Overall Mining Deaths Up First Half of 2014

Twenty-two miners were killed in accidents in the mining industry during the first half of 2014, including 8 coal miners, according to a summary by the U.S. Department of Labor’s Mine Safety and Health Administration.

That’s compared to 18 miners who were killed in the first half of 2013.

In the second quarter of this year alone, 14 miners died – five in coal mining and nine in metal and nonmetal mining.

In May MSHA launched a number of additional efforts including the use of training and enforcement tools to counteract the spike in mining deaths.

In a statement, Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health Joseph Main called the fatalities preventable, and said they should serve as a wake-up call that much more needs to be done to protect miners.  

                                                                                                                         
Machinery and powered haulage accidents were the most common cause of mining deaths.