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The Mining Safety & Health Administration (“MSHA”) issued detailed guidance addressing COVID-19.
The guidance is tailored toward the mining industry.
MSHA describes its mission as working to prevent death, illness, and injury from mining and promote safe and health workplaces for United States miners. It carries out the provisions of the Federal Mine Safety and Health Act of 1977 as amended by the Mine Improvement and New Emergency Response Act of 2006. Activities include the development and enforcement of safety and health rules for all United States mines regardless of size, number of employees, commodity mined, or method of extraction.
The guidance addresses COVID-19 by including:
- Recommendations
- Descriptions of mandatory safety and health standards
Note, however, the guidance is not a MSHA standard or regulation. Instead, it is described as:
- Advisory in nature
- Informational in content
- Intended to assist operators in recognizing and abating hazards from the spread of COVID-19
MSHA states that the most effective programs include the following elements:
- Conducting a hazard assessment of the mine site;
- Identifying a combination of measures that limit the spread of COVID-19 in mine settings;
- Adopting measures to ensure that miners who are infected or potentially infected are separated and sent home from the mine; and
- Implementing protections from retaliation for miners who raise COVID-19-related concerns;
Elements of a COVID-19 prevention program are found in 15 recommendations along with other key suggested measures.
A link to the guidance can be found here.
