Governing regulations
Surface mines must be safety complaint as per the regulations prescribed by two most important nodal government recognized agencies – MSHA and OSHA. While MSHA oversees mining industry to follow health and safety regulations, Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has been empowered to ensure safety regulations across all industries. OSHA and MSHA work together to develop scalable workplace safety and risk management practices for miners. MSHA and OSHA come under the purview of the United Mine Workers of America (UMWA) Health and Safety (H&S) Department which monitors both the enforcement agencies for effective implementations of safety standards and regulations for the safety of miners.
It is also important that every minor should follow safety rules and healthy practices to remain safe. Employers at mines are responsible for effective communication of instructions, information and supervision to all workers. While supervisors and managers at mines must ensure that all the workers are adequately informed and trained, equipped with safety support system and compliant as per MSHA and OSHA regulations, workers are responsible to follow all MSHA and OSHA safety rules, practices and regulations.