The U.S. Mine Safety and Health Administration (MSHA) conducted an impact inspection at a Missouri mine and found 24 violations, including 13 that were considered significant and substantial.
Significant and substantial, or S&S, violations are considered “reasonably likely to cause a reasonably serious injury or illness,” according to MSHA.
Violations at the Lone Star Quarry and Mill at Cape Girardeau, Missouri included hazards such as loose rocks in highwalls and defective haul trucks that remained in operation.
The mine was among the 15 mines MSHA chose for impact inspections in January 2024. All of the mines were chosen based on their prior enforcement histories.
MSHA inspectors found the following violations at the Lone Star Quarry:
- multiple highwall locations with unconsolidated loose rock that could cause fatal injuries from falling rock
- several mechanical defects on a haul truck that was in operation, and
- inadequate parking procedures for unattended equipment.
Other violations included housekeeping, fire and electrical hazards that exposed miners to slips, trips and falls; smoke inhalation, and burns.
188 violations found during January 2024 impact inspections
MSHA’s impact inspections since 2023 have identified 2,927 violations, including 827 S&S and 57 unwarrantable failure findings. Violations designated as unwarrantable failures are “aggravated conduct that constitutes more than ordinary negligence.”
Impact inspections are conducted “at mines that merit increased agency attention and enforcement due to poor compliance history; previous accidents, injuries, and illnesses; and other compliance concerns.”
Of the 188 violations MSHA found in January 2024, 63 were considered S&S and one was an unwarrantable failure.
The agency completed these inspections at mines in Arizona, California, Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Virginia and West Virginia.
