MSHA calls for mines to have underground refuges

WASHINGTON — The Mine Safety and Health Administration published a proposed rule Monday calling for underground coal mines to have a place for workers to be safe if they can not get out right away in the event of an accident.

The rule marks another step in the agency's "unprecedented" pace in getting out rules for the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act, known as the MINER Act, which Congress passed two years ago this week, according to MSHA head Richard Stickler.

In the last 18 months, MSHA has published six final rules in the Federal Register, issued an Emergency Temporary Standard and proposed four additional rules, including the latest one on underground refuges that appeared in the Federal Register on Monday, according to MSHA.

While critics on the Capitol Hill have complained it has taken too long for MSHA to implement provisions of the MINER Act, Stickler said rules have never come out at this rate before.

Stickler is scheduled to testify before the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee Thursday on progress on mine safety since the 2006

passage of the bill, along with Dr. Jeffery Kohler, associate director for Mining and Construction at the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Dennis O'Dell, administrator of Occupational Health and Safety for the United Mine Workers of America and Bruce Watzman, vice president of Safety and Health at the National Mining Association.

MSHA said Monday's proposed rule is based on data and experience, recommendations from a National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health report on refuge alternatives, research on available and developing technology, and existing regulations in several states.

"While miners must continue to follow their first instinct — which is to withdraw from the mine in the event of an emergency — this proposed regulation calls for a protected, secure space that creates a life-sustaining environment when escape is not possible," Stickler said.

The refuges alternative and its components must be tested and approved by MSHA before being used. A mine's emergency-response plan must include the location, capability and capacity of refuge alternatives, according to the proposed rule.

The refuge components, such as breathable air and harmful gas removal, would need to sustain individuals for 96 hours, or 48 hours if advance arrangements are made for additional supplies from the surface of the mine, according to MSHA. The rules also require food, water, lighting, first-aid