[Federal Register Volume 78, Number 249 (Friday, December 27, 2013)]
[Notices]
[Pages 79010-79012]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2013-31033]
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Mine Safety and Health Administration
[Docket Number MSHA-2013-0037]
Criteria to Certify Coal Mine Rescue Teams
AGENCY: Mine Safety and Health Administration, Labor.
ACTION: Notice.
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SUMMARY: This notice informs the public that the Mine Safety and Health
Administration (MSHA) has updated the coal mine rescue team
certification criteria. The Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response
(MINER) Act of 2006 requires MSHA to update these criteria every five
years. One of the criteria for a mine operator to certify the
qualifications of a coal mine rescue team is that team members are
properly
[[Page 79011]]
trained annually. MSHA has updated the prescribed instruction guides
for annual training of coal mine rescue teams to provide improved
advanced mine rescue training by including more hands-on skills
training to enhance team performance when responding to an actual mine
emergency.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: George F. Triebsch, Director, Office
of Standards, Regulations, and Variances, MSHA, at
[email protected] (email); 202-693-9440 (voice); or 202-693-9441
(facsimile). These are not toll-free numbers.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
I. Background
Under title 30 of the Code of Federal Regulations (30 CFR) part 49,
underground coal mine operators must designate at least two mine rescue
teams to provide mine rescue coverage at an underground coal mine at
all times when miners are underground. Underground coal mine operators
must annually certify the qualifications of these designated teams.
MSHA provides the criteria for certifying the qualifications of coal
mine rescue teams under 30 CFR 49.50.
Initial criteria to certify the qualifications of coal mine rescue
teams under 30 CFR 49.50 are: (1) Team is available at all times when
miners are underground; (2) Except where alternative compliance is
permitted, team has five members and one alternate; (3) Members have
experience working in an underground coal mine; (4) Team is available
within 1-hour ground travel time from the mine rescue station to the
mine; (5) Appropriate mine rescue equipment is provided, inspected,
tested, and maintained; (6) Members are physically fit; and (7) Members
have completed initial training.
The annual criteria to maintain mine rescue team certification
under 30 CFR 49.50 are: (1) Members are properly trained annually; (2)
Members are familiar with the operations of each covered mine; (3)
Members participate in at least two local mine rescue contests
annually; (4) Members participate in mine rescue training at each
covered mine; and (5) Members are knowledgeable about the operations
and ventilation of each covered mine.
The MINER Act requires MSHA to update the criteria to certify the
qualifications of mine rescue teams every five years. The revised
instruction guides do not change the certification criteria listed
above, but rather update the prescribed training that team members need
annually to be properly trained. The specific annual training
requirements are listed at 30 CFR 49.18(b).
II. Revision of Instruction Guides
The annual training requirements for coal mine rescue teams include
Sec. 49.18(b)(4), which requires advanced mine rescue training and
procedures as prescribed by MSHA's Office of Educational Policy and
Development (EPD). Under this requirement, EPD currently prescribes
Instruction Guide IG7, ``Advanced Mine Rescue Training--Coal Mines,''
which includes best practices, handouts, visuals, and text materials
for the classroom and activities or exercises for practice using
equipment and developing teamwork.
To update this prescribed training, the existing lessons and
exercises from the current Instruction Guide IG7 were reorganized and
Instruction Guide IG7a, containing new practical exercises, was added.
The materials for classroom training are retained as Instruction Guide
IG7, ``Advanced Mine Rescue Training--Coal Mines,'' and the practice
exercises are moved to new Instruction Guide IG7a, ``Advanced Skills
Training--Activities for Coal Mine Rescue Teams.'' Instruction Guide
IG7a also contains new exercises to assure practice on skills a team
would need in a mine emergency, as well as expectations training.
MSHA published a notice in the Federal Register (78 FR 58567)
announcing the availability of the revised instruction guides on the
Agency's Web site and soliciting comments to assure that the revised
instruction guides would improve the quality and effectiveness of
instruction and skills training for coal mine rescue teams. The comment
period closed on November 25, 2013.
MSHA received five comments from industry, state government,
academia, and a mine rescue association. One commenter stated that IG7a
provides a good basic format for mine rescue trainers to quickly
develop training exercises for their mine rescue teams. This commenter
stated that the expectations training in IG7a was important and
recommended that MSHA add an expectation that team members can expect
delays in movement and exploration in an actual emergency. MSHA
recognizes that it is important for team members to expect delays when
exploring in an actual emergency due to the time needed to coordinate
their movements with the Command Center. MSHA added this expectation to
IG7a.
A commenter stated that IG7a should include an exercise in the
actual construction of ventilation controls. There are several
different types of ventilation controls used in underground coal mining
and they vary from mine to mine. In MSHA's experience, training in
ventilation controls, already included in IG7, appropriately addresses
how to construct a variety of ventilation controls, including temporary
and permanent stoppings, air locks, and line brattice.
Another commenter stated that teams would be better trained if the
training consisted of actually putting out a fire, being exposed to
heat and dense smoke, and spending more time preparing for an actual
emergency. MSHA believes that the exercises prescribed in IG7a will
provide appropriate training in smoke, fire hose management, and
firefighting.
A commenter stated that MSHA should revise IG7a to include a
statement that all skills covered in Instruction Guide IG7a can be
achieved by participating in a skills contest. Another commenter stated
that its teams perform the exercises prescribed in IG7a through
participation in a skills contest. MSHA does not require participation
in a skills contest. MSHA believes, however, that skills contests
provide a valuable training experience for mine rescue teams and
encourages teams to participate in these contests. Participation in a
skills contest can satisfy the training in IG7a, as long as an exercise
is included for each skill area prescribed in IG7a.
A commenter stated that MSHA should revise IG7a to include a smoke
tube exercise. This commenter also provided recommendations for
additional materials that MSHA should list as needed for several
exercises. MSHA revised IG7a to include a smoke tube exercise in which
tubes filled with a visible chemical smoke are opened and the escaping
smoke is carried away by any air flow. In the Agency's experience,
smoke tube training will help prepare teams to determine the
ventilation direction and measure speed in areas with low air velocity,
which may be encountered in a mine emergency. Where appropriate, MSHA
also revised the list of materials needed.
Another commenter stated that the fire hose management and
firefighting exercises contained in IG7a are not practical for
anthracite mine rescue teams because: (1) Of the coal seam's extreme
pitch; (2) anthracite coal requires more heat to combust; (3)
anthracite dust does not propagate an explosion; and (4) there are no
anthracite mines with electrical face equipment.
[[Page 79012]]
MSHA recognizes that underground anthracite mines are unique.
Revised IG7a does not include fire hose management or firefighting
exercises for mine rescue teams for anthracite coal mines that have no
electrical equipment at the face or working section. In MSHA's
experience, a mine rescue team would use fire extinguishers, rather
than hoses, to fight a fire in an underground anthracite mine due to
the pitch of the entry. MSHA believes that appropriate training in the
use of fire extinguishers is already provided through the Emergency
Response Plans at anthracite mines.
Some commenters stated that the existing requirement that teams
train at covered mines two times per year be revised to require
training once per year. This requirement was a provision of the MINER
Act and is outside the scope of this notice. Another commenter
suggested that MSHA revise the guidelines for Mine Emergency Response
Drills (MERD) to allow for rescue training in the MERD format without
three total teams and a declared winner. Under the existing standard, a
local mine rescue contest can be a MERD exercise or a practical
simulation exercise. If a mine operator choses a MERD exercise to
satisfy the requirements for a local mine rescue contest, the MERD
exercise must have three teams and a winner.
In MSHA's experience, revised Instruction Guide IG7 and new
Instruction Guide IG7a are resources that will assist coal mine rescue
team trainers in providing team members with the necessary knowledge
and skills to respond effectively in the event of an emergency. Changes
in mine rescue team technologies and practices may necessitate changes
in advance mine rescue skills training. When these changes become
available, MSHA will provide the public an opportunity to comment.
Beginning in 2014, coal mine rescue teams must complete advanced
skills training prescribed in IG7 and IG7a to be properly trained under
the criteria for certification of coal mine rescue teams in 30 CFR
49.50.
The comments and the final instruction guides for advanced mine
rescue training of coal mine rescue teams are posted on
www.regulations.gov (docket number MSHA-2013-0037) and on MSHA's Web
site at http://www.msha.gov/MineRescue/Training/TeamTraining.asp.
Authority: 30 U.S.C. 811, 825(e).
Dated: December 23, 2013.
Joseph A. Main,
Assistant Secretary of Labor for Mine Safety and Health.
[FR Doc. 2013-31033 Filed 12-26-13; 8:45 am]
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