Get local news delivered to your inbox!
The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued its final report on the fatality at the Mountaineer II coal mine near Sharples, West Virginia on Nov. 1, 2021.
Brian Wallen, a 49-year-old assistant maintenance shift supervisor with 25 years of mining experience, died when he lost control of an Electric Mine Utility Vehicle while traveling down a mine slope at the Mountaineer II Mine. The vehicle crashed at the bottom of the slope, pinning Wallen underneath.
Mingo Logan Coal LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Arch Resources Inc., owns and operates the Mountaineer II Mine. The underground coal mine employs about 334 miners.
The MSHA report on the accident said that people at the mine experienced a series of issues with the No. 7 EMU in the days before the fatal accident.
On Oct. 30, people heard the EMU making noises and noted issues with the brake pedal and a loose rear end, and it was taken to the shop. However, on Oct. 31 a fireboss was allowed to use the EMU. He lost control of the EMU while going down a slope. Later, while the EMU was being driven back up the slope, it lost power and rolled backward into a wall. The EMU was later towed up the hill with a hoist car.
At the shop, an electrician worked on a battery wire and terminal on the EMU, but he “was not informed of any issues with the braking systems and therefore did not conduct any testing or repairs other than the battery wire and bolt,” according to the MSHA report.
A maintenance shift supervisor said they did not have time to work on the EMU and it was parked behind the shop. The issues with the EMU were not discussed with Wallen, and he drove the vehicle from behind the shop to use for his work on Nov. 1.
“Despite multiple reports of safety issues with the No. 7 EMU over Oct. 30, 31, and Nov. 1, the mine operator did not initiate any action to remove the No. 7 EMU from service to prevent others from operating it,” the MSHA report stated.
Following its investigation of this accident, MSHA issued this list of best practices to improve mine safety:
Get local news delivered to your inbox!
The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration has released its preliminary report on the fatal accident at the Nevada Gold Mines Cortez under…
"We are lucky to be experiencing unprecedented growth in our business; however, this also adds to the challenge from a workface perspective.”
In MSHA’s annual screening of operations from Aug. 1, 2020 to July 31, 2021, the agency found no pattern of violation notices.
This proposed rule is one of several actions MSHA has taken to reduce fatal and nonfatal injuries involving surface mobile equipment used at mines and to improve safety and health.
MSHA said investigators determined there were no barricades or signs to provide a warning of the extreme fall hazard
A preliminary report from the U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration states that a 58-year-old man was operating a bulldozer when he was k…
The Mine Safety and Health Administration has issued a final report on a Sept. 15, 2021, fatality at the Freeport-McMoRan Morenci mine, a surf…
Get up-to-the-minute news sent straight to your device.