$1M in Brookwood-Sago funds for mine safety teaching by U.S. Department of Labor: 13 miners to be schooled

UNDERGROUND MINING

$1M in Brookwood-Sago funds for mine safety teaching by U.S. Department of Labor : 13 miners to be schooled

The mine saFeTy & healTh adminisTraTion oF The u.s. oF America announced a $1 million grant from the Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety grant program to promote education and training to recognize, evade, and avoid harmful working situations in and around the country's mines.

"Mining deaths are on the rise, notably motorized haulage fatalities, and this drift must be upturned. The safety and well being of those working in and around mines is the primary priority of the Mine Safety and Health Administration, "Jeannette J. Galanis, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Mine Safety and Health, stated. "Mine workers are a valuable resource, and grants like these support the mining industry's training and education needs, as well as promote ways to better protect miners."

The program remembers 25 miners who died in mine disasters at the Jim Walter Resources #5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama, in 2001 and the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 2006. It was established by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006.

Brookwood-Sago awards allow grantees to create training materials, give mine safety training or educational programs, recruit mine operators and workers, and perform and assess training. They're an important aspect of MSHA's focus on programs and materials for miners in smaller mines, such as training miners and employers on new federal regulations and high-risk activities or hazards identified by MSHA.

The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 established the Brookwood-Sago grant program in honor of the 25 miners who died at the Jim Walter Resources No. 5 mine in Brookwood, Alabama, in 2001 and at the Sago Mine in Buckhannon, West Virginia, in 2006.

Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants

The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006 established the Brookwood-Sago Mine Safety Grants Program. It was named in remembrance of 13 men who died in the disaster at the Jim Walter Resources Inc.’s No. 5 Mine in Brookwood, Alabama, in 2001 and 12 men who died after an explosion at Wolf Run Mining Company’s Sago Mine in Tallmansville, West Virginia in 2006.

This competitive grant program provides funding for education and training programs to better identify, avoid, and prevent unsafe working conditions in and around mines. Grantees will use these funds to establish and implement education and training programs or to create training materials and programs on MSHA-identified safety priorities.

2020 RECIPIENTS OF THE BROOKWOOD-SAGO GRANT AWARDS

1. University of Arizona 2. South Dakota School of Mines and

Technology 3. United Mine Workers of America

Career Centers, Inc. 4. Colorado Department of

Natural Resources 5. Virginia Department of Mines,

Minerals, and Energy 6. West Virginia University Research

Corporation

2019 RECIPIENTS OF THE BROOKWOOD-SAGO GRANT AWARDS

1. Hutchinson Community College 2. Penn State University 3. United Mine Workers of America

Career Centers, Inc. 4. University of Arizona 5. West Virginia University Research

Corporation

UNDERGROUND MINING

The following are the grant recipients

‚ The University of Arizona in Tucson got $140,000 from the Arizona Board of

Regents to develop app-based training resources to improve training for belt conveyor safety, electrical risks, and powered haulage incidents.

‚ The Colorado Department of Natural

Resources in Denver was awarded $95,000 to create an innovative film that emphasizes the necessity for mine emergency mitigation, risk, preparedness, and readiness evaluations.

‚ The Colorado School of Mines in

Golden was awarded $95,000 to design a hazard recognition training package centered on energy.

‚ The Department of Mines, Minerals, and Energy of the Commonwealth of

Virginia in Big Stone Gap was awarded $50,000 to provide virtual reality training to imitate real-time circumstances at mining sites.

‚ The Trustees of Indiana University in

Bloomington were awarded $50,000 to provide training materials aimed at reducing respiratory dangers, particularly those related to mining operations and recent biohazards such as the coronavirus.

‚ The Local 49 IUOE Apprenticeship and

Training Program in Hinckley, Minnesota, was awarded $50,000 to develop a training simulation device that will simulate fall protection, respiratory protection, working in confined spaces, electrical hazard awareness, and powered haulage awareness training scenarios.

‚ The Marshall University Research

Corp. in Huntington, West Virginia, was awarded $130,000 to create movies about powered haulage safety, fire safety, emergency planning, and personal protective equipment. ‚ The Rapid City-based South Dakota

School of Mines and Technology was awarded $120,000 to develop virtual reality training materials for mine emergency prevention and awareness.

‚ Southeast Kentucky Community and

Technical College in Cumberland was awarded $50,000 to develop new training materials for miners under

Parts 46 and 48 of the Occupational

Safety and Health Act. ‚ A $50,000 grant was awarded to the University of Texas at Arlington to produce disaster prevention and preparedness training materials for the mining industry.

‚ The University of Texas at Arlington has been awarded $70,000 to develop and implement virtual reality-based training materials to help small mines avoid or reduce powered haulage accidents.

‚ United Mine Workers of America

Career Centers, Inc. in Prosperity,

Pennsylvania, won a $50,000 grant to create a two-part multimedia educational package on Belt Conveyor

Safety Awareness and Mine Emergency

Escape Interactive Exercises.

‚ The West Virginia Research Corporation in Morgantown was awarded $50,000 to provide emergency prevention and readiness training to coal miners and mine operators in the areas of self-contained self-rescuers and mine rescue.