Inspector General: Mine inspectors failed to properly manage safety violations
In an audit conducted by the U.S. Department of Labor, the Inspector General found the Mine Safety and Health Administration has long-standing weaknesses, which could jeopardize miners’ safety.
Those weaknesses included providing companies more time than necessary to fix violations, being too slow in verifying that mine operators had corrected hazards by the deadline, unclear justifications for vacating violations, and supervisory reports that were incomplete or inaccurate.
Of the 706,000 violations reviewed between January 2013 and September 2019, 215,000 of them had a weakness.
The report said MSHA identified similar control weaknesses from previous accident investigations at the Darby Mine No. 1, Upper Big Branch Mine South and three others.
At the Darby Mine No. 1 in Harlin County, five Kentucky miners died from an underground explosion in 2006. The MSHA report determined the accident occurred because the operator did not observe basic mine safety practices and critical safety standards were violated.
MSHA’s internal review of the Darby Mine accident found the level of enforcement was not always appropriate, inspectors did not determine if conditions were abated or if an extension was justified, and management did not ensure accountability through supervisory review and oversight at the Darby Mine.
The Inspector General said these same problems still exist within MSHA, which could lead to another accident.
The audit discovered inspectors were extending due dates on citations for their own convenience or for something unreasonable. For example, inspectors sometimes extended due dates because they could not return to an isolated mine by the deadline.
One-fifth of violations had a vague reason or no reason listed at all for allowing an extended due date to fix a violation.
“Unjustified extensions put miners at risk of being exposed to hazards longer than necessary because operators were allowed a longer time than necessary to fix the hazard,” the audit stated.
The report also found the level of enforcement was not always appropriate, inspectors did not always return to check if a condition had been abated, some abatement times seemed extensive, and management did not review its inspectors in a timely manner. Supervisors had not completed the required reports for 197 of the 414 inspectors in the audit’s sample.
According to the audit, inspectors also are slow to record violations. Inspectors were supplied tablet computers in 2018, but connectivity remains an issue.
In its response, MSHA said the Office of Inspector General incorrectly concluded that if a citation’s due date is extended it means the hazards have been unabated, which exposes miners to hazards longer than necessary or puts the safety of miners in jeopardy.
The administration said it is the operator’s responsibility to abate the hazard, and if it can’t be done immediately the operator will shut down the hazardous area or remove the equipment. The dangerous area could not be used until an inspector returns to the mine to terminate the citation, MSHA said.
MSHA also said the audit’s scope of six years was problematic because it spanned the administrations of two presidents.
“The OIG missed a meaningful opportunity to provide recommendations tailored to MSHA’s current environment,” MSHA stated.
MSHA acknowledged there are always opportunities for improvement and detailed ways they have already worked to fix some problems.
