Saturday, November 4, 2006, a 44-year-old section foreman, with 25 years of mining experience, was fatally injured while operating a battery-powered scoop.
The plug end of a shuttle car cable had been wrapped around a canopy post of the scoop in order to pull the cable from one location to another during a section move. The cable became fouled, unwound from the canopy post, and struck the victim.
MSHA said operators should adhere to the following best practices to avoid future similar accidents:
- Ensure that properly designed ropes or slings are used to move cables;
- Do not attach cables to the decks or canopy of equipment being used to pull them;
- Attach cables to be pulled to the end of the equipment opposite to the direction of travel. Re-attach to the other end if the direction of travel is reversed; and
- Develop processes whereby managers and miners work together to assess and manage the risks associated with recurring tasks. (SMART) http://www.msha.gov/FocusOn/OutReach2005/Outreach2005.asp.
The incident marked the 44th underground coal mining fatality in the United States for 2006. At the same time last year there were just 16 coal mining fatalities.
